Education, crime, affordability: Why Black residents continue to leave Baltimore

Christian Lynch loves Baltimore. He regularly attends concerts, dines at restaurants and hangs out with friends in Charm City.

But he and his wife moved to Owings Mills last year, where they found a more reasonably priced house and a quieter and calmer place for their reactive dog who “was triggered by everything” living in the city.

Lynch is one of many Black residents who left Baltimore in 2023. The city’s non-Hispanic Black population fell by 11,600 in 2023, according to the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey, though it is unclear how many moved away and how many died. The overall population in Baltimore dropped by nearly 5,000 residents, even as the number of households kept going up. Baltimore now has a population of 565,239, with 247,232 households.

The loss also continues a trend in the city, which for a decade has lost more Black than white residents, with the city’s population falling by about 57,000 non-Hispanic Black residents between 2010 and 2020, according to a Baltimore Banner analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

Former Baltimore residents say they’ve moved elsewhere for many reasons. And while worries about crime remain common, they’re not the primary concern. Affordability, high property taxes, a desire to have more living space and better schools top their lists.

Almost all said they still love Baltimore. Many have close friends and family there that they regularly visit. And they continue to frequent the city for restaurants, concerts and other events.

“The Black people I know go back to the city. It’s not like they are leaving and staying away,” Lynch said.

Mayor Brandon Scott said in an email that the loss of Black population is a “top concern.” Reversing the trend requires everything from strengthening economic development, improving access to homeownership, bolstering cultural institutions, and building opportunity in the city, he said.

“We want to do it in a way that honors Baltimoreans who have always lived here, that encourages potential new residents to discover what makes Baltimore special, and that responsibly addresses Baltimore’s challenges and makes us competitive with our neighboring counties,” he said. “We’re seeing a lot of success in that space and believe that over time, the trends we’ve seen for decades will begin to reverse.”

Tershea Rice, chief operations officer for the Greater Baltimore Urban League, said the census findings are a “huge concern” for her organization, which turns 100 this year.

“It’s altering the city’s demographics. It affects the city’s economy and the political landscape,” she said. “Communities no longer look the same as they did before.”

Rice hopes the things causing people to leave — crime, safety, education and employment — can be changed by the city, state, nonprofits and big companies.

“We can all do our part in changing that so that we can keep residents here and make people who were born here — like myself — come back,” she said.

For years, Adam Rouse and his wife enjoyed living in Fells Point above a Mediterranean restaurant and next door to an all-night burger joint. They were also minutes from his favorite restaurant, Clavel Mezcaleria.

“We’re city people,” Rouse said. “We thought we were going to stay in the city.”

But with a second baby on the way, Rouse knew his family was outgrowing living their life near the waterfront.

“Friday nights at 1 in the morning was fine when we had [our] first baby,” he said. “But when we had the second, we were like, we need to have some peace and quiet.”

Trying to find a home amid a housing shortage during the pandemic proved difficult. Rouse originally wanted to move to Howard County for the schools. That mission was unsuccessful because of cost.

“Trying to get in there was trading at a premium,” Rouse said.

Eventually, his family was able to find a home in Baltimore County that “checked a lot of the boxes.” For one, Rouse said he pays less than half the property taxes he’d pay for asimilarly priced home in the city.

“We live a few miles from the city line,” Rouse said. “The tax situation would be entirely different.”

Cost was the main reason Lynch left the city.

“A lot of people have been priced out of the city,” he said, adding that he currently lives in a 1,100-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment for $2,070 a month. In the city, in neighborhoods where he wanted to live like Canton, a 500-square-foot apartment costs $2,000.

But the trade-off is there are fewer cultural activities in the county, Lynch said.

“I think there is more a sense of a community living in the city,” he said. “In Owings Mills, which is more isolated, it is quieter. But there are less community events.”

When Baltimore native Nazirah Muhammad decided to move, it was because she wanted safety for herself and family, more green space and a “slower pace.”

“Not having those things really impacted my decision in moving away,” she said. “Also, with the increase in delinquent/youth crimes, I just wanted what I felt was better for my family.”

In Randallstown, where she has lived since 2021 with her husband and three kids, Muhammad has a “huge” backyard and “decent” front yard. Not necessarily a white picket fence, but close to it, she says.

“I miss the proximity to my maternal side. They all pretty much live in Baltimore City,” she said. “I don’t miss that lingering fear of ‘could something happen to myself or family members.’ I don’t want to say it’s a lost cause.”

Muhammad is also worried about the decrease in Black people living in Baltimore — and their impact on the city.

The city has historically grown Black-owned small businesses and entrepreneurs — from the time the city’s free Black population was credited as being the nation’s first caterers to contemporary success with brands like Oyin Handmade and Slutty Vegan.

“There are a lot of great small Black businesses,” the 35-year-old proposal manager said. “Having that hub is really influential in the city. It’s great for the Black youth in the city to see those businesses thrive.”

Data reporter Ramsey Archibald contributed to this story.