Bolthole Index county-legal census · checked 2026-10-06
1 of Maryland's 24 counties — 4% — have no county-wide zoning. That is the 39th-largest count of any state. The strongest of them on the Bolthole Index is Garrett County (80/100). Every entry below cites the county’s own official source.
Rules change, and cities inside these counties set their own — treat this as a verified starting point, not legal advice. All 1042 counties nationwide → Maryland: owner-builder → Maryland: tiny homes → Maryland: no minimum home size → Full Maryland profile →
From the Maryland guide
Garrett County is Maryland's only listed county without countywide zoning, and Garrett County still requires residential building permits.3 Maryland has 23 entries with county zoning and 0 with neither a residential building permit requirement nor countywide zoning.910 Start with the Maryland no-zoning guide for that countywide distinction.3
Maryland places planning and zoning controls with local government, and the Department of Planning's generalized zoning map is not a substitute for a parcel's county or municipal ordinance.1516 We could not confirm statewide numeric minimum lot sizes, setbacks or minimum dwelling sizes; ask the parcel's planning office for the applicable district standards. Countywide zoning status alone does not answer those questions.16
From the Maryland guide, written from the cited official sources and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: confirm with the office before you buy or build.
1 of 24 Maryland counties · sorted by Index score
Countywide zoning administered by Garrett County, Maryland. Zoning exists within the municipal boundaries of six towns and within the Deep Creek Watershed. Outside those areas, …
Zoning | Garrett County Government ↗Every county here has a full profile — water, land prices, hazard safety, seclusion, and the rest of its building rules. See the Maryland state page for all 24 counties ranked, or go back to the national list.
Off-grid gear
Building on land in one of these Maryland counties? The kit we'd start with:
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General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.
