A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Bel Air$1,170/mo

Typical home $196K (Census) · tax rate 0.89% · or rent about $695/mo · Housing →

Willards$1,760/mo

Typical home $294K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.88% · or rent about $1,460/mo · Housing →

The difference: $580 a month, about $7,000 a year, between Willards and Bel Air.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Grades and rankings, side by side

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Maryland ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Schools

C+Bel AirBetter than 36% of districts in the state C−WillardsBetter than 20% of districts in the state

Health

B+Bel AirHealthier than 69% of U.S. towns CWillardsHealthier than 27% of U.S. towns

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

Bel AirWillards

Snow a year31″8″

January low—28°F

July high—88°F

Growing season (days)—201d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)3rd 34th

Outdoors & history

Bel AirWillards

Trails1 mi 0 mi

Conserved land4.1%1.3%

National Register places1 —

Community

Bel AirWillards

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

205 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Bel AirMD WillardsMD

Bel Air ↔ Willards205 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Maryland average

Bel AirWillards

People

Population 1,837Highest 1,280Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +34.3%Highest MD: +7% +0.5%Lowest MD: +7%

Median age 43.4±7.9Highest 10% above MD 40.3±5.6Lowest about the MD average

Bel Air and Willards are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 24.4%±7.3Lowest MD: 22.2% 26.6%±7.3Highest MD: 22.2%

Willards and Bel Air are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 14.5%±4.2Highest MD: 16.7% 9%±1.9Lowest MD: 16.7%

Bel Air and Willards are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 19.1%Highest MD: 43.4% 16.8%Lowest MD: 43.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.1%±2.4Lowest MD: 6.9% 3.9%±3.9Highest MD: 6.9%

Willards and Bel Air are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $97,685±$9kHighest 6% below MD $75,333±$7kLowest 27% below MD

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $195,700±$21kLowest 53% below MD $216,100±$14kHighest 49% below MD

Willards and Bel Air are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $695±$113Lowest 59% below MD $1,460±$236Highest 14% below MD

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,744Lowest 57% below MD $1,894Highest 54% below MD

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 3.2%±27.4Lowest MD: 51.5% 58.8%±28.8Highest MD: 51.5%

Willards and Bel Air are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 0.2%Lowest MD: 9.4% 22.1%Highest MD: 9.4%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 87.2%Highest MD: 67.6% 76.3%Lowest MD: 67.6%

Typical home builtmedian year 1969Lowest 10 yrs older than MD 1984Highest 5 yrs newer than MD

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 24 minHighest 24% below MD 23 minLowest 25% below MD

Work from home 18%±14Highest MD: 19.3% 4.9%±5.4Lowest MD: 19.3%

Bel Air and Willards are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 1%Lowest 1.4%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 7.3 miLowest 13.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.21Lowest 0.44Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Cumberland (27%)Salisbury (21%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in WillardsFew work in Bel Air

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 4.1%Highest 1.3%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.9 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.3 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Lowest 2Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 76.1Highest 41.0Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #30 of 235 in MD—

School district Allegany County Public SchoolsWicomico County Public Schools

High school in town None in townNone in town

Maryland average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Bel Air neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bel Air’s Town Square.

Willards neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Willards’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Bel Air and Willards

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Bel Air

+ Compare

Cresaptown5,121 people · $143K homes

Towns like Bel Air

+ Compare

Pittsville1,950 people · $209K homes

+ Compare

Landover Hills2,031 people · $352K homes

+ Compare

Morningside976 people · $297K homes

+ Compare

Fairmount Heights1,416 people · $397K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Maryland towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Bel Air vs Willards

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $580 more a month in Willards

Grades and rankings, side by side

What daily life feels like in each

205 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Bel Air and Willards

Bordering Bel Air

Towns like Bel Air

Post to Bel Air

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