St. Martins Church · Photo: Linda Roy Walls · CC BY-SA 3.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Ocean Pines costs more to live in than 79% of U.S. towns
It ranks #191 of 260 in Maryland for affordability. Home prices around Ocean Pines have risen about 61% over the past 5 years.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Ocean Pines, MD micro area ($82K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Ocean Pines’ area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($82K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 23% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 67% of renters.
In dollars
- $1,410a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
In paychecks the grade
- 4.6 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$82K, Ocean Pines-area income
- 30%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 67%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Maryland: 52%Census 2020–24
- 23%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Ocean Pines, in brief
About two in three renters are stretched
67% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent, against 52% across Maryland. That’s despite a standard two-bedroom costing just 18% of the median household income, so renters here earn far less than the typical household. Renting ↓
A second-home town
33% of Ocean Pines’ homes are seasonal or vacation homes, empty for much of the year. Property taxes ↓
Prices rose faster than Maryland’s over five years
There’s no Zillow index for Ocean Pines, so the page uses the federal house price index for the ZIP code around it, which follows repeat sales of the same homes. It rose 61% over five years, against 40% across Maryland. Price trend ↓
Nearly every household owns
91% of Ocean Pines households own their home, against 68% across Maryland. There are 461 renter households. Property taxes ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Ocean Pines, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Ocean Pines’ grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Ocean Pines is more affordable than 21% of U.S. towns, #191 of 260 in Maryland. Rent pulls the grade down most; property tax holds it up.
Home prices up 61% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP code around Ocean Pines rose 61% over the past 5 years, faster than across Maryland (40%). Last year prices rose 4.5%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Ocean Pines home at roughly $472,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $472K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Ocean Pines, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
A year’s rent takes 30% of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Ocean Pines’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $142K short of a typical Ocean Pines home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,410 a month here, $1,330 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Ocean Pines’s typical property tax (0.68% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,410
Renters already here pay a median of $2,069.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Worcester County, MD): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Property tax runs below the Maryland norm
The median bill is $2,571 (Maryland: $4,093), 0.68% of a home’s value a year, against 0.97% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Ocean Pines
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: Maryland, or Maryland. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity cents per kWh, homes | 21.4¢ | U.S. 18.3¢ | state | EIA, July 2026 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Ocean Pines vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Ocean Pines. West Ocean City has no Zillow value, so it is in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean Pines | C− | — | $380K | 0.68% | $1,410 |
| West Ocean City | C− | — | $424K | 0.64% | $1,240 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures.
Questions about the cost of living in Ocean Pines
Is Ocean Pines expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Ocean Pines costs more than 79% of U.S. towns: a C− for cost of living, #191 of 260 in Maryland. The typical home costs 4.6 years of the median household income of the Ocean Pines, MD micro area ($82K).
How much is rent in Ocean Pines?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,410 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $2,069 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Ocean Pines?
The median bill is $2,571 a year, 0.68% of the median home value (Maryland: $4,093, 0.97%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Ocean Pines buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.