![[photo, Tugboat, Curtis Bay, Baltimore, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/36loc/bcity/images/i005619b.jpg)
Employers |
Employment |
Income |
Jobs |
Manufacturing |
Trade |
Workforce |
Maryland's economy continues to outperform the country as a whole. Information technology, telecommunications, and aerospace and defense are leading forces behind Maryland's economic growth. In the biotechnology area, Maryland is a noted leader and is at the center in the mapping of the human genome and commercial applications that result from its research. In addition, Maryland's economy continually exhibits positive job growth, boasting a predicted ten-year growth rate of over 9 percent.
Maryland's investment in education should prepare the State for growth in sectors requiring highly educated workers. In the nation, Maryland ranks second in the percentage of professional and technical workers and is poised to gain both defense and nondefense contracts for medical research, aircraft development, and security.
In 2006, Maryland once again retained its AAA bond rating. It is one of only seven states to achieve this highest award.
![[photo, Grain silos, Wye Mills (Queen Anne's County), Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/36loc/qa/images/1198-1-2431.jpg)
Agriculture plays a vital role in Maryland's highly diversified economy. Of Maryland's over 6 million acres of total land area, more than 2 million acres are home to farms. In 2004, Maryland's total farm production revenue exceeded $1.74 billion.
In addition to agriculture, Maryland's commercial fishing activities in the Chesapeake Bay add a unique feature to its diverse economy. The harvesting of blue crabs, clams, and oysters are essential in the economic contribution of the Chesapeake Bay. In 2004, the catch of Maryland's fisheries was valued at $49 million.
Grain silos, Wye Mills (Queen Anne's County), Maryland, September 2007. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
Innovations in Maryland's economy are bolstered by research parks which facilitate joint research among universities, State and federal government institutions, and private industry. These parks include: The Johns Hopkins Bayview Campus (life sciences research) in Baltimore; and Shady Grove Life Sciences Center (biomedical & life sciences research) in Montgomery County, which holds the Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology, part of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute. Other members of the Institute are the , the Center for Biosystems Research, the Center of Marine Biotechnology, the Medical Biotechnology Center, and the Institute of Human Virology. Also significant are the Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, both affiliated with The Johns Hopkins University. The University of Maryland Baltimore County Research Park and Technology Center (life sciences & high technology research) on the Catonsville campus opened in 1996 to support high technology business development. In addition, the University of Maryland Baltimore County is leading a consortium of universities and private sector companies to develop the Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center. Center faculty and staff collaborate with Goddard scientists in studying the earth's surface, atmosphere, and oceans.
![[photo, World Trade Center (a pentagonal building), 401 East Pratt St., Baltimore, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/36loc/bcity/images/1198-1-2606.jpg)
Located on the Eastern seaboard, Maryland is in an ideal location for trade. Accessible through the Chesapeake Bay and the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, the Port of Baltimore is the closest East Coast port to the Midwest. It is one of only two Eastern U.S. ports where the main shipping channel reaches a depth of 50 feet. The Port also links to several major interstate highways. Cargo leaving the Port of Baltimore by truck is within an overnight drive of two-thirds of America's population.
Maryland borders the District of Columbia (the nation's capital), and is within hours by land of New York, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Approximately 90% of the State's population (5,602,250 est. in 2005) resides within the densly populated corridor between Baltimore and Washington, DC. The corridor is a part of the Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia Combined Statistical Area, the fourth most populated such area in the nation.
World Trade Center (a pentagonal building), 401 East Pratt St., Baltimore, Maryland, February 2008. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
Four foreign trade zones (federally mandated, duty-free sites) are found in Maryland. They are located at the Collington Business Center near Bowie in Prince George's County (#63); near BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport (#73); and Baltimore Harbor (#74); and seven sites in Washington County (#255). Maryland also has 28 State Enterprise Zones, and a Federal Empowerment Zone. All zones offer economic or tax incentives for businesses.
Transportation Infrastructure. Maryland's transportation infrastructure wisely uses the State's location to support trade. Indeed, the Port of Baltimore, the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, two primary class I rail carriers (CSX Transportation & Norfolk Southern), and several arterial interstate highways facilitate commerce. In both interstate and freeway miles, Maryland's highly developed transportation infrastructure is ranked sixth nationally.
Major employers in 2006 included Giant Food Stores of Maryland, Helix Health System, Inc., Home Depot USA, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, The Johns Hopkins University, Macy's, Northrop Grumman Corp., Safeway, United Parcel Service, and Wal-Mart Associates.
Nationally, Maryland ranks 5th in concentration of technology jobs, which employ 79 of every 1,000 private sector workers. The average wage for employees in this sector is $77,000, or 80% more than the average private sector wage.
In 2005, Maryland was ranked the 12th largest cyberstate employing 162,300 tech workers with a total payroll of $12.5 billion. State and local revenues of approximately $629 million were generated by 9,600 high-tech companies located in Maryland.
As of April 2007, Maryland's unemployment rate remained at a low 3.6%, well below the national average. Over the past year professional and business service employers have added 8,200 jobs, and leisure and hospitality employers created 6,700 more jobs.
EMPLOYERS
In 2006, more than 158,000 businesses employed over two million workers with an annual payroll of $88 billion. In the manufacturing sector, nineteen of twenty industrial categories are represented with corporate headquarters of well-known businesses, such as Black & Decker, McCormick, and Lockheed Martin located in Maryland. Financial services is a growing sector in the Maryland economy. Brokerage firms, insurers, and other financial companies maintain their home operations or a significant presence in the State.
JOBS
In 2007, Maryland ranked fourth in the nation in the fields of technology and science (Milken Institute index).
ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD MEDIAN INCOME* |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 2000 (est.) | 2001 (est.) | 2002 (est.) | 2003 (est.) | 2004 (est.) | 2005 (est.) | ||
| Maryland | $52,868 | $52,447 | $53,756 | $55,650 | $57,218 | $57,424 | $61,592** | |
* A median average is a "middle" number below and above which there are an equal number of values.
**33% above the national median.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
PERSONAL INCOME (per capita)> | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 (est.) | 2001 (est.) | 2002 (est.) | 2003 (est.) | 2004 (est.) | 2005 (est.) | 2006 (est.*) | ||
| Maryland | $34,256 | $35,625 | $36,539 | $37,361 | $39,725 | $41,972 | $44,077 | |
| U.S. | $29,843 | $30,562 | $30,795 | $31,466 | $33,090 | $34,471 | $36,276 | |
| 1992 (est.) | 1993 (est.) | 1994 (est.) | 1995 (est.) | 1996 (est.) | 1997 (est.) | 1998 (est.) | 1999 (est.) | |
| Maryland | $24,139 | $24,720 | $25,587 | $26,393 | $27,393 | $28,666 | $30,317 | $31,796 |
| U.S. | $20,854 | $21,346 | $22,172 | $23,076 | $24,175 | $25,334 | $26,883 | $27,939 |
* Preliminary estimate.
PERSONAL INCOME (per capita) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 (est.) | 2002 (est.) | 2003 (est.) | 2004 (est.) | 2005 (est.) | |
| Maryland | $35,625 | $36,539 | $37,361 | $39,725 | $41,972 |
| Allegany County | $22,199 | $22,703 | $23,034 | $24,127 | $25,728 |
| Anne Arundel County | $36,747 | $39,273 | $40,324 | $42,723 | $45,648 |
| Baltimore City | $26,702 | $26,629 | $27,615 | $29,153 | $31,607 |
| Baltimore County | $36,442 | $38,159 | $39,749 | $41,852 | $44,375 |
| Calvert County | $31,563 | $32,732 | $33,796 | $35,684 | $37,323 |
| Caroline County | $20,962 | $22,502 | $23,738 | $25,264 | $26,409 |
| Carroll County | $33,501 | $34,117 | $34,592 | $36,318 | $36,874 |
| Cecil County | $27,323 | $29,078 | $30,104 | $31,759 | $33,214 |
| Charles County | $30,300 | $32,254 | $33,409 | $35,417 | $36,537 |
| Dorchester County | $23,405 | $24,725 | $25,864 | $27,290 | $29,221 |
| Frederick County | $33,423 | $34,478 | $35,201 | $37,632 | $39,587 |
| Garrett County | $20,879 | $23,686 | $24,318 | $25,692 | $27,843 |
| Harford County | $30,970 | $33,249 | $34,927 | $36,772 | $38,595 |
| Howard County | $43,191 | $45,464 | $46,475 | $49,186 | $52,580 |
| Kent County | $31,587 | $32,730 | $33,234 | $35,752 | $39,389 |
| Montgomery County | $50,919 | $51,750 | $53,260 | $56,662 | $59,953 |
| Prince George's County | $31,037 | $30,489 | $31,429 | $33,461 | $34,912 |
| Queen Anne's County | $33,635 | $35,172 | $36,114 | $38,116 | $40,262 |
| St. Mary's County | $32,481 | $30,658 | $31,511 | $33,004 | $34,004 |
| Somerset County | $18,641 | $19,594 | $20,358 | $21,741 | $23,125 |
| Talbot County | $39,675 | $42,497 | $43,947 | $46,144 | $50,872 |
| Washington County | $25,404 | $27,052 | $27,416 | $28,839 | $31,015 |
| Wicomico County | $25,229 | $25,708 | $26,371 | $27,985 | $30,092 |
| Worcester County | $27,335 | $29,637 | $30,174 | $32,016 | $35,016 |
PERSONAL INCOME (per capita) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 (est.) | 1998 (est.) | 1999 (est.) | 2000 (est.) | |
| Maryland | $29,112 | $30,557 | $32,517 | $34,060 |
| Allegany County | $19,742 | $20,429 | $21,453 | $21,224 |
| Anne Arundel County | $29,559 | $30,827 | $32,607 | $34,987 |
| Baltimore City | $23,501 | $24,750 | $26,665 | $26,430 |
| Baltimore County | $31,033 | $32,269 | $34,236 | $35,169 |
| Calvert County | $26,255 | $27,063 | $28,888 | $30,268 |
| Caroline County | $17,387 | $18,375 | $19,431 | $20,432 |
| Carroll County | $26,075 | $27,389 | $28,888 | $32,086 |
| Cecil County | $22,968 | $24,646 | $25,333 | $26,002 |
| Charles County | $25,613 | $26,725 | $27,701 | $29,574 |
| Dorchester County | $19,667 | $20,766 | $21,916 | $22,532 |
| Frederick County | $27,181 | $30,021 | $32,174 | $32,134 |
| Garrett County | $17,791 | $18,293 | $19,360 | $20,403 |
| Harford County | $25,372 | $26,613 | $27,907 | $29,690 |
| Howard County | $34,859 | $36,294 | $38,212 | $41,474 |
| Kent County | $24,888 | $26,128 | $28,165 | $30,336 |
| Montgomery County | $40,388 | $42,393 | $45,595 | $49,107 |
| Prince George's County | $26,815 | $27,996 | $29,547 | $30,340 |
| Queen Anne's County | $26,386 | $26,878 | $29,952 | $32,513 |
| St. Mary's County | $25,096 | $27,354 | $28,263 | $31,061 |
| Somerset County | $15,063 | $16,006 | $17,360 | $18,077 |
| Talbot County | $30,952 | $32,754 | $35,359 | $37,809 |
| Washington County | $22,141 | $23,282 | $24,162 | $24,655 |
| Wicomico County | $22,033 | $22,929 | $24,227 | $23,988 |
| Worcester County | $24,298 | $25,109 | $26,471 | $26,266 |
Sources for this data and additional information about Maryland's economy are available from the Department of Business and Economic Development, and the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation. Socio-economic data about Maryland may be found through the Research and State Data Center, Department of Planning. Regional economic data may be found at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Information about Smart Growth, Maryland's plan to revitalize older developed areas and discourage sprawling development into the state's rural areas, is accessible through the Office of Smart Growth, and the Department of Planning.