Bowie, MD — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Maryland·Bowie

Prince George's County · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria · population 58,421

Bowie, MD
Image: Wikipedia · Bowie, Maryland
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
60
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Bowie stands

At or near all-time high.

Median home $527,321
1-year -0.2%
5-yr CAGR +2.8%
vs 5-yr peak -0.2%
Population +0.0%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2025-04$527k$320k$397k$473k$549k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
40/100
Car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
22/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
76/100
Strong remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$2,439/mo$1,761$2,187$2,613202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent115130100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 18.0
Lean buy

At a 18.0 price-to-rent ratio, Bowie is in the 'depends on horizon' zone. Buy if you'll be there 5+ years and value flexibility on the home; rent if you might move, want zero maintenance friction, or expect rates to drop.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
49 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
52 · w22%
Distance from peak
89 · w18%
Population growth
46 · w16%
Rent YoY
69 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
57 · w10%
Long thesis

Bowie has held up across the cycle: home values at $527,321 with +2.8% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Bowie's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Bowie

Bowie is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, with an estimated population of 58,421. It anchors the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area. The median home value in Bowie is $527,321 as of 2026-04, down 0.2% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +2.8% annual growth, with prices at or near the 5-year peak. Rents in Bowie average $2,439 per month, up 3.6% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 60 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Held the highs: currently -0.2% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.
○The data is the data: Bowie has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Bowie (Wikipedia)

Bowie is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, U.S. Per the 2020 census, the population was 58,329. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County; it is also the fifth most populous city and third largest city by area in the U.S. state of Maryland. The city is home to Bowie State University, Maryland's oldest historically Black university.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorMichael Estève
Area20.55 sq mi
Elevation154 ft
Established1882
Motto"Growth, Unity and Progress"
Density2853.25/sq mi

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Prince George's County right now.

NWS active alerts (MD)Maryland Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Prince George's County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Bowie

Laurel, MD59 · StableCollege Park, MD59 · StableRockville, MD55 · StableTakoma Park, MD56 · Stable

Run the numbers for Bowie

ToolCan I afford Bowie?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Bowie rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Bowie to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolBowie cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
42° / 25°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
87° / 68°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
203
~56% of year
Annual precip
44″ rain
18″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Moderate
Tornado
Low
Wildfire
Very low
Earthquake
Very low
Flood
Moderate

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Bowie listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
68%
Moderate climate
Median household income
$98,500
Maryland state median
Top industries (state-level)
Government/DefenseBiotechHealthcare

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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