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County profile Maryland Metropolitan HRSA MUA/P

Black health in Baltimore City, Maryland

353,000

Black residents (ACS)

61.94%

Of county population

$39,500

Median household income, Black

7.80%

Uninsured, Black residents

Baltimore City is a ~62% Black independent city of about 353,000 Black residents. It has among the steepest intra-city life-expectancy gradients in the United States: residents of Roland Park (majority-white, northern Baltimore) live to roughly 84, while residents of Sandtown-Winchester (where Freddie Gray lived and died) reach the mid 60s. The Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute, Baltimore City Health Department, and B'more for Healthy Babies publish community-level health gradients annually.

Johns Hopkins Hospital, the University of Maryland Medical Center, Mercy Medical Center, and Sinai Hospital anchor the city's clinical care. The city's Healthy Start Initiative is one of the oldest federally-funded Black maternal-infant health programs in the country.

Headline outcomes

Race-stratified county-level figures pulled from CDC WONDER small-area estimates, the annual County Health Rankings, and the CDC NVSS state/county life tables. County values with cell counts below CDC suppression thresholds are marked as data pending.

Life expectancy (Black)

69.80 yrs

At birth, CDC NVSS Small-Area LE

Infant mortality (Black)

13.40

Per 1,000 live births, CDC WONDER

CVD mortality (Black)

398.10

Age-adjusted per 100k, CDC WONDER I00-I99

County Health Rankings

#24

Overall rank in Maryland (lower = better)

HRSA Medically Underserved Area / Population HPSA: Primary Care HPSA: Mental Health

Policy context in Baltimore City

Maryland has adopted Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, which gives low-income Black adults in this county a direct pathway to primary-care and prescription coverage. Medicaid in this state covers doula services. Postpartum Medicaid coverage extends for 12 months after delivery — the federal recommended standard, in place here.

Where to get help in Baltimore City

Find Black health providers & resources in Baltimore City

Black clinicians in Baltimore City

Directory filtered to this county & state

Federally Qualified Health Centers

Sliding-scale FQHCs across Maryland

Crisis & support resources

988, postpartum helplines, Black-serving crisis lines

Maryland state profile

Statewide context, Medicaid policy, all 10 health facets

References & primary sources

  1. Demographics: US Census ACS 5-year 2019–2023, Tables B03002 (race), B01003 (total population), S1903 (median income), B27010B (uninsured by race).
  2. Mortality and life expectancy: CDC WONDER county-level Multiple Cause of Death and Underlying Cause of Death, pooled 2020–2022; CDC NVSS Small-Area Life Expectancy Estimates, 2016–2020 release.
  3. County Health Rankings: University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute & Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2024 release.
  4. HRSA shortage-area designations: HRSA HPSA Find and MUA/P Find, current as of 2025.
  5. Rural-Urban Continuum Codes: USDA Economic Research Service, 2023 release.

Data refreshed:

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