BALTIMORE — More than a decade of research from multiple sources shows Baltimore’s wealthy homeowners paid less than they owed in property taxes, while poorer homeowners paid more than they owed.

A 2023 study conducted by a member of Strong Towns Baltimore — the group is now known as Baltimoreans for People-Oriented Places, or BaltPOP — examined if tax-assessed property values could predict actual home sale prices. The study, which considered the period from 2020 to 2023, found that cheaper homes were likely to be overassessed while a majority of homes sold for more than $1 million were often assessed at much less than their sale price.

Previous research by Dr. Christopher Berry at the University of Chicago found that 75% of the lowest-value homes in Baltimore were overassessed from 2009 to 2018. One property shown in Berry’s study sold for $39,692 and had a tax bill of $1,053.47, which was $315.26 — or 42.7% — above the average tax rate.

On the higher end, another property considered by Berry sold for $1,146,458, but a tax bill of $6,419.08. If this property was taxed at the average rate, the final bill would have been $21,322.76 — meaning the homeowner underpaid by nearly 70%.

This discrepancy disproportionately affects minority communities, which tend to have lower property values based on racism in past development and zoning policies. A 2020 study titled “The Assessment Gap” found Black and Hispanic homeowners nationally paid 10% to 13% more in property taxes than white owners of similar homes living under the same tax laws, with the median minority homeowner paying more than $300 annually in extra taxes.

Baltimore residents of all races pay higher property taxes than other Marylanders. The city imposes a real property tax of $2.248 per $100 dollars of assessed property value and a personal property tax for businesses of $5.62 per $100 of assessed value.

Both these rates are more than double the rates in the next highest jurisdiction, Baltimore County. The county assesses a real property tax of $1.10 per $100 dollars of assessed property value and a personal property tax for businesses of $2.75 per $100 of assessed value..

Baltimore collected roughly $1.15 billion in property tax revenue in the 2025 fiscal year. This amount — which was $7.5 million, or 0.7%, greater than projected — accounts for almost half of the city’s total general fund revenue, Budget Director Laura Larsen said during a Sept. 16 budget presentation.

The median sale price of homes in Baltimore increased from about $252,000 in fiscal 2024 to about $265,000 in 2025, according to Larsen’s presentation.

A spokesman for the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation did not respond to The Baltimore Sun’s request for comment on the studies.

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