renamed the neighborhood Hamilton Hills, the name by which it is known today. Hamilton, and Hamilton Hills by association, has been awarded in recent years for its desirability. In 2014, The Baltimore Sun ranked Hamilton 3rd in its top ten up-and-coming places to live in the Baltimore region. In 2019, the real estate website Redfin ranked Hamilton 4th in its top ten hottest affordable neighborhoods in the United States. Geography Hamilton Hills' borders have changed over time and, like many urban neighborhoods, have not always been clearly defined. The current borders are Old Harford Road and Harford Road to the east, Echodale Avenue to the south, Perring Parkway to the west and the Baltimore County line to the north. Some city agencies and local research organizations continue to include Hamilton Hills in their data for Harford-Echodale-Perring-Parkway (HEPP), a neighborhood cluster that includes Hamilton Hills and the neighborhoods of North Harford Road, Overlea, Taylor Heights, and the section of Westfield west of Harford Road. The terrain in Hamilton Hills includes gently rolling hills that are characteristic of the Piedmont, a plateau region of the Eastern United States. Hamilton Hills' elevation ranges from above sea level at Herring Run near Echodale Avenue to near the intersection of Old Harford Road and Moore Avenue. Soils in the neighborhood are generally clay-like and moderately fertile. Hamilton Hills has a total area of . Data published in 2020 showed that it was the 8th largest of Baltimore's neighborhoods by total area. Most of Hamilton Hills is land, though a thin section of Herring Run, which flows just outside of the neighborhood's western border, passes through the southwest corner. As of 2017, the total land area in HEPP covered by tree canopy was 29.6%, ranking 19th out of 55 neighborhood clusters in Baltimore. Neighborhoods that are adjacent to Hamilton Hills include the community formerly known as Glenham-Belhar, Lauraville, Loch Raven, North Harford Road, Waltherson, and Westfield. Parkville is another community north of Hamilton Hills across the Baltimore County line. The campus of Morgan State University, which lies southwest of the neighborhood, can also be seen from some of the neighborhood's hills. Demographics According to data from the United States Census, Hamilton Hills' population has remained relatively steady in the 21st century. In 2000, Hamilton Hills (then known as HEPP) had an estimated 9,679 residents. By 2020, Hamilton Hills had an estimated 9,649 residents. Data published in