2026 Competitiveness Index

2026

Competitiveness Index KEY INDICATORS OF MARYLAND’S BUSINESS CLIMATE

Presented by

2026 Competitiveness Index COLOR The Maryland Chamber of Commerce, representing over 7,000 members, serves as the leading advocate for business in our state. Through collaborative partnerships with businesses, policymakers and stakeholders, we work to shape strong public policies that drive economic growth to benefit people, businesses and communities.

Our 2026 Index, now in color, is published with support from the following organizations: Presenting Sponsor

Touchstone Sponsors • T. Rowe Price • WesBanco Advocate Sponsors • Giant Food • Johns Hopkins University • McCormick & Company • Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce • Verizon • W. L. Gore & Associates Supporting Sponsors • Carroll County Chamber of Commerce • Maryland Tourism Coalition • Ocean City, Maryland Chamber of Commerce • The Terminal Corporation Learn more at mdchamber.org/competitiveness.

Our Mission The mission of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce is to advance inclusive partnerships for a Maryland where all businesses and their communities thrive.

Forward

Powering Maryland’s Economic Competitiveness As presenting sponsor of the 2026 Competitiveness Index, Comcast is proud to support Maryland’s business community and the Maryland Chamber’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the state’s economic foundation.

A thriving economy requires collaboration, innovation and informed decision-making. The Competitiveness Index provides a clear, data-driven look at the factors shaping Maryland’s ability to compete — from workforce and job growth to affordability, infrastructure and the cost of doing business. These insights help business leaders, policymakers and stakeholders understand where Maryland stands today and where action is needed to support long-term growth and opportunity.

Comcast is a strong economic partner in Maryland — including investing more than $900 million in our fiber rich network across the state over the past three years and connecting thousands of businesses to our advanced connectivity services.

Comcast is committed to connecting people, ideas and businesses throughout Maryland, and we are proud to partner with the Maryland Chamber to highlight the trends and challenges shaping the state’s economic future.

Comcast Maryland Team

At a Glance

Key Trends to Watch in the 2026 Competitiveness Index Maryland has incredible strengths — world-class talent, innovative industries and a strategic location at the center of the Mid-Atlantic economy. Yet even with these advantages, Maryland is competing head-to-head with other states for jobs, people and business investment — and the stakes are high.

That’s why the Maryland Chamber created the Competitiveness Index: a clear, data-driven snapshot of how our state compares across the nation on the metrics that matter most to employers and working families. The Index is built on neutral data from trusted sources, so decision-makers can focus on facts — not assumptions.

Now entering its fourth year, the Index helps us track trends over time — highlighting where Maryland is gaining ground, where we’re falling behind, and where we see the biggest opportunities to strengthen affordability, economic growth, and long-term competitiveness.

At the heart of this work is a simple reality: Maryland’s businesses are essential to the state’s future. They create jobs, support families, strengthen communities, and fuel the resources that fund public priorities. The question is not whether Maryland should compete — it’s whether we will take the steps needed to ensure employers and talent continue choosing Maryland.

Our goal is straightforward: focus on what’s working, flag the trends we can’t ignore, and advance practical, growthoriented policies that make Maryland a place where businesses and people can stay, grow, and invest.

If we build on our strengths and stay focused on the fundamentals, Maryland can be a state where employers expand with confidence, families can afford to put down roots, and opportunity continues to grow.

Mary D. Kane President & CEO, Maryland Chamber of Commerce

How to Use the Index Our Competitiveness Index translates complex economic data into clear signals for action — helping leaders strengthen growth, affordability and long-term competitiveness in a fast-changing national economy.

Each table is designed to be a fast, practical snapshot: What the metric measures: Why it matters for Maryland’s competitiveness, business growth and affordability.

Maryland’s result and rank: How Maryland compares nationally. In most cases, a lower rank reflects stronger competitiveness. For metrics that track costs or burdens, higher ranks may signal higher costs — making context critical when interpreting results.

Trend signal (our direction of travel): A quick indicator of whether Maryland is improving, holding steady, or moving in the wrong direction. Modest signals indicate directional change that is real, but limited in scale or offset by additional factors.

Improved / Modest Improvement — Maryland moved in a better direction compared to last year

Mixed Results — progress in one measure, but challenges remain in another

Declined / Modest Decline — Maryland moved in a worse direction, or cost pressures increased

No Change — limited change year-over-year

No New Data / Information Only — data not updated this cycle (or new table establishing a starting point)

What this means for Maryland (or why it matters): A plainlanguage takeaway you can share with business leaders, policymakers and partners.

How to read our analysis: Our analysis combines neutral data from trusted sources with informed judgment about what matters most for long-term competitiveness. In some cases, that means weighing mixed signals, prioritizing

trends over single-year results, or focusing on real-world implications rather than rankings alone. You may not agree with every takeaway — and that’s part of the purpose. The data is neutral; our role is to interpret what it suggests for Maryland and present it in practical terms leaders can use.

Introduction

Charting Maryland’s Future: A Call to Action for Growth Maryland continues to show real strengths — but the data also points to several areas where the state is under pressure in the national competition for talent, jobs, and investment. This year’s Index highlights a few clear themes: •

Population growth is back, but momentum is still fragile.

International migration is helping offset losses, yet Maryland ranks 45th for domestic migration — one of the worst outmigration trends in the country — which matters for our workforce, tax base and long-term economic growth.

•

Job growth remains very low. Maryland added jobs this year, but job growth ranked 37th nationally, a sign we’re not keeping pace with competitor states in attracting business expansion and new opportunities.

•

Business formation is improving, but survival and scale remain the challenge. New business openings are moving in the right direction, but they are only narrowly outpacing closures — and Maryland still needs stronger conditions for businesses to grow, stay and create jobs here.

•

Maryland’s economy is growing, but long-term momentum matters. GDP continues to rise, but the bigger question is whether Maryland is growing fast enough to strengthen our fiscal outlook and keep pace with neighbors.

(Continued on reverse)

•

Cost pressures remain a consistent challenge. Taxes, energy costs and housing affordability continue to shape whether employers can grow here — and whether families can afford to stay in the state.

•

Housing affordability is worsening across major metro regions. Home prices are outpacing incomes, and limited supply — driven by long timelines, high costs and regulatory barriers — makes it harder for workers to live near jobs.

•

Infrastructure and mobility can’t be ignored — and require strategy and sustainable funding. Long commute times and low roadway investment remain real constraints, and Maryland’s long-term success depends on reliable connections that help workers reach jobs, businesses reach customers and families choose to live and work here.

•

Maryland’s talent and innovation strengths remain a major advantage. Educational attainment and R&D performance continue to stand out nationally — and the opportunity is making sure more of that talent stays here, builds careers here and drives business growth here.

NOTES

Contents State Populations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Age Group by Percentage of Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Net Migration by State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Non-Agricultural Employment Growth (1 yr.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Non-Agricultural Employment Growth (10 yr.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Per Capita Personal Income by State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Gross Domestic Product by State in Current Dollars . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Exports Per Capita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Opening and Closing Rates of Establishments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Census Estimates of State and Local Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Taxes Paid by Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Motor Fuel Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 CNBC Top States for Business Rankings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 A/B Effective Property Tax Rate on a Primary Residence in the State’s Largest City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Effective Property Tax Rate on a Commercial Property in the State’s Largest City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Effective Property Tax Rate on an Industrial Property in the State’s Largest City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 State and Local Government Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 State and Local Government Average Annual Pay . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 State of the Tech Workforce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Wages and Productivity of Production Workers in Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Annual Average Investment Per Employee in Manufacturing . . . . . 21 Union Members as a Share of Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Union Membership – Public vs. Private . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Unemployment Insurance Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Regular Unemployment Insurance Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Workers’ Compensation – Benefits Paid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 State Minimum Wage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Economic, Fiscal, and Regulatory Freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Tort Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Venture Capital Investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Overall R&D Spending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 R&D Per Capita by Performing Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Science, Engineering and Health Doctorates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Educational Attainment of Population 25 and Older . . . . . . . . . . 34 Higher Education Total Fall Enrollment as Percentage of Population: Public vs. Private . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Fall Enrollment as Percentage of Population: Public . . . . . . . . . . 36 Fall Enrollment as Percentage of Population: Private . . . . . . . . . . 37 Fall Enrollment in Private For-Profit and Non-Profit Colleges . . . . . . 38 Import/Export Ratio of College-Bound High School Graduates . . . . . 39 National Assessment of Educational Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Estimated Public School Spending Per Pupil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Partisan Composition of State Governments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Average Retail Price Per KwH for Industrial Customers . . . . . . . . . 43 Average Retail Price Per KwH for Commercial Customers . . . . . . . 44 Average Retail Price Per KwH for Residential Customers . . . . . . . . 45 Generation of Energy Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 A/B Metropolitan Commuting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 A/B Percentage of Workers Who Worked From Home . . . . . . . . . 48 A/B Airport On-Time Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

49

State Expenditures on Roadways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Health Care Expenditures Per Capita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Percentage Without Health Insurance by State by Age . . . . . . . . 52 Percent of Privately Insured Persons with Employment-Based Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 State and Local Government Health and Hospital Spending . . . . . 54 Occupational Injury and Illness Incidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Housing Price Appreciation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Home Ownership Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Metropolitan Median House Price to Median Income Ratio . . . . . . 58 Tax Foundation State Tax Competitiveness Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Improved

TABLE 1

State Populations (July 1, 2024) Change (July 1, 2023 – July 1, 2024)

Rank 1 California 2 Texas 3 Florida 4 New York 5 Pennsylvania 6 Illinois 7 Ohio 8 Georgia 9 North Carolina 10 Michigan 11 New Jersey 12 Virginia 13 Washington 14 Arizona 15 Tennessee 16 Massachusetts 17 Indiana 18 Maryland 19 Missouri 20 Wisconsin 21 Colorado 22 Minnesota 23 South Carolina 24 Alabama 25 Louisiana 26 Kentucky 27 Oregon 28 Oklahoma 29 Connecticut 30 Utah 31 Nevada 32 Iowa 33 Arkansas 34 Kansas 35 Mississippi 36 New Mexico 37 Nebraska 38 Idaho 39 West Virginia 40 Hawaii 41 New Hampshire 42 Maine 43 Montana 44 Rhode Island 45 Delaware 46 South Dakota 47 North Dakota 48 Alaska 49 Vermont 50 Wyoming Dist. of Columbia United States

Population Pop. Change 39,431,263 232,570 31,290,831 562,941 23,372,215 467,347 19,867,248 129,881 13,078,751 61,030 12,710,158 67,899 11,883,304 59,270 11,180,878 116,446 11,046,024 164,835 10,140,459 57,103 9,500,851 121,209 8,811,195 76,510 7,958,180 100,860 7,582,384 109,357 7,227,750 79,446 7,136,171 69,603 6,924,275 44,144 6,263,220 46,158 6,245,466 37,428 5,960,975 30,570 5,957,493 56,154 5,793,151 40,103 5,478,831 91,001 5,157,699 40,026 4,597,740 9,669 4,588,372 37,777 4,272,371 18,718 4,095,393 31,511 3,675,069 32,046 3,503,613 60,391 3,267,467 53,104 3,241,488 23,074 3,088,354 18,891 2,970,606 19,106 2,943,045 -127 2,130,256 9,092 2,005,465 17,601 2,001,619 30,497 1,769,979 -516 1,446,146 4,759 1,409,032 6,833 1,405,012 5,366 1,137,233 5,931 1,112,308 8,879 1,051,917 15,494 924,669 6,364 796,568 7,521 740,133 3,623 648,493 -215 587,618 2,551 702,250 14,926 340,110,988 3,304,757

Rank % 3 0.59% 1 1.83% 2 2.04% 5 0.66% 15 0.47% 14 0.54% 17 0.50% 7 1.05% 4 1.51% 18 0.57% 6 1.29% 12 0.88% 9 1.28% 8 1.46% 11 1.11% 13 0.98% 22 0.64% 21 0.74% 26 0.60% 29 0.52% 19 0.95% 23 0.70% 10 1.69% 24 0.78% 37 0.21% 25 0.83% 34 0.44% 28 0.78% 27 0.88% 16 1.75% 20 1.65% 31 0.72% 33 0.62% 32 0.65% 48 0.00% 38 0.43% 35 0.89% 30 1.55% 50 -0.03% 45 0.33% 41 0.49% 44 0.38% 43 0.52% 39 0.80% 36 1.49% 42 0.69% 40 0.95% 46 0.49% 49 -0.03% 47 0.44% 2.17% 0.98%

Rank 33 2 1 28 41 35 38 13 7 34 10 19 11 9 12 14 30 24 32 37 16 26 4 22 47 20 42 23 18 3 5 25 31 29 48 44 17 6 49 46 40 45 36 21 8 27 15 39 50 43

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland’s population increased this year, which is a sign of modest progress for our workforce and long-term growth. But because growth is still under 1% (and under 50,000 residents), the momentum remains fragile — and the drivers of growth matter for long-term competitiveness.

Age Group by Percentage of Population (2024)

Maryland continues to benefit from a strong share of residents in prime working years — an important advantage for employers. The slight shift is a reminder that competitiveness depends on keeping Maryland attractive for working families through opportunity, affordability and job growth.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR MARYLAND

Modest decline

%<18 %18–24 %25–44 %45–64 %>64 20.4% 9.2% 30.6% 23.4% 16.4% 20.8% 8.5% 30.0% 23.4% 17.3% 21.1% 8.0% 28.6% 24.7% 17.6% 21.3% 9.3% 28.7% 24.2% 16.5% 23.6% 9.1% 29.9% 22.5% 14.8% 19.0% 10.0% 27.3% 25.0% 18.7% 17.7% 8.5% 25.5% 26.8% 21.5% 19.3% 8.6% 28.1% 24.1% 19.9% 20.0% 9.0% 27.2% 24.8% 18.9% 21.5% 8.5% 26.4% 25.6% 18.0% 22.7% 9.5% 27.3% 24.7% 15.7% 21.9% 8.6% 26.7% 25.2% 17.6% 18.4% 10.0% 27.0% 24.9% 19.7% 21.4% 9.2% 27.1% 24.7% 17.6% 24.5% 9.8% 28.8% 23.0% 13.9% 21.2% 9.2% 27.1% 24.6% 17.9% 21.9% 9.0% 26.8% 24.7% 17.7% 19.8% 9.5% 25.6% 25.7% 19.4% 21.4% 9.5% 26.5% 24.8% 17.9% 17.6% 8.0% 24.7% 26.2% 23.5% 19.3% 8.1% 25.6% 25.2% 21.8% 22.4% 9.1% 25.8% 24.7% 18.0% 20.1% 9.1% 25.8% 24.7% 20.4% 22.4% 8.9% 26.6% 23.8% 18.2% 20.8% 9.2% 25.6% 24.8% 19.6% 21.7% 8.9% 26.0% 24.3% 19.1% 21.0% 9.1% 25.5% 24.7% 19.7% 20.3% 8.1% 26.4% 23.8% 21.5% 22.0% 9.2% 26.1% 24.0% 18.7% 20.8% 9.5% 25.3% 24.8% 19.6% 17.4% 9.8% 24.5% 25.5% 22.8% 22.0% 9.5% 25.4% 24.6% 18.5% 23.2% 9.2% 26.4% 23.5% 17.7% 22.9% 9.7% 25.9% 23.9% 17.5% 20.9% 9.6% 26.8% 23.1% 19.6% 22.7% 9.4% 25.8% 23.9% 18.2% 23.6% 9.9% 26.8% 22.8% 16.9% 19.7% 8.8% 24.0% 25.6% 21.9% 20.5% 9.0% 26.1% 23.4% 21.0% 22.9% 9.7% 25.1% 24.2% 18.0% 20.3% 8.6% 24.8% 24.6% 21.8% 21.8% 9.3% 25.8% 23.4% 19.7% 21.0% 9.6% 26.2% 23.0% 20.2% 26.6% 11.9% 28.7% 20.4% 12.4% 23.4% 9.9% 26.1% 22.8% 17.7% 23.3% 10.3% 25.9% 22.7% 17.8% 22.5% 10.1% 25.2% 23.3% 18.9% 24.1% 10.0% 26.0% 22.4% 17.4% 23.3% 11.4% 27.2% 20.8% 17.3% 23.9% 9.4% 25.2% 22.7% 18.8% 18.5% 10.0% 38.8% 19.8% 13.0% 21.5% 9.2% 27.0% 24.2% 18.0%

TABLE 2

Prime Working Age

Rank 1 Colorado 2 Washington 3 Nevada 4 California 5 Alaska 6 Massachusetts 7 New Hampshire 8 Oregon 9 New York 10 New Jersey 11 Georgia 12 Maryland 13 Rhode Island 14 Virginia 15 Texas 16 Illinois 17 Tennessee 18 Connecticut 19 North Carolina 20 Maine 21 Florida 22 Kentucky 23 Pennsylvania 24 Minnesota 25 Michigan 26 Ohio 27 South Carolina 28 Hawaii 29 Missouri 30 Wisconsin 31 Vermont 32 Alabama 33 Louisiana 34 Indiana 35 Arizona 36 Arkansas 37 Oklahoma 38 West Virginia 39 Montana 40 Mississippi 41 Delaware 42 Wyoming 43 New Mexico 44 Utah 45 Idaho 46 Kansas 47 Iowa 48 Nebraska 49 North Dakota 50 South Dakota Dist. of Columbia United States

Mixed results

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

TABLE 3

Net Migration by State (July 1, 2023 – July 1, 2024) Net Domestic Migration

Rank 1 Texas 2 North Carolina 3 South Carolina 4 Florida 5 Tennessee 6 Arizona 7 Alabama 8 Georgia 9 Nevada 10 Idaho 11 Oklahoma 12 Arkansas 13 Missouri 14 Delaware 15 Kentucky 16 Wisconsin 17 Colorado 18 Montana 19 Maine 20 Virginia 21 New Hampshire 22 West Virginia 23 Indiana 24 Utah 25 Washington 26 South Dakota 27 Wyoming 28 Iowa 29 North Dakota 30 Rhode Island 31 Vermont 32 Minnesota 33 Oregon 34 Nebraska 35 New Mexico 36 Ohio 37 Alaska 38 Kansas 39 Mississippi 40 Connecticut 41 Michigan 42 Hawaii 43 Pennsylvania 44 Louisiana 45 Maryland 46 Massachusetts 47 New Jersey 48 Illinois 49 New York 50 California Dist. of Columbia United States

Number 85,267 82,288 68,043 64,017 48,476 34,902 26,028 25,321 16,853 16,383 14,036 13,465 12,289 8,155 7,294 6,332 5,422 5,410 5,329 5,284 4,889 4,520 4,268 3,220 2,671 2,132 861 -231 -291 -305 -511 -1,161 -1,162 -1,498 -1,571 -2,462 -3,774 -4,701 -4,939 -6,060 -7,656 -9,321 -11,500 -17,405 -18,509 -27,480 -35,554 -56,235 -120,917 -239,575 -337 N/A

Net International Migration

Number 319,569 69,792 23,234 411,322 27,648 64,486 15,763 63,088 33,005 7,899 14,358 6,152 23,569 7,283 31,430 22,146 33,227 506 5,196 56,155 4,290 2,841 30,852 33,133 81,581 1,616 1,285 19,439 5,126 9,525 2,024 29,540 23,590 12,978 12,103 62,378 4,029 18,530 6,789 36,214 67,608 11,893 82,101 23,142 53,100 90,217 130,692 112,955 207,161 361,057 12,502 2,786,119

Rank 3 10 27 1 24 12 32 13 20 38 33 41 26 39 21 29 18 50 42 15 44 46 22 19 9 48 49 30 43 37 47 23 25 34 35 14 45 31 40 17 11 36 8 28 16 7 5 6 4 2

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland continues to attract new residents from abroad, which supports workforce growth. At the same time, persistent domestic out-migration suggests Maryland is losing ground in the competition for working families and talent — influenced by affordability, job growth and business costs.

Non-Agricultural Employment Growth (Aug. 2024 – Aug. 2025) Rank 10 16 5 21 6 12 1 39 18 22 9 15 19 17 32 4 30 14 27 20 35 23 24 34 13 2 11 38 31 7 28 3 37 33 44 45 8 25 29 36 26 41 42 40 43 46 47 49 48 50

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland added jobs this year — a positive sign of continued economic activity. However, job gains and overall growth slowed compared with last year, highlighting that progress remains modest and the momentum is still fragile compared with many states.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

% Growth 1.4% 1.3% 1.6% 1.0% 1.6% 1.4% 3.1% 0.4% 1.0% 1.0% 1.4% 1.3% 1.0% 1.1% 0.7% 1.7% 0.7% 1.3% 0.7% 1.0% 0.5% 1.0% 1.0% 0.6% 1.3% 1.9% 1.4% 0.4% 0.7% 1.5% 0.7% 1.9% 0.4% 0.6% 0.2% 0.1% 1.5% 0.9% 0.7% 0.4% 0.9% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% -0.3% -0.1% -0.7% -1.2% 0.9%

Mixed results

Jobs Added (Lost) 195,600 125,100 101,200 98,200 80,800 76,800 72,000 69,500 44,400 44,100 42,500 41,400 34,400 33,900 32,300 30,400 28,900 23,400 22,800 22,000 19,800 19,800 19,100 18,300 18,300 16,800 16,200 13,600 13,000 12,900 12,700 11,900 11,800 6,600 6,500 5,900 4,900 4,300 3,500 3,100 2,600 1,700 1,700 1,500 1,000 100 (100) (2,300) (2,300) (10,000) (8,900) 1,443,700

TABLE 4

Rank 1 Texas 2 New York 3 Pennsylvania 4 Florida 5 North Carolina 6 Ohio 7 South Carolina 8 California 9 Virginia 10 Michigan 11 Minnesota 12 Arizona 13 Tennessee 14 Missouri 15 Georgia 16 Utah 17 New Jersey 18 Oklahoma 19 Wisconsin 20 Alabama 21 Washington 22 Kentucky 23 Louisiana 24 Colorado 25 Arkansas 26 New Mexico 27 Mississippi 28 Indiana 29 Oregon 30 Idaho 31 Connecticut 32 Hawaii 33 Maryland 34 Nebraska 35 Massachusetts 36 Illinois 37 Alaska 38 South Dakota 39 Delaware 40 West Virginia 41 Wyoming 42 Rhode Island 43 Montana 44 North Dakota 45 Vermont 46 New Hampshire 47 Nevada 48 Maine 49 Iowa 50 Kansas Dist. of Columbia United States

Non-Agricultural Employment Growth (10 year)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Improved

TABLE 5

(Aug. 2015 – Aug. 2025) Aug-15

Aug-25

Jobs Added

Rank (thousands) (thousands) (Lost) 1 Texas 11,819.3 14,347.7 2,528,400 2 Florida 8,111.8 10,048.4 1,936,600 3 California 16,190.8 18,011.2 1,820,400 4 North Carolina 4,254.9 5,095.4 840,500 5 New York 9,249.2 10,008.6 759,400 6 Georgia 4,260.3 4,999.6 739,300 7 Arizona 2,626.8 3,253.7 626,900 8 Tennessee 2,875.1 3,408.3 533,200 9 Colorado 2,521.7 2,991.5 469,800 10 Washington 3,192.6 3,661.8 469,200 11 Virginia 3,814.4 4,281.6 467,200 12 South Carolina 2,010.4 2,427.2 416,800 13 Pennsylvania 5,856.7 6,249.1 392,400 14 Utah 1,385.9 1,775.1 389,200 15 New Jersey 4,004.6 4,389.2 384,600 16 Ohio 5,409.5 5,730.2 320,700 17 Nevada 1,264.3 1,570.1 305,800 18 Alabama 1,953.7 2,214.9 261,200 19 Michigan 4,281.3 4,533.6 252,300 20 Missouri 2,777.8 3,021.8 244,000 21 Illinois 5,916.1 6,153.7 237,600 22 Indiana 3,056.3 3,290.8 234,500 23 Oregon 1,782.4 2,008.3 225,900 24 Massachusetts 3,499.9 3,723.5 223,600 25 Idaho 675.0 881.9 206,900 26 Minnesota 2,862.1 3,053.1 191,000 27 Maryland 2,674.3 2,846.8 172,500 28 Arkansas 1,215.2 1,385.8 170,600 29 Wisconsin 2,898.8 3,068.7 169,900 30 Kentucky 1,895.9 2,062.2 166,300 31 Oklahoma 1,661.5 1,802.3 140,800 32 New Mexico 828.0 904.8 76,800 33 Mississippi 1,131.7 1,205.5 73,800 34 Montana 457.3 529.8 72,500 35 Nebraska 1,001.7 1,064.1 62,400 36 Kansas 1,399.3 1,452.4 53,100 37 New Hampshire 653.5 706.3 52,800 38 Delaware 443.9 493.8 49,900 39 Maine 611.7 656.5 44,800 40 South Dakota 430.4 471.8 41,400 41 Rhode Island 483.9 513.7 29,800 42 Iowa 1,575.1 1,594.6 19,500 43 Connecticut 1,701.1 1,720.2 19,100 44 Louisiana 1,990.5 2,002.5 12,000 45 Hawaii 642.6 651.4 8,800 46 Wyoming 292.3 297.5 5,200 47 Alaska 336.0 339.0 3,000 48 Vermont 314.3 314.1 (200) 49 North Dakota 460.5 448.1 (12,400) 50 West Virginia 749.6 719.0 (30,600) Dist. of Columbia 764.4 757.8 (6,600) United States 142,266.4 159,139.0 16,872,600

% Growth Rank

21.4% 23.9% 11.2% 19.8% 8.2% 17.4% 23.9% 18.5% 18.6% 14.7% 12.2% 20.7% 6.7% 28.1% 9.6% 5.9% 24.2% 13.4% 5.9% 8.8% 4.0% 7.7% 12.7% 6.4% 30.7% 6.7% 6.5% 14.0% 5.9% 8.8% 8.5% 9.3% 6.5% 15.9% 6.2% 3.8% 8.1% 11.2% 7.3% 9.6% 6.2% 1.2% 1.1% 0.6% 1.4% 1.8% 0.9% -0.1% -2.7% -4.1% -0.9% 11.9%

6 4 18 8 26 11 5 10 9 13 17 7 30 2 21 37 3 15 38 23 40 28 16 34 1 31 33 14 39 24 25 22 32 12 35 41 27 19 29 20 36 44 45 47 43 42 46 48 49 50

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR MARYLAND Maryland has added jobs over the past decade, and this year shows progress in the right direction. But long-term job growth remains mid-pack nationally, reinforcing the need for a more competitive environment that supports steady expansion and hiring.

Per Capita Personal Income by State (2024) Rank 5 37 36 1 29 10 39 16 46 12 23 7 48 41 44 35 49 50 15 2 14 43 34 47 24 26 6 4 28 33 21 45 31 3 40 42 30 32 22 38 13 8 18 9 19 25 11 17 27 20

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland continues to rank among the nation’s leaders in per-person income — a meaningful economic strength. The opportunity is ensuring this strength translates into broad growth statewide by supporting job creation and a business climate that encourages investment.

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce: Bureau of Economic Analysis

% Change from 2023 5.4% 4.1% 4.1% 6.2% 4.4% 5.1% 4.1% 5.0% 3.6% 5.0% 4.7% 5.3% 2.1% 4.0% 3.8% 4.2% 1.7% 0.3% 5.0% 5.6% 5.0% 3.9% 4.2% 3.4% 4.7% 4.6% 5.3% 5.4% 4.4% 4.3% 4.8% 3.7% 4.4% 5.5% 4.0% 4.0% 4.4% 4.4% 4.7% 4.1% 5.0% 5.3% 4.9% 5.2% 4.9% 4.7% 5.0% 4.9% 4.5% 4.9% 4.3% 4.6%

No change

Per Capita Personal Income 2024 $95,067 $93,607 $86,477 $86,232 $85,552 $85,187 $84,893 $83,192 $83,055 $79,259 $77,351 $76,234 $75,699 $75,603 $74,522 $73,006 $72,701 $71,749 $71,287 $71,019 $70,823 $70,678 $70,622 $69,823 $69,805 $69,240 $68,932 $68,061 $67,755 $67,333 $66,504 $65,856 $65,798 $65,634 $65,225 $64,920 $64,464 $64,077 $63,708 $63,690 $63,006 $62,323 $61,897 $60,776 $59,320 $58,256 $58,249 $57,311 $55,351 $52,074 $111,185 $73,204

TABLE 6

Rank 1 Connecticut 2 Massachusetts 3 Wyoming 4 California 5 New York 6 Washington 7 New Jersey 8 New Hampshire 9 Colorado 10 Maryland 11 Virginia 12 Alaska 13 South Dakota 14 Minnesota 15 Illinois 16 Florida 17 Nebraska 18 North Dakota 19 Vermont 20 Hawaii 21 Oregon 22 Pennsylvania 23 Rhode Island 24 Texas 25 Nevada 26 Montana 27 Maine 28 Delaware 29 Wisconsin 30 Utah 31 Tennessee 32 Kansas 33 Arizona 34 North Carolina 35 Iowa 36 Missouri 37 Ohio 38 Indiana 39 Oklahoma 40 Michigan 41 Georgia 42 Idaho 43 Louisiana 44 South Carolina 45 Arkansas 46 Kentucky 47 New Mexico 48 Alabama 49 West Virginia 50 Mississippi Dist. of Columbia United States

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce: Bureau of Economic Analysis

Mixed results

TABLE 7

Gross Domestic Product by State in Current Dollars (2024) 2024 GDP Rank (in millions) 1 California $4,048,108 2 Texas $2,769,766 3 New York $2,322,139 4 Florida $1,726,710 5 Illinois $1,148,106 6 Pennsylvania $1,007,874 7 Ohio $923,141 8 Georgia $881,508 9 Washington $856,014 10 New Jersey $846,000 11 North Carolina $844,209 12 Massachusetts $778,523 13 Virginia $761,734 14 Michigan $702,467 15 Arizona $570,089 16 Tennessee $561,201 17 Colorado $557,633 18 Maryland $546,028 19 Indiana $519,517 20 Minnesota $507,688 21 Wisconsin $453,299 22 Missouri $448,714 23 South Carolina $357,074 24 Connecticut $356,835 25 Oregon $330,250 26 Louisiana $329,173 27 Alabama $325,345 28 Utah $299,471 29 Kentucky $295,375 30 Nevada $269,011 31 Iowa $265,795 32 Oklahoma $263,695 33 Kansas $230,522 34 Nebraska $189,243 35 Arkansas $188,340 36 Mississippi $158,192 37 New Mexico $147,085 38 Idaho $129,018 39 New Hampshire $119,337 40 Hawaii $117,627 41 Delaware $110,972 42 West Virginia $106,475 43 Maine $99,174 44 Rhode Island $80,381 45 North Dakota $80,058 46 Montana $78,441 47 South Dakota $76,796 48 Alaska $71,567 49 Wyoming $51,498 50 Vermont $46,276 Dist. of Columbia $184,298 United States $29,298,013

% US GDP 2023 GDP 2024 (in millions) 13.8% $3,827,007 9.5% $2,637,238 7.9% $2,182,549 5.9% $1,624,642 3.9% $1,100,794 3.4% $966,444 3.2% $883,957 3.0% $835,755 2.9% $801,456 2.9% $806,894 2.9% $794,838 2.7% $737,867 2.6% $722,767 2.4% $676,031 1.9% $530,105 1.9% $531,247 1.9% $533,269 1.9% $515,036 1.8% $496,850 1.7% $483,222 1.5% $431,914 1.5% $428,887 1.2% $332,947 1.2% $341,852 1.1% $314,895 1.1% $318,044 1.1% $309,544 1.0% $283,231 1.0% $283,268 0.9% $253,443 0.9% $253,167 0.9% $255,933 0.8% $224,851 0.6% $183,781 0.6% $178,115 0.5% $151,512 0.5% $138,526 0.4% $120,588 0.4% $114,428 0.4% $111,740 0.4% $103,333 0.4% $101,480 0.3% $93,744 0.3% $76,314 0.3% $77,898 0.3% $74,690 0.3% $74,459 0.2% $68,233 0.2% $51,350 0.2% $43,932 0.6% $174,251 $27,811,517

% Change

(2023–24) Rank

5.8% 5.0% 6.4% 6.3% 4.3% 4.3% 4.4% 5.5% 6.8% 4.8% 6.2% 5.5% 5.4% 3.9% 7.5% 5.6% 4.6% 6.0% 4.6% 5.1% 5.0% 4.6% 7.2% 4.4% 4.9% 3.5% 5.1% 5.7% 4.3% 6.1% 5.0% 3.0% 2.5% 3.0% 5.7% 4.4% 6.2% 7.0% 4.3% 5.3% 7.4% 4.9% 5.8% 5.3% 2.8% 5.0% 3.1% 4.9% 0.3% 5.3% 5.8% 5.3%

13 25 6 7 39 41 36 18 5 32 8 17 19 43 1 16 34 11 35 24 28 33 3 38 31 44 23 15 42 10 27 46 49 47 14 37 9 4 40 22 2 29 12 21 48 26 45 30 50 20

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland’s economy continued to grow this year, and its GDP growth ranked stronger compared to many states — an encouraging sign of momentum. At the same time, growth was slightly slower than last year, underscoring the importance of sustaining progress through a competitive environment

Exports Per Capita (2024) Total (in millions) $86,951 $455,031 $47,774 $59,868 $5,933 $34,062 $57,776 $5,531 $38,027 $80,817 $61,563 $12,002 $38,948 $16,974 $26,835 $18,213 $7,123 $34,863 $14,366 $56,579 $53,133 $17,382 $13,690 $183,343 $27,514 $91,243 $26,561 $42,932 $4,706 $32,223 $8,161 $53,187 $42,824 $2,068 $10,361 $19,389 $72,168 $1,865 $17,855 $3,075 $4,857 $21,780 $2,113 $6,894 $3,062 $4,249 $2,371 $7,746 $10,504 $461 $2,718 $2,065,180

Rank 4 1 13 8 39 19 9 40 17 5 7 32 16 29 22 26 37 18 30 10 12 28 31 2 21 3 23 14 42 20 35 11 15 48 34 25 6 49 27 44 41 24 47 38 45 43 46 36 33 50

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland businesses export billions of dollars in goods and services — a strong foundation to build on. But exports per person remain relatively low, suggesting an opportunity to strengthen growth conditions so more firms can expand into new markets.

Modest decline

Per Capita $18,912 $14,542 $10,412 $8,646 $8,015 $7,973 $7,260 $6,944 $6,941 $6,358 $6,071 $5,634 $5,389 $5,237 $5,203 $5,198 $5,055 $4,885 $4,836 $4,761 $4,752 $4,730 $4,652 $4,650 $4,616 $4,593 $4,585 $4,519 $4,474 $4,250 $4,069 $4,067 $3,877 $3,519 $3,171 $3,105 $3,088 $2,876 $2,851 $2,764 $2,744 $2,472 $2,285 $2,232 $2,179 $2,123 $2,085 $1,891 $1,763 $319 $3,871 $6,072

TABLE 8 Source: U.S. Census Bureau

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Rank Louisiana Texas Kentucky Indiana Alaska Oregon Washington North Dakota South Carolina Illinois Michigan New Mexico Tennessee Iowa Alabama Utah New Hampshire Massachusetts Kansas Ohio Georgia Connecticut Mississippi California Wisconsin New York Minnesota New Jersey Delaware Arizona Nebraska Pennsylvania North Carolina Wyoming Nevada Missouri Florida Vermont Maryland Rhode Island West Virginia Virginia South Dakota Arkansas Maine Idaho Montana Oklahoma Colorado Hawaii Dist. of Columbia United States

Opening and Closing Rates of Establishments

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Mixed results

TABLE 9

(Q1 2024 – Q4 2024) Rank 1 Alaska 2 Wyoming 3 Montana 4 Idaho 5 Maine 6 Vermont 7 Rhode Island 8 North Dakota 9 Arizona 10 Utah 11 West Virginia 12 Colorado 13 Maryland 14 South Carolina 15 South Dakota 16 California 16 Oregon 18 Delaware 19 New Hampshire 20 Florida 21 Louisiana 22 New Mexico 23 Nevada 24 Mississippi 25 Georgia 26 Oklahoma 27 New York 27 Virginia 29 Washington 30 Kansas 30 North Carolina 32 Alabama 33 Missouri 34 Connecticut 34 Nebraska 36 Iowa 37 New Jersey 38 Tennessee 39 Texas 40 Minnesota 41 Michigan 42 Arkansas 43 Kentucky 44 Hawaii 45 Indiana 46 Ohio 47 Massachusetts 47 Wisconsin 49 Illinois 50 Pennsylvania Dist. of Columbia United States

Avg. Quarterly Avg. Quarterly Entry Rate Exit Rate 9.7% 9.4% 8.5% 8.7% 7.9% 7.8% 7.7% 7.5% 6.8% 6.8% 6.8% 7.0% 6.7% 6.3% 6.6% 6.5% 6.6% 6.4% 6.6% 6.2% 6.4% 6.3% 6.3% 6.8% 6.3% 6.0% 6.3% 6.2% 6.2% 6.0% 6.2% 6.2% 6.2% 6.5% 6.2% 6.1% 6.1% 6.1% 6.1% 5.8% 6.1% 5.8% 6.0% 6.1% 6.0% 5.9% 6.0% 6.1% 5.9% 5.7% 5.8% 5.7% 5.8% 5.4% 5.8% 5.5% 5.7% 5.3% 5.7% 5.5% 5.7% 5.7% 5.7% 5.6% 5.6% 5.6% 5.6% 5.5% 5.6% 5.4% 5.6% 5.7% 5.6% 5.5% 5.6% 5.4% 5.6% 5.2% 5.5% 5.5% 5.5% 5.7% 5.5% 5.3% 5.4% 5.5% 5.4% 5.1% 5.3% 5.3% 5.3% 5.2% 5.3% 5.5% 5.3% 5.2% 5.1% 5.1% 5.1% 4.9% 5.0% 5.4% 5.8% 5.7%

Rank 1 2 3 4 7 5 11 8 10 13 11 6 20 15 21 13 9 18 18 24 23 16 22 16 25 28 40 38 42 35 27 30 31 32 39 25 36 41 45 32 28 44 37 48 43 47 32 46 48 50

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR MARYLAND Maryland saw stronger business formation this year — a positive sign of entrepreneurial energy. The next step is ensuring more businesses can stay, scale and succeed here, which depends on predictable costs and a competitive climate for growth.

Census Estimates of State and Local Taxes (2023) Rank 2 4 3 15 9 19 11 1 5 6 12 24 14 28 7 8 16 10 31 17 22 44 32 20 18 29 26 33 27 36 30 21 42 49 13 23 38 39 40 35 50 43 48 37 45 46 41 34 47 25

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland’s tax burden remains high compared with many states, which can influence where families live and where businesses choose to expand.

Improving competitiveness means prioritizing policies that support growth while keeping costs predictable and manageable.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Burden Per $1000 PI $157.25 $136.71 $151.35 $107.55 $115.49 $102.95 $113.37 $164.31 $129.30 $118.81 $111.35 $101.01 $110.23 $99.17 $117.38 $115.60 $107.19 $113.63 $97.96 $104.37 $102.22 $86.28 $95.41 $102.86 $103.72 $99.14 $100.18 $95.13 $99.31 $92.54 $98.03 $102.46 $88.78 $75.01 $110.78 $101.18 $91.05 $89.26 $89.23 $93.02 $74.24 $86.68 $77.43 $92.36 $85.95 $82.36 $89.09 $93.33 $81.00 $100.50 $145.54 $103.60

Mixed results

Per Capita Burden $12,536 $9,912 $9,768 $9,444 $9,254 $9,156 $8,972 $8,970 $8,479 $8,372 $8,193 $8,063 $7,892 $7,786 $7,779 $7,624 $7,532 $7,251 $7,067 $6,889 $6,884 $6,820 $6,667 $6,626 $6,493 $6,401 $6,305 $6,057 $5,990 $5,890 $5,884 $5,867 $5,811 $5,786 $5,704 $5,472 $5,432 $5,428 $5,346 $5,324 $5,322 $5,300 $5,233 $5,233 $5,060 $5,046 $5,036 $4,972 $4,951 $4,874 $15,257 $7,083

TABLE 10

Rank 1 New York 2 North Dakota 3 Hawaii 4 Connecticut 5 New Jersey 6 Massachusetts 7 California 8 New Mexico 9 Vermont 10 Illinois 11 Maryland 12 Wyoming 13 Minnesota 14 Washington 15 Delaware 16 Oregon 17 Alaska 18 Maine 19 Virginia 20 Rhode Island 21 Pennsylvania 22 Colorado 23 Nebraska 24 Kansas 25 Iowa 26 Nevada 27 Utah 28 Wisconsin 29 Indiana 30 Montana 31 Ohio 32 Louisiana 33 Texas 34 New Hampshire 35 West Virginia 36 Kentucky 37 Michigan 38 North Carolina 39 Oklahoma 40 Arkansas 41 South Dakota 42 Missouri 43 Florida 43 Georgia 45 Idaho 46 Arizona 47 South Carolina 48 Alabama 49 Tennessee 50 Mississippi Dist. of Columbia United States

Source: Council on State Taxation

Mixed results

TABLE 11

Taxes Paid by Business (FY 2023)

Rank 1 Alaska 2 New Mexico 3 North Dakota 4 Wyoming 5 New York 6 Vermont 7 Delaware 8 Hawaii 9 Maine 10 Washington 11 West Virginia 11 Illinois 11 Texas 11 California 15 Nevada 16 New Jersey 17 Louisiana 18 Colorado 19 Minnesota 19 Virginia 19 Connecticut 22 South Dakota 23 Mississippi 23 Rhode Island 23 Oklahoma 23 Oregon 27 Florida 27 Kansas 27 Nebraska 30 Montana 31 Pennsylvania 32 Massachusetts 33 South Carolina 33 New Hampshire 33 Maryland 36 Tennessee 37 Alabama 37 Iowa 39 Ohio 40 Arkansas 40 Kentucky 40 Arizona 43 Georgia 44 Idaho 44 Utah 46 Wisconsin 47 Indiana 47 North Carolina 49 Michigan 50 Missouri Dist. of Columbia United States

Business Taxes Per Employee

% of All % of Private Taxes Rank Sector GSP Rank

$18,100 $17,800 $16,900 $16,800 $13,700 $11,800 $11,500 $10,900 $10,400 $10,100 $9,600 $9,600 $9,600 $9,600 $9,100 $8,900 $8,600 $8,100 $8,000 $8,000 $8,000 $7,800 $7,700 $7,700 $7,700 $7,700 $7,500 $7,500 $7,500 $7,400 $7,200 $7,100 $7,000 $7,000 $7,000 $6,900 $6,800 $6,800 $6,400 $6,200 $6,200 $6,200 $5,900 $5,700 $5,700 $5,500 $5,300 $5,300 $5,100 $5,000 $10,600 $8,200

75.1% 63.3% 73.6% 73.2% 43.7% 56.0% 56.6% 39.0% 50.9% 49.6% 50.6% 47.5% 59.7% 42.6% 54.9% 35.5% 50.3% 48.8% 42.8% 43.8% 32.9% 58.3% 49.9% 41.2% 47.5% 38.3% 53.8% 44.5% 46.5% 44.7% 41.6% 35.9% 48.7% 49.9% 29.7% 54.8% 46.8% 42.3% 42.8% 41.3% 42.0% 40.1% 41.4% 39.7% 39.5% 38.6% 36.8% 37.1% 34.6% 37.9% 53.3% 44.7%

1 4 2 3 27 8 7 40 12 17 13 20 5 30 9 47 14 18 28 26 49 6 15 36 20 42 11 25 23 24 33 46 19 15 50 10 22 31 28 35 32 37 34 38 39 41 45 44 48 43

8.2% 12.1% 8.9% 8.4% 5.9% 8.4% 5.6% 6.6% 7.2% 4.5% 6.4% 5.3% 5.0% 4.5% 5.9% 4.7% 5.3% 4.5% 4.9% 4.7% 4.0% 4.7% 6.1% 5.2% 5.0% 4.9% 4.7% 4.7% 4.2% 5.2% 4.6% 3.6% 5.0% 4.3% 4.0% 4.3% 4.8% 4.2% 4.0% 4.5% 4.5% 3.9% 3.5% 4.0% 3.6% 3.9% 3.4% 3.4% 3.4% 3.5% 4.8% 4.7%

5 1 2 3 10 3 12 7 6 29 8 13 17 29 10 23 13 29 20 23 38 23 9 15 17 20 23 23 36 15 28 44 17 34 38 34 22 36 38 29 29 42 46 38 44 42 48 48 48 46

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Some Maryland business tax indicators show modest improvement, but we continue to rank poorly on key competitiveness measures and remain a highcost state for employers. A smaller share of total taxes paid by businesses does not mean taxes are low — it reflects how the tax system is structured.

Motor Fuel Taxes* (July 2025) Rank 1 3 4 2 5 7 10 6 11 12 13 15 14 16 9 18 17 28 20 22 25 26 27 20 23 29 24 30 19 32 35 33 39 36 31 8 40 37 38 34 41 43 44 45 46 46 48 42 49 50

*Includes all state taxes on fuels.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR MARYLAND Maryland’s fuel tax rates remained relatively steady this year, continuing to contribute to the cost of commuting and moving goods. Because fuel taxes support the Transportation Trust Fund, long-term transportation funding sustainability matters — especially as vehicle trends change and evolve.

U.S. Energy Information Administration

Diesel Tax (cents/gal) 87.32 73.90 62.04 74.10 62.00 49.90 46.94 51.95 42.70 41.12 40.55 40.00 40.27 39.15 47.00 35.70 37.85 30.50 33.00 32.90 32.10 31.90 31.87 33.00 32.75 30.00 32.50 29.99 34.68 28.75 27.47 28.40 23.40 27.03 28.80 48.90 23.07 24.00 23.83 27.75 23.03 22.00 21.40 20.93 20.00 20.00 19.00 22.87 18.50 8.95 35.30

No change

Gasoline Tax (cents/gal) 70.92 66.40 59.04 58.70 54.50 48.20 46.19 44.95 41.60 41.12 40.55 40.00 39.40 39.15 38.50 35.70 33.85 33.75 33.00 32.90 32.70 31.90 31.40 31.39 31.00 30.00 30.00 29.99 29.18 28.75 27.47 27.40 26.40 25.04 25.00 25.00 24.87 24.00 23.83 23.81 23.03 23.00 21.40 20.93 20.00 20.00 19.00 18.88 18.50 8.95 35.30

TABLE 12

Rank 1 California 2 Illinois 3 Washington 4 Pennsylvania 5 Indiana 6 Michigan 7 Maryland 8 New Jersey 9 Virginia 10 Rhode Island 11 North Carolina 12 Oregon 13 Florida 14 Utah 15 Ohio 16 West Virginia 17 Georgia 18 Montana 19 Idaho 20 Wisconsin 21 Nebraska 22 Minnesota 23 Maine 24 Vermont 25 Alabama 26 South Dakota 27 Iowa 28 Missouri 29 Colorado 30 South Carolina 31 Massachusetts 32 Tennessee 33 Kentucky 34 Kansas 35 Arkansas 35 Connecticut 37 New York 38 Wyoming 39 New Hampshire 40 Nevada 41 North Dakota 42 Delaware 43 Mississippi 44 Louisiana 45 Oklahoma 45 Texas 47 Arizona 48 New Mexico 49 Hawaii 50 Alaska Dist. of Columbia

Infrastructure

Workforce

Cost of Doing Business

Business Friendliness

Rank 1 North Carolina 2 Texas 3 Florida 4 Virginia 5 Ohio 6 Michigan 7 Georgia 8 Tennessee 9 Indiana 10 Minnesota 11 Colorado 12 Arizona 13 Illinois 14 Washington 15 Nebraska 16 Utah 17 Pennsylvania 18 South Carolina 19 Alabama 20 Massachusetts 21 Wisconsin 22 California 23 New York 24 Iowa 25 Kentucky 25 North Dakota 27 Idaho 28 Connecticut 29 Delaware 30 New Jersey 31 Wyoming 32 Maryland 33 Kansas 34 Missouri 35 South Dakota 36 New Hampshire 37 Oklahoma 38 Vermont 39 Oregon 40 West Virginia 41 Arkansas 42 Nevada 43 Maine 44 New Mexico 45 Mississippi 46 Louisiana 46 Rhode Island 48 Montana 49 Hawaii 50 Alaska

Economy

Source: CNBC

Mixed results

TABLE 13A

CNBC Top States for Business Rankings (July 2025)

3 2 1 14 26 18 9 21 19 28 21 13 44 6 19 8 16 10 23 15 28 12 5 39 34 43 7 38 4 31 11 26 48 37 36 23 32 35 41 42 30 17 33 46 49 47 45 23 39 50

11 26 16 2 1 15 4 9 6 5 11 3 8 26 30 9 17 21 28 35 18 25 7 19 36 37 38 33 31 21 42 23 20 23 31 47 34 40 14 43 41 13 50 29 44 46 39 45 48 49

4 1 2 14 31 13 3 10 33 30 7 6 19 5 17 9 37 12 16 23 27 20 44 41 25 46 38 8 11 14 35 21 34 48 47 26 42 40 23 43 36 18 38 31 49 44 21 50 29 28

21 5 22 31 2 4 18 10 3 34 38 32 19 48 15 28 25 28 19 49 13 40 45 11 9 17 25 44 41 38 27 46 14 6 16 37 1 35 43 24 11 36 30 23 7 7 46 32 50 41

4 17 23 7 25 14 17 3 5 21 22 17 38 41 8 10 40 28 13 42 32 48 50 24 16 1 10 35 43 49 12 37 8 29 2 6 20 25 47 15 31 33 45 39 34 35 46 29 44 27

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland has clear strengths, but overall competitiveness remains mid-pack nationally. Strengthening the fundamentals that drive growth — especially cost and business climate factors — can help Maryland translate its advantages into stronger outcomes.

Tech. & Innovation

Education

Access to Capital

Cost of Living

13 2 12 8 6 17 22 24 17 14 9 20 6 4 32 27 9 21 22 4 26 1 3 29 31 37 25 19 30 16 44 9 34 28 49 44 42 42 14 44 41 49 36 35 40 38 33 38 48 47

6 24 29 1 27 41 15 18 46 12 31 47 3 33 29 44 12 14 16 2 35 31 8 38 26 25 49 5 45 7 16 11 8 8 35 3 43 20 35 18 40 50 22 38 20 22 33 27 42 48

8 2 3 10 7 13 16 28 22 18 12 25 5 14 41 20 9 30 40 5 20 1 3 37 35 37 50 16 19 11 36 14 22 26 28 44 33 44 24 41 26 30 33 46 41 32 37 46 48 49

23 39 48 21 7 9 30 18 2 33 47 39 34 39 24 31 12 16 6 43 12 50 45 9 20 4 26 37 9 37 7 43 2 4 16 26 18 25 45 1 12 34 21 26 12 39 36 31 49 26

Source: CNBC

29 49 22 8 17 14 45 50 48 4 12 39 23 14 8 46 23 39 44 8 38 32 18 16 33 7 19 5 27 3 29 27 37 39 29 11 42 1 19 25 43 36 2 33 21 46 13 35 6 25

TABLE 13B

Rank 1 North Carolina 2 Texas 3 Florida 4 Virginia 5 Ohio 6 Michigan 7 Georgia 8 Tennessee 9 Indiana 10 Minnesota 11 Colorado 12 Arizona 13 Illinois 14 Washington 15 Nebraska 16 Utah 17 Pennsylvania 18 South Carolina 19 Alabama 20 Massachusetts 21 Wisconsin 22 California 23 New York 24 Iowa 25 Kentucky 25 North Dakota 27 Idaho 28 Connecticut 29 Delaware 30 New Jersey 31 Wyoming 32 Maryland 33 Kansas 34 Missouri 35 South Dakota 36 New Hampshire 37 Oklahoma 38 Vermont 39 Oregon 40 West Virginia 41 Arkansas 42 Nevada 43 Maine 44 New Mexico 45 Mississippi 46 Louisiana 46 Rhode Island 48 Montana 49 Hawaii 50 Alaska

Quality of Life

CNBC Top States for Business Rankings, cont. (July 2025)

Source: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy/Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence

Declined

TABLE 14

Effective Property Tax Rate on a Primary Residence in the State’s Largest City (Payable 2024) Rank 1 Detroit, MI 2 Portland, OR 3 Burlington, VT 4 Baltimore, MD 5 Newark, NJ 6 Bridgeport, CT 7 Milwaukee, WI 8 Omaha, NE 9 Des Moines, IA 10 Chicago, IL 11 Manchester, NH 12 Jacksonville, FL 13 Albuquerque, NM 14 Kansas City, MO 15 Houston, TX 16 Oklahoma City, OK 17 Portland, ME 18 Jackson, MS 19 Minneapolis, MN 20 New York City, NY 21 Sioux Falls, SD 22 Fargo, ND 23 Indianapolis, IN 24 Louisville, KY 25 Los Angeles, CA 26 Wilmington, DE 27 Las Vegas, NV 28 Little Rock, AR 29 Anchorage, AK 29 Wichita, KS 31 Columbus, OH 32 Phoenix, AZ 33 New Orleans, LA 34 Charleston, WV 35 Providence, RI 36 Philadelphia, PA 37 Atlanta, GA 38 Seattle, WA 39 Virginia Beach, VA 40 Billings, MT 41 Charlotte, NC 42 Cheyenne, WY 43 Boise, ID 44 Nashville, TN 45 Huntsville, AL 46 Denver, CO 47 Salt Lake City, UT 48 Charleston, SC 49 Boston, MA 50 Honolulu, HI Dist. of Columbia U.S. Average

Effective 2023 Median Tax Rate Home Value 3.019% $86,400 2.593% $570,300 2.316% $400,200 2.142% $241,900 2.124% $403,500 1.940% $307,100 1.781% $183,700 1.780% $255,500 1.702% $194,700 1.502% $318,900 1.478% $369,300 1.436% $312,400 1.416% $300,100 1.369% $243,200 1.346% $282,400 1.313% $248,100 1.283% $494,400 1.269% $110,600 1.250% $355,600 1.249% $743,000 1.233% $302,500 1.224% $282,700 1.204% $238,400 1.192% $233,900 1.191% $919,900 1.184% $228,600 1.138% $434,200 1.132% $241,600 1.107% $385,900 1.107% $198,100 1.025% $265,800 0.969% $441,300 0.873% $306,400 0.863% $187,300 0.859% $359,900 0.850% $246,600 0.838% $443,300 0.768% $898,600 0.749% $384,200 0.728% $346,500 0.702% $413,800 0.638% $340,800 0.611% $491,800 0.581% $433,500 0.540% $309,900 0.519% $626,500 0.517% $566,400 0.494% $515,800 0.490% $703,600 0.298% $899,300 0.699% $715,500 1.222% $381,800

Tax on Median Rank $2,609 41 $14,787 1 $9,268 4 $5,182 10 $8,569 5 $5,958 8 $3,271 26 $4,548 13 $3,314 25 $4,791 12 $5,459 9 $4,486 14 $4,248 18 $3,330 24 $3,802 19 $3,257 27 $6,341 7 $1,403 50 $4,445 15 $9,279 3 $3,730 20 $3,459 22 $2,870 34 $2,787 35 $10,952 2 $2,706 38 $4,939 11 $2,734 36 $4,272 17 $2,193 45 $2,725 37 $4,274 16 $2,674 40 $1,616 49 $3,093 29 $2,095 47 $3,714 21 $6,898 6 $2,879 33 $2,523 43 $2,904 32 $2,175 46 $3,005 30 $2,519 44 $1,673 48 $3,253 28 $2,930 31 $2,546 42 $3,445 23 $2,683 39 $5,001 $4,223

WHY IT MATTERS Residential property tax costs increased this year, adding to housing affordability pressures for families in Maryland’s largest city. Because property taxes directly affect household budgets and housing stability, keeping these costs competitive matters for retaining residents.

Effective Property Tax Rate on a Commercial Property* in the State’s Largest City (Payable 2024)

*$25 million, land and building

WHY IT MATTERS Commercial property taxes are a direct cost of doing business, and Maryland’s largest-city tax burden remains a competitiveness challenge. Improving the cost climate helps employers invest, expand and create jobs.

Source: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy/Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence

Net Tax $1,198,726 $1,086,072 $985,196 $869,482 $846,821 $824,901 $823,359 $777,855 $764,875 $748,295 $716,003 $692,810 $678,422 $640,522 $631,803 $631,750 $599,116 $589,290 $581,040 $572,811 $556,902 $551,490 $530,899 $514,183 $505,459 $502,656 $500,792 $451,568 $435,592 $432,680 $425,872 $425,356 $412,775 $409,675 $384,750 $369,573 $359,907 $356,083 $339,294 $336,384 $315,580 $281,243 $278,342 $274,204 $268,862 $261,875 $253,662 $235,416 $213,322 $179,692 $532,273 $536,410

Declined

Effective Tax Rate 3.996% 3.620% 3.284% 2.898% 2.823% 2.750% 2.745% 2.593% 2.550% 2.494% 2.387% 2.309% 2.261% 2.135% 2.106% 2.106% 1.997% 1.964% 1.937% 1.909% 1.856% 1.838% 1.770% 1.714% 1.685% 1.676% 1.669% 1.505% 1.452% 1.442% 1.420% 1.418% 1.376% 1.366% 1.283% 1.232% 1.200% 1.187% 1.131% 1.121% 1.052% 0.937% 0.928% 0.914% 0.896% 0.873% 0.846% 0.785% 0.711% 0.599% 1.774% 1.788%

TABLE 15

Rank 1 Detroit, MI 2 Chicago, IL 3 Providence, RI 4 Des Moines, IA 5 Baltimore, MD 6 Kansas City, MO 7 Jackson, MS 8 Portland, OR 9 Indianapolis, IN 10 Minneapolis, MN 11 Wichita, KS 12 Bridgeport, CT 13 Burlington, VT 14 Philadelphia, PA 15 Denver, CO 15 Boston, MA 17 Houston, TX 18 Milwaukee, WI 19 Charleston, SC 20 Columbus, OH 21 Charleston, WV 22 Omaha, NE 23 Newark, NJ 24 New Orleans, LA 25 Albuquerque, NM 26 Phoenix, AZ 27 Jacksonville, FL 28 Atlanta, GA 29 Anchorage, AK 30 Huntsville, AL 31 Oklahoma City, OK 32 New York City, NY 33 Portland, ME 34 Little Rock, AR 35 Louisville, KY 36 Manchester, NH 37 Los Angeles, CA 38 Sioux Falls, SD 39 Las Vegas, NV 40 Fargo, ND 41 Honolulu, HI 42 Nashville, TN 43 Salt Lake City, UT 44 Billings, MT 45 Boise, ID 46 Virginia Beach, VA 47 Wilmington, DE 48 Seattle, WA 49 Charlotte, NC 50 Cheyenne, WY Dist. of Columbia U.S. Average

Source: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy/Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence

Declined

TABLE 16

Effective Property Tax Rate on an Industrial Property* in the State’s Largest City (Payable 2024) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 19 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 40 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Rank Jackson, MS Charleston, SC Detroit, MI Kansas City, MO Indianapolis, IN Portland, OR Houston, TX Chicago, IL Charleston, WV New Orleans, LA Providence, RI Denver, CO Burlington, VT Anchorage, AK Oklahoma City, OK Omaha, NE Baltimore, MD Atlanta, GA Little Rock, AR Albuquerque, NM Minneapolis, MN Jacksonville, FL Philadelphia, PA Wichita, KS Boston, MA Bridgeport, CT Huntsville, AL Milwaukee, WI Phoenix, AZ Newark, NJ Des Moines, IA Columbus, OH Los Angeles, CA Nashville, TN Las Vegas, NV Billings, MT Portland, ME Salt Lake City, UT Manchester, NH Boise, ID Louisville, KY Sioux Falls, SD Fargo, ND Seattle, WA Honolulu, HI Charlotte, NC New York City, NY Wilmington, DE Cheyenne, WY Virginia Beach, VA Dist. of Columbia U.S. Average

Effective Tax Rate 2.807% 2.490% 2.215% 2.176% 2.083% 2.074% 2.062% 2.010% 1.867% 1.768% 1.703% 1.696% 1.560% 1.535% 1.533% 1.510% 1.414% 1.395% 1.379% 1.379% 1.376% 1.345% 1.337% 1.289% 1.264% 1.234% 1.128% 1.080% 1.076% 1.062% 1.048% 1.047% 0.960% 0.953% 0.908% 0.856% 0.751% 0.747% 0.739% 0.721% 0.721% 0.712% 0.673% 0.645% 0.631% 0.578% 0.532% 0.507% 0.464% 0.444% 1.745% 1.3%

Net Tax $1,403,291 $1,245,120 $1,107,314 $1,087,981 $1,041,562 $1,037,140 $1,030,854 $1,004,841 $933,410 $883,783 $851,696 $847,989 $779,993 $767,335 $766,569 $754,876 $707,023 $697,328 $689,675 $689,263 $688,115 $672,296 $668,555 $644,688 $631,750 $616,773 $564,050 $540,176 $537,761 $530,899 $523,784 $523,453 $479,876 $476,483 $454,031 $427,828 $375,250 $373,632 $369,573 $360,328 $360,575 $356,083 $336,384 $322,412 $315,580 $289,042 $265,788 $253,662 $231,752 $221,875 $872,273 $639,358

*Value: $25 million land & structures; $12.5M, Machinery & Equipment; $10M, Inventories; $2.5M, Fixtures.

WHY IT MATTERS Industrial property tax costs increased this year, adding to competitiveness pressures for manufacturers and logistics employers. Because industrial firms compete nationally and globally, keeping major operating costs predictable and competitive is important for attracting investment and job growth.

State and Local Government Employment (March 2024) Rank 32 10 43 28 33 50 3 27 16 26 47 37 14 48 49 20 8 7 45 46 36 38 2 12 15 30 23 44 25 5 39 1 4 24 6 11 19 41 29 35 40 34 22 42 18 9 17 31 21 13

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Maryland’s public workforce indicators shifted this year, reflecting changes in staffing and compensation. The competitiveness priority is ensuring public resources deliver strong outcomes efficiently while supporting a cost climate that enables private-sector growth.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

2024 Annual Payroll/FTE $65,450 $80,861 $59,820 $66,230 $65,405 $53,458 $89,425 $66,368 $74,160 $66,840 $54,649 $62,118 $76,225 $54,410 $54,408 $71,854 $82,056 $82,871 $58,515 $58,276 $62,919 $61,442 $95,472 $77,547 $75,676 $66,039 $70,099 $59,305 $67,508 $85,046 $61,061 $100,786 $85,535 $69,337 $85,034 $78,010 $73,002 $60,820 $66,123 $63,100 $61,055 $63,580 $70,170 $60,598 $73,091 $81,744 $73,824 $65,990 $71,646 $77,268 $104,146 $74,948

Information only

FTE’s/1,000 Residents 86.7 70.1 69.8 63.9 62.5 61.3 60.8 60.3 58.8 58.6 57.5 56.9 55.3 54.4 54.4 53.9 53.7 53.0 52.7 52.7 52.6 52.4 52.1 51.7 51.5 51.3 51.0 50.9 50.9 50.9 50.8 50.6 50.4 50.2 49.9 49.9 49.9 49.3 48.9 48.6 48.2 47.9 47.2 45.7 43.5 42.7 41.6 39.6 39.5 36.8 75.1 50.5

TABLE 17

Rank 1 Wyoming 2 Alaska 3 Kansas 4 Nebraska 5 North Dakota 6 Mississippi 7 New York 8 Iowa 9 Vermont 10 New Mexico 11 West Virginia 12 Alabama 13 Colorado 14 Arkansas 15 Louisiana 16 Virginia 17 Maryland 18 Oregon 19 Oklahoma 20 Kentucky 21 Montana 22 Maine 23 Washington 24 Minnesota 25 Hawaii 26 Texas 27 Delaware 28 Missouri 29 North Carolina 30 Connecticut 31 South Dakota 32 California 33 Massachusetts 34 Ohio 35 New Jersey 36 Illinois 37 Utah 38 South Carolina 39 New Hampshire 40 Georgia 41 Tennessee 42 Indiana 43 Wisconsin 44 Idaho 45 Michigan 46 Rhode Island 47 Pennsylvania 48 Florida 49 Arizona 50 Nevada Dist. of Columbia United States

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Information only

TABLE 18

State and Local Government Average Annual Pay (March 2024) Rank 1 California 2 Connecticut 3 Massachusetts 4 New York 5 Washington 6 Rhode Island 7 Vermont 8 Michigan 9 Alaska 10 Oregon 11 Minnesota 12 Illinois 13 New Jersey 14 Wisconsin 15 Pennsylvania 16 Utah 17 Iowa 18 Texas 19 Colorado 20 Virginia 21 Ohio 22 Maryland 23 Nevada 24 New Hampshire 25 Arizona 26 North Carolina 27 New Mexico 28 Indiana 29 Tennessee 30 Delaware 31 Alabama 32 Wyoming 33 Hawaii 34 South Dakota 35 North Dakota 36 Montana 37 Kentucky 38 Florida 39 South Carolina 40 Kansas 41 Georgia 42 Idaho 43 Oklahoma 44 Maine 45 Nebraska 46 Missouri 47 Louisiana 48 Mississippi 49 West Virginia 50 Arkansas Dist. of Columbia United States

State Avg FTE Salary $104,125 $98,276 $93,097 $91,991 $88,676 $88,010 $87,800 $86,943 $86,640 $86,622 $86,307 $86,264 $85,072 $83,911 $83,872 $81,989 $81,633 $80,146 $79,663 $79,467 $79,046 $78,749 $77,915 $77,540 $74,920 $74,406 $74,076 $73,799 $72,880 $72,832 $71,607 $71,115 $70,851 $70,653 $70,559 $70,535 $68,884 $67,934 $67,645 $67,188 $66,531 $66,113 $66,091 $65,258 $64,214 $63,647 $63,065 $62,678 $62,536 $61,853 N/A $80,976

Local Avg FTE Salary $99,685 $78,944 $82,228 $88,767 $99,145 $76,860 $66,346 $65,881 $75,623 $80,611 $74,082 $75,946 $85,020 $65,431 $69,974 $66,911 $60,866 $62,498 $74,670 $68,898 $66,334 $83,550 $77,054 $61,874 $70,403 $65,184 $62,443 $59,741 $57,547 $67,405 $57,390 $63,581 $91,546 $56,837 $62,307 $58,649 $52,955 $65,510 $57,701 $56,771 $62,048 $58,424 $55,319 $59,918 $67,035 $57,755 $50,737 $49,596 $49,710 $50,125 $104,146 $72,756

Rank 1 9 7 4 2 11 22 24 13 8 15 12 5 26 17 21 34 29 14 18 23 6 10 33 16 27 30 36 41 19 42 28 3 43 31 37 46 25 40 44 32 38 45 35 20 39 47 50 49 48

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Competitive public compensation can support service delivery and talent retention, but it is also a meaningful cost signal. Maryland’s long-term success depends on balancing strong public outcomes with a cost structure that supports private-sector growth.

State of the Tech Workforce (Cyberstates 2025)

Maryland continues to stand out as a high-wage, high-skill tech state — a major competitive advantage. Tech wages rose and Maryland’s wage ranking improved, even as overall tech employment levels held relatively steady.

Protecting this strength will require a competitive environment.

Source: The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA)

WHY IT MATTERS

Modest improvement

Median Wage (2024) Rank $145,434 2 $111,463 13 $125,570 5 $102,908 21 $125,463 7 $145,443 1 $106,265 20 $111,787 11 $100,662 22 $133,792 3 $106,434 19 $125,503 6 $95,881 28 $119,244 9 $126,467 4 $96,150 27 $107,052 18 $109,857 15 $86,919 40 $92,255 33 $90,781 36 $119,581 8 $107,529 17 $84,112 44 $112,677 10 $89,698 38 $97,528 24 $81,847 46 $93,361 30 $91,693 34 $84,651 42 $110,434 14 $92,619 32 $96,803 25 $79,747 48 $84,220 43 $95,319 29 $90,105 37 $71,178 50 $109,357 16 $91,137 35 $111,613 12 $89,443 39 $97,642 23 $86,294 41 $96,638 26 $81,220 47 $84,100 45 $93,352 31 $77,012 49 $131,552 $112,667

TABLE 19

Net Tech Share of Employment Total Rank (2024) Employment Rank 1 California 1,472,275 8.2% 5 2 Texas 972,747 6.9% 11 3 New York 577,624 5.9% 17 4 Florida 546,449 5.5% 20 5 Virginia 375,469 8.9% 2 6 Washington 356,736 9.8% 1 7 Illinois 328,975 5.4% 21 8 North Carolina 323,422 6.4% 12 9 Pennsylvania 312,537 5.1% 24 10 Massachusetts 311,165 8.4% 4 11 Georgia 306,962 6.2% 14 12 New Jersey 300,555 6.9% 10 13 Ohio 260,062 4.6% 31 14 Colorado 259,394 8.7% 3 15 Maryland 227,139 8.0% 7 16 Michigan 220,061 4.9% 26 17 Arizona 206,247 6.4% 13 18 Minnesota 184,718 6.1% 15 19 Missouri 156,802 5.2% 22 20 Tennessee 145,637 4.3% 33 21 Wisconsin 142,557 4.7% 29 22 Oregon 139,857 7.0% 9 23 Utah 129,230 7.4% 8 24 Indiana 123,613 3.8% 37 25 Connecticut 100,788 5.9% 16 26 South Carolina 99,162 4.2% 34 27 Alabama 97,442 4.4% 32 28 Kentucky 70,542 3.5% 43 29 Kansas 68,606 4.7% 28 30 Iowa 67,019 4.2% 35 31 Oklahoma 64,676 3.6% 38 32 New Hampshire 57,031 8.1% 6 33 Nevada 55,176 3.5% 42 34 Nebraska 54,426 5.1% 23 35 Louisiana 52,196 2.6% 49 36 Arkansas 43,669 3.2% 45 37 New Mexico 41,586 4.7% 30 38 Idaho 40,807 4.7% 27 39 Mississippi 32,508 2.7% 48 40 Rhode Island 29,698 5.8% 18 41 Maine 27,411 4.2% 36 42 Delaware 24,121 4.9% 25 43 West Virginia 23,060 3.2% 44 44 Hawaii 22,530 3.5% 41 45 Montana 18,815 3.6% 39 46 Vermont 17,621 5.7% 19 47 South Dakota 16,600 3.5% 40 48 North Dakota 13,528 3.0% 47 49 Alaska 10,539 3.1% 46 50 Wyoming 7,733 2.6% 50 Dist. of Columbia 70,060 9.1% United States 9,607,925 6.1%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

No new data

TABLE 20

Wages and Productivity of Production Workers in Manufacturing (2021) Rank 1 Wyoming 2 Louisiana 3 Connecticut 4 Washington 5 West Virginia 6 Nevada 7 Colorado 8 Idaho 9 Massachusetts 10 Maine 11 Oregon 12 California 13 Maryland 14 Missouri 15 Rhode Island 16 New York 17 New Hampshire 18 New Jersey 19 Texas 20 Michigan 21 Indiana 22 Minnesota 23 Kentucky 24 Virginia 25 Kansas 26 Illinois 27 Ohio 28 South Carolina 29 Montana 30 Pennsylvania 31 Wisconsin 32 North Dakota 33 Oklahoma 34 Vermont 35 Iowa 36 Arizona 37 Utah 38 Tennessee 39 New Mexico 40 Florida 41 Alabama 42 Hawaii 43 Georgia 44 Delaware 45 Nebraska 46 North Carolina 47 South Dakota 48 Arkansas 49 Mississippi 50 Alaska Dist. of Columbia United States

Wages Value Added Per Hour Per Hour $34.96 $282.40 $32.96 $405.09 $31.63 $234.01 $31.06 $117.34 $30.21 $191.52 $29.82 $167.08 $29.47 $158.60 $29.27 $139.24 $29.09 $203.12 $28.96 $141.49 $28.80 $169.13 $28.69 $216.97 $28.46 $206.33 $28.26 $160.98 $28.07 $144.93 $27.98 $199.50 $27.81 $145.60 $27.70 $189.45 $27.67 $258.32 $27.40 $139.53 $27.33 $175.52 $27.26 $156.32 $27.21 $155.89 $27.16 $192.62 $27.07 $156.44 $26.99 $168.90 $26.94 $159.46 $26.94 $200.38 $26.91 $186.66 $26.85 $166.96 $26.69 $140.11 $26.68 $196.74 $26.63 $168.37 $26.58 $130.01 $26.54 $186.77 $26.51 $195.17 $26.34 $173.30 $26.02 $167.93 $25.89 $183.49 $25.75 $161.70 $25.55 $164.94 $25.12 $190.77 $24.91 $160.90 $24.79 $245.81 $24.74 $181.69 $24.50 $179.71 $23.97 $126.47 $23.93 $143.95 $23.90 $167.89 $23.43 $99.92 $27.01 $113.14 $27.21 $180.44

Rank 2 1 5 49 14 29 36 46 8 43 24 6 7 33 41 10 40 16 3 45 22 38 39 13 37 25 35 9 18 30 44 11 26 47 17 12 23 27 19 32 31 15 34 4 20 21 48 42 28 50

WHY IT MATTERS Manufacturing wages and productivity are important competitiveness indicators, but updated figures were not available this cycle. Continued focus on a competitive cost environment and strong workforce pipeline supports long-term manufacturing growth.

Annual Average Investment Per Employee in Manufacturing (2021)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

WHY IT MATTERS Manufacturing investment is a strong indicator of whether firms are modernizing and expanding capacity. With no updated data available this cycle, the broader competitiveness goal remains supporting an environment where manufacturers can invest, innovate, and grow in Maryland.

No new data

$/Employee $49,980 $44,141 $41,687 $25,575 $22,827 $22,341 $21,813 $21,016 $20,009 $19,909 $19,682 $18,514 $17,966 $16,255 $16,067 $15,863 $15,636 $15,397 $15,176 $15,171 $15,137 $15,104 $14,765 $14,682 $14,681 $14,667 $14,570 $14,232 $14,102 $14,027 $13,892 $13,833 $13,820 $12,739 $12,259 $12,211 $12,201 $12,199 $11,929 $11,908 $11,826 $11,493 $11,226 $11,199 $11,090 $10,995 $10,918 $10,252 $8,046 $6,803 $3,020 $15,523

TABLE 21

Rank 1 Louisiana 2 Wyoming 3 Alaska 4 New Mexico 5 Texas 6 Alabama 7 Montana 8 Delaware 9 Tennessee 10 Kentucky 11 Iowa 12 Idaho 13 West Virginia 14 Oklahoma 15 North Carolina 16 Illinois 17 Arkansas 18 Ohio 19 Arizona 20 Oregon 21 South Carolina 22 Kansas 23 Utah 24 Virginia 25 Wisconsin 26 New Jersey 27 Georgia 28 Indiana 29 California 30 Maryland 31 Minnesota 32 Mississippi 33 Nebraska 34 Michigan 35 South Dakota 36 Massachusetts 37 Colorado 38 Pennsylvania 39 North Dakota 40 Florida 41 Connecticut 42 Rhode Island 43 Maine 44 Missouri 45 New Hampshire 46 New York 47 Washington 48 Nevada 49 Vermont 50 Hawaii Dist. of Columbia United States

Machinery and Equip. Expenditures Employees (in thousands) 109,188 $5,457,219 9,548 $421,462 11,079 $461,845 23,357 $597,364 759,565 $17,338,879 252,670 $5,644,930 18,017 $393,003 25,265 $530,964 317,973 $6,362,163 231,746 $4,613,792 210,469 $4,142,488 60,842 $1,126,399 43,791 $786,754 114,815 $1,866,369 418,556 $6,725,054 496,131 $7,870,243 149,202 $2,332,870 637,736 $9,818,916 146,821 $2,228,174 166,028 $2,518,837 220,967 $3,344,682 152,916 $2,309,672 131,590 $1,942,888 229,018 $3,362,490 451,577 $6,629,670 203,285 $2,981,681 359,176 $5,233,277 486,431 $6,922,929 1,081,500 $15,251,576 93,461 $1,310,977 297,876 $4,137,948 139,113 $1,924,334 94,225 $1,302,179 557,086 $7,096,899 43,947 $538,742 228,720 $2,792,833 122,103 $1,489,811 512,076 $6,246,716 25,600 $305,374 305,166 $3,633,848 144,162 $1,704,887 37,236 $427,964 48,579 $545,371 263,469 $2,950,524 63,366 $702,754 373,231 $4,103,688 249,525 $2,724,191 47,164 $483,516 28,912 $232,626 10,501 $71,434 1,203 $3,633 11,205,980 $173,946,839

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Information only

TABLE 22

Union Members as a Share of Employment (2024) Rank 1 Hawaii 2 New York 3 Alaska 4 Connecticut 5 New Jersey 6 Washington 7 Oregon 8 Massachusetts 9 California 9 Rhode Island 11 Vermont 12 Minnesota 13 Michigan 14 Illinois 14 Maine 16 Nevada 16 Ohio 18 Montana 19 Pennsylvania 20 Maryland 21 New Hampshire 22 Indiana 23 Kentucky 23 West Virginia 25 Missouri 26 Delaware 27 Colorado 28 New Mexico 29 Nebraska 30 Alabama 31 Iowa 31 Wisconsin 33 Kansas 34 Wyoming 35 Oklahoma 36 Mississippi 36 Virginia 38 Florida 39 Idaho 39 North Dakota 41 Tennessee 42 Texas 43 Louisiana 44 Georgia 45 Arizona 45 Utah 47 Arkansas 48 South Carolina 49 South Dakota 50 North Carolina Dist. of Columbia United States

2024 Percent 2023 Percent 2023 Rank 26.5% 24.1% 1 20.6% 20.6% 2 17.7% 14.8% 7 16.5% 15.9% 5 16.2% 16.1% 4 16.0% 16.5% 3 15.9% 14.1% 9 14.6% 12.6% 14 14.5% 15.4% 6 14.5% 12.3% 17 14.3% 14.3% 8 14.2% 13.3% 10 13.4% 12.8% 12 13.1% 12.8% 12 13.1% 9.2% 22 12.1% 12.4% 16 12.1% 12.5% 15 11.9% 11.8% 18 11.7% 12.9% 11 11.4% 10.7% 19 9.2% 9.3% 20 9.0% 8.0% 27 8.8% 8.8% 24 8.8% 8.7% 26 8.6% 9.3% 20 8.5% 8.8% 24 7.7% 6.9% 34 7.5% 7.5% 28 6.8% 7.3% 31 6.6% 7.5% 28 6.4% 7.2% 32 6.4% 7.4% 30 6.3% 8.9% 23 5.6% 5.6% 38 5.3% 6.8% 35 5.2% 7.0% 33 5.2% 4.3% 44 5.1% 4.7% 40 5.0% 4.5% 42 5.0% 6.2% 36 4.7% 6.0% 37 4.5% 4.5% 42 3.9% 4.3% 44 3.8% 4.6% 41 3.7% 4.2% 46 3.7% 4.1% 47 3.5% 5.1% 39 2.8% 2.3% 50 2.7% 3.6% 48 2.4% 2.7% 49 10.6% 9.1% 9.9% 10.0%

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland’s union membership rate increased this year, reflecting a modest change in the labor landscape. A competitive workforce environment supports both worker opportunity and employer growth, especially when policies encourage job creation and long-term investment.

Union Membership – Public vs. Private (2024)

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland’s union membership patterns differ sharply between the public and private sectors, reflecting distinct workforce structures. Maintaining competitiveness means supporting job growth across the private sector while ensuring Maryland remains attractive for employers and workers alike.

Source: Barry T. Hirsch, David A. Macpherson, and William E. Even

Rank 2 11 1 6 16 10 9 5 13 15 20 12 4 18 7 14 27 3 21 35 8 24 37 41 23 26 19 22 29 28 25 17 32 31 42 38 40 39 46 36 34 44 45 47 50 33 30 49 43 48

Information only

Public Percent Private Percent 65.1% 11.4% 61.2% 8.2% 61.0% 15.2% 59.3% 9.7% 59.2% 7.7% 53.6% 8.5% 50.9% 8.6% 49.6% 9.7% 49.4% 7.9% 48.4% 7.8% 48.1% 6.8% 43.9% 8.0% 43.7% 10.1% 43.6% 7.6% 43.3% 9.1% 39.0% 7.9% 38.6% 4.7% 37.7% 10.4% 37.2% 6.6% 36.6% 3.4% 31.8% 9.0% 28.8% 5.2% 28.3% 3.1% 23.0% 2.7% 22.6% 5.5% 22.0% 4.7% 21.4% 7.2% 20.7% 6.4% 19.6% 4.2% 19.2% 4.4% 18.1% 4.8% 17.2% 7.6% 17.1% 4.0% 16.9% 4.2% 16.1% 2.5% 16.0% 3.0% 15.6% 2.7% 14.0% 2.7% 12.9% 2.2% 12.9% 3.2% 12.5% 3.4% 12.3% 2.4% 11.7% 2.4% 11.5% 2.1% 11.2% 1.3% 10.9% 3.8% 9.7% 4.2% 9.6% 1.5% 9.0% 2.5% 7.2% 1.6% 21.1% 6.6% 32.2% 5.9%

TABLE 23

Rank 1 New York 2 Connecticut 3 Hawaii 4 New Jersey 5 Massachusetts 6 Rhode Island 7 Minnesota 8 Oregon 9 California 10 Illinois 11 Pennsylvania 12 Vermont 13 Washington 14 Maine 15 Alaska 16 Ohio 17 New Hampshire 18 Michigan 19 Montana 20 Delaware 21 Nevada 22 Maryland 23 Nebraska 24 Florida 25 West Virginia 26 Colorado 27 Indiana 28 Missouri 29 Iowa 30 Alabama 31 Wisconsin 32 Kentucky 33 Kansas 34 New Mexico 35 Oklahoma 36 Idaho 37 Texas 38 Virginia 39 Georgia 40 Tennessee 41 North Dakota 42 Arizona 43 Louisiana 44 Utah 45 South Dakota 46 Wyoming 47 Mississippi 48 South Carolina 49 Arkansas 50 North Carolina Dist. of Columbia United States

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration

Mixed results

TABLE 24

Unemployment Insurance Taxes (2024) Rank 1 Massachusetts 2 Pennsylvania 3 California 4 New York 5 Illinois 6 Michigan 7 Ohio 8 West Virginia 9 Connecticut 10 New Jersey 11 Rhode Island 12 Kentucky 13 Delaware 14 Maine 15 Vermont 16 Oregon 17 Texas 18 Colorado 19 Hawaii 19 Nevada 21 Wisconsin 22 Maryland 23 Indiana 24 Oklahoma 25 Louisiana 25 Washington 27 Georgia 28 Kansas 29 Arizona 30 Montana 31 New Mexico 32 Wyoming 33 Alaska 33 Arkansas 33 Missouri 36 Iowa 37 New Hampshire 38 Minnesota 39 Tennessee 40 North Dakota 40 South Carolina 42 North Carolina 43 Nebraska 44 South Dakota 45 Florida 46 Idaho 47 Utah 48 Mississippi 49 Virginia 50 Alabama Dist. of Columbia United States

Tax Paid as % of Avg. Amount Taxable Wages Per Employee 3.73% $413 3.40% $421 3.14% $328 3.00% $507 2.80% $461 2.77% $340 2.50% $291 2.38% $284 2.29% $334 2.21% $715 2.20% $622 2.12% $218 2.05% $77 2.03% $314 2.00% $334 1.87% $800 1.77% $167 1.53% $435 1.50% $673 1.50% $605 1.49% $249 1.31% $149 1.30% $168 1.28% $219 1.27% $150 1.27% $655 1.24% $191 1.20% $178 1.19% $134 1.14% $363 1.11% $738 1.10% $257 1.00% $683 1.00% $80 1.00% $142 0.94% $312 0.89% $155 0.88% $323 0.87% $90 0.81% $291 0.81% $149 0.76% $183 0.74% $101 0.73% $49 0.70% $73 0.60% $209 0.59% $212 0.56% $60 0.52% $51 0.43% $34 2.30% $285 2.03% $286

Rank 13 12 18 9 10 15 22 24 16 3 7 28 45 20 16 1 35 11 5 8 26 38 34 27 37 6 31 33 41 14 2 25 4 44 40 21 36 19 43 22 38 32 42 49 46 30 29 47 48 50

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland’s average unemployment insurance tax per employee decreased in the most recent year — a positive sign for employer cost pressures. At the same time, the share of wages paid toward unemployment insurance increased, suggesting the overall burden can still vary.

Regular Unemployment Insurance Payments (2nd Quarter 2025) Rank 11 2 24 21 1 41 26 14 19 36 44 42 29 25 30 10 13 16 17 23 15 43 9 12 8 18 32 37 26 5 45 4 33 6 3 39 38 35 47 31 49 20 40 46 7 34 48 50 22 28

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland’s unemployment benefit levels remain in line with many states, while benefit duration remains comparatively high. Longer benefit duration can signal challenges in connecting workers to new jobs quickly, reinforcing the importance of strong job growth and efficient pathways back to work.

Modest decline

Avg. Weekly Avg. Duration Benefit Amount (weeks) $738.18 16.0 $732.82 19.0 $686.20 14.0 $635.79 14.4 $622.52 19.6 $602.67 11.3 $585.29 13.5 $583.70 15.4 $581.92 14.6 $556.99 12.1 $539.87 9.8 $532.00 10.5 $518.71 13.3 $515.99 13.9 $515.52 12.8 $514.14 16.4 $505.43 15.5 $501.18 15.2 $495.13 15.0 $490.82 14.0 $487.94 15.3 $484.33 10.0 $481.51 16.5 $480.80 15.5 $467.21 16.7 $465.00 14.9 $460.27 12.4 $439.59 12.1 $436.07 13.5 $432.47 18.2 $404.24 9.7 $398.02 18.2 $378.70 12.3 $372.53 18.2 $371.93 18.9 $362.74 11.4 $354.49 12.0 $347.06 12.2 $344.49 8.9 $324.14 12.5 $321.66 8.6 $314.12 14.5 $311.39 11.4 $305.63 9.6 $305.40 16.8 $294.60 12.2 $266.23 8.6 $257.03 7.8 $245.92 14.1 $221.89 13.3 $421.51 15.8 $463.04 15.3

TABLE 25 Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration

Rank 1 Washington 2 Massachusetts 3 Hawaii 4 Colorado 5 New Jersey 6 North Dakota 7 Utah 8 Minnesota 9 Oregon 10 Vermont 11 Iowa 12 Kansas 13 Montana 14 Kentucky 15 Wyoming 16 Illinois 17 Texas 18 Connecticut 19 Maine 20 Ohio 21 Rhode Island 22 Idaho 23 Nevada 24 Pennsylvania 25 New Mexico 26 South Dakota 27 Nebraska 28 Oklahoma 29 West Virginia 30 New York 31 North Carolina 32 Maryland 33 New Hampshire 34 California 35 Delaware 36 Michigan 37 Virginia 38 Wisconsin 39 Georgia 40 Indiana 41 Arkansas 42 Arizona 43 South Carolina 44 Tennessee 45 Alaska 46 Missouri 47 Florida 48 Alabama 49 Louisiana 50 Mississippi Dist. of Columbia United States

Source: National Academy of Social Insurance

Modest improvement

TABLE 26

Workers’ Compensation – Benefits Paid (2022) Rank 1 Washington 2 Wyoming 3 California 4 New York 5 New Jersey 6 Hawaii 7 Alaska 8 West Virginia 9 Connecticut 10 Montana 11 Pennsylvania 12 Vermont 13 Louisiana 14 South Carolina 15 Oregon 16 Florida 17 Idaho 18 Wisconsin 19 Massachusetts 20 Iowa 21 Minnesota 22 Maine 23 Missouri 24 Delaware 25 New Mexico 26 Illinois 27 Kansas 28 Nebraska 29 Maryland 30 Nevada 31 Alabama 32 Georgia 33 Ohio 34 Rhode Island 35 New Hampshire 36 Colorado 37 Kentucky 38 Oklahoma 39 Mississippi 40 North Dakota 41 South Dakota 42 Arizona 43 North Carolina 44 Virginia 45 Michigan 46 Tennessee 47 Indiana 48 Utah 49 Arkansas 50 Texas Dist. of Columbia United States

Dollars Per % of Covered Covered Worker Wages $854.28 1.02% $770.37 1.38% $739.47 0.88% $671.11 0.75% $614.19 0.78% $606.37 1.01% $575.86 0.90% $548.89 1.06% $507.55 0.63% $473.48 0.88% $470.96 0.70% $462.11 0.78% $461.18 0.82% $430.98 0.78% $402.21 0.61% $401.18 0.63% $394.67 0.73% $390.95 0.66% $384.59 0.43% $383.27 0.67% $381.04 0.55% $367.88 0.64% $365.57 0.62% $365.42 0.54% $350.78 0.65% $346.61 0.48% $331.55 0.59% $331.29 0.58% $323.59 0.46% $323.53 0.52% $322.43 0.57% $302.87 0.46% $299.13 0.49% $290.84 0.46% $288.72 0.40% $282.20 0.38% $276.24 0.50% $272.22 0.51% $269.53 0.58% $267.86 0.45% $262.76 0.49% $243.80 0.38% $223.19 0.35% $218.69 0.31% $199.45 0.31% $194.71 0.32% $188.92 0.33% $188.83 0.31% $169.40 0.32% $126.05 0.18% $164.83 0.15% $421.68 0.60%

Rank 3 1 7 12 10 4 5 2 20 6 14 9 8 11 22 19 13 16 39 15 27 18 21 28 17 34 23 24 36 29 26 35 32 37 40 41 31 30 25 38 33 42 43 47 48 45 44 49 46 50

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR MARYLAND Maryland’s workers’ compensation rankings were largely unchanged this year, but benefit costs eased slightly — a positive sign for employer cost pressures.

Keeping costs stable and predictable while supporting workplace safety helps Maryland remain competitive for job creation and growth.

State Minimum Wage (January 1, 2026)

***

***

***

***

*** *** * **

* *

* *

**

*No state minimum wage, **State minimum less than federal minimum, ***State minimum varies based on location, size of employer or industry: first listed is most prevalent.

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland’s minimum wage remained $15 this year, continuing to rank among the higher wage floors nationally. Other states raised their minimum wages, reflecting a changing national landscape. The competitiveness focus is supporting strong earnings while ensuring employers can continue hiring.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, State Agencies

Minimum Wage $17.13 $16.94 $16.90/$20.00/$24.00 $16.00 $17.00/$16.00 $16.00 $15.92/$15.23/$18.92 $15.16 $15.15 $15.10 $16.30/$15.05/$14.05 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00 $14.42 $14.00 $13.73 $13.00 $12.77 $12.00 $12.00 $11.85 $11.41 $11.00 $11.00/$7.25 $10.85 $8.75 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $7.25 $17.95 $7.25

Mixed results

Rank Washington Connecticut California Hawaii New York Rhode Island New Jersey Colorado Arizona Maine Oregon Delaware Illinois Maryland Massachusetts Missouri Nebraska Vermont Florida Michigan Alaska Virginia Nevada New Mexico South Dakota Minnesota Arkansas Ohio Montana West Virginia Alabama Georgia Idaho Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi New Hampshire North Carolina North Dakota Oklahoma Pennsylvania South Carolina Tennessee Texas Utah Wisconsin Wyoming Dist. of Columbia Federal Minimum Wage

TABLE 27

1 2 3 4 4 4 7 8 9 10 11 12 12 12 12 12 12 18 19 20 21 22 23 23 25 26 27 27 29 30 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31

No new data

Source: Cato Institute

TABLE 28

Economic, Fiscal, and Regulatory Freedom (2022)

Rank 1 New Hampshire 2 Florida 3 South Dakota 4 Nevada 5 Arizona 6 Tennessee 7 Michigan 8 Missouri 9 Georgia 10 Indiana 11 North Dakota 12 Virginia 13 Wisconsin 14 Idaho 15 Alaska 16 Wyoming 17 Texas 18 Pennsylvania 19 Colorado 20 Montana 21 Ohio 22 Utah 23 Oklahoma 24 North Carolina 25 Kansas 26 Massachusetts 27 Arkansas 28 Kentucky 29 South Carolina 30 Alabama 31 Louisiana 32 West Virginia 33 Connecticut 34 Iowa 35 New Mexico 36 Rhode Island 37 Washington 38 Nebraska 39 Illinois 40 Mississippi 41 Minnesota 42 Vermont 43 Maine 44 Delaware 45 Maryland 46 Oregon 47 New Jersey 48 California 49 Hawaii 50 New York

Economic Freedom Score 0.71 0.57 0.52 0.51 0.44 0.38 0.31 0.30 0.28 0.27 0.26 0.24 0.24 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.22 0.20 0.20 0.19 0.16 0.16 0.15 0.14 0.12 0.12 0.11 0.11 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.04 0.01 0.01 -0.02 -0.05 -0.05 -0.06 -0.19 -0.20 -0.23 -0.34 -0.40 -0.42 -0.58 -0.72 -0.77

Fiscal Policy Regulatory Score Rank Policy Score 0.45 2 0.05 0.45 1 0.03 0.31 3 0.13 0.22 6 0.02 0.16 10 0.04 0.30 4 0.05 0.15 11 0.07 0.17 8 -0.02 0.17 9 0.07 0.09 21 0.09 0.12 12 0.07 0.07 25 0.05 0.08 23 0.08 0.12 14 0.12 0.12 15 0.02 0.12 13 0.11 0.20 7 0.05 0.22 5 -0.09 0.11 17 0.00 0.11 19 -0.07 0.11 16 -0.02 -0.01 33 0.10 0.07 24 0.01 0.05 27 0.02 -0.08 38 0.16 0.11 18 -0.13 0.03 30 0.07 0.04 29 0.07 0.01 32 0.06 0.02 31 0.03 0.05 26 -0.03 -0.06 37 0.00 0.10 20 -0.13 -0.15 43 0.14 -0.08 39 -0.08 0.09 22 -0.18 0.04 28 -0.14 -0.17 45 0.13 -0.04 36 -0.10 -0.13 42 0.06 -0.11 40 -0.04 -0.18 46 -0.20 -0.13 41 -0.30 -0.22 47 -0.04 -0.03 35 -0.38 -0.17 44 -0.33 -0.01 34 -0.46 -0.26 48 -0.45 -0.53 50 -0.22 -0.45 49 -0.39

Rank 17 23 3 26 21 19 12 30 11 8 10 18 9 5 25 6 20 37 28 35 31 7 27 24 1 39 14 13 16 22 32 29 40 2 36 42 41 4 38 15 34 43 45 33 47 46 50 49 44 48

WHY IT MATTERS Economic and regulatory climate strongly influence whether businesses expand, invest and create jobs in a state. Even without updated data this cycle, the long-term competitiveness takeaway remains: predictable, growthoriented policy environments support stronger outcomes.

Tort Costs (2022) Tort Costs per Total Tort Costs Tort Costs as % Household ($) ($Millions) of State GDP Rank

3.46% 2.61% 3.35% 2.52% 1.99% 2.27% 2.60% 2.40% 2.01% 1.82% 2.65% 1.80% 2.07% 1.92% 2.36% 2.58% 2.14% 2.54% 1.78% 1.41% 1.99% 1.64% 2.10% 1.88% 2.26% 1.54% 2.11% 1.30% 1.60% 1.91% 1.73% 1.98% 1.47% 1.67% 2.08% 1.84% 1.61% 1.28% 1.38% 2.28% 1.92% 1.51% 1.42% 1.73% 1.50% 1.32% 1.50% 1.55% 1.58% 1.57% 1.21% 2.07%

1 4 2 8 20 12 5 9 19 28 3 29 18 23 10 6 14 7 30 46 20 34 16 26 13 40 15 49 36 25 31 22 44 33 17 27 35 50 47 11 23 41 45 31 42 48 42 39 37 38

WHY IT MATTERS Tort costs are one component of the overall cost structure that affects both households and employers. Understanding these costs helps inform how Maryland compares competitively and how the business environment can support investment and growth.

Source: U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform

$3,122 $53,437 $48,179 $18,996 $72,298 $7,236 $19,932 $5,356 $48,196 $12,590 $7,748 $4,627 $21,273 $9,451 $1,714 $1,729 $19,489 $7,554 $8,563 $10,440 $9,446 $1,662 $8,325 $5,581 $6,352 $2,544 $2,644 $851 $7,181 $2,113 $8,402 $12,332 $9,765 $7,860 $3,448 $4,462 $3,363 $932 $676 $3,188 $4,968 $3,609 $1,490 $707 $10,771 $911 $12,372 $6,155 $1,358 $1,526 $2,004 $528,929

Information only

$8,026 $7,027 $5,768 $5,525 $5,429 $5,133 $5,050 $4,603 $4,594 $4,593 $4,389 $4,354 $4,281 $4,149 $3,966 $3,894 $3,752 $3,734 $3,694 $3,504 $3,449 $3,435 $3,387 $3,320 $3,286 $3,276 $3,252 $3,219 $3,183 $3,129 $3,096 $3,076 $2,968 $2,962 $2,942 $2,930 $2,928 $2,913 $2,886 $2,843 $2,808 $2,797 $2,734 $2,659 $2,624 $2,594 $2,583 $2,538 $2,341 $2,132 $6,347 $4,207

TABLE 29

Rank 1 Delaware 2 New York 3 Florida 4 New Jersey 5 California 6 Connecticut 7 Georgia 8 Nevada 9 Texas 10 Massachusetts 11 Louisiana 12 Utah 13 Illinois 14 Colorado 15 Rhode Island 16 Montana 17 Pennsylvania 18 South Carolina 19 Maryland 20 Washington 21 Arizona 22 Hawaii 23 Missouri 24 Oregon 25 Alabama 26 Nebraska 27 New Mexico 28 Alaska 29 Minnesota 30 Idaho 31 Tennessee 32 Michigan 33 Virginia 34 Indiana 35 Arkansas 36 Oklahoma 37 Kansas 38 North Dakota 39 Wyoming 40 Mississippi 41 Kentucky 42 Iowa 43 New Hampshire 44 Vermont 45 North Carolina 46 South Dakota 47 Ohio 48 Wisconsin 49 Maine 50 West Virginia Dist. of Columbia United States

Source: PitchBook/National Venture Capital Association

Declined

TABLE 30

Venture Capital Investment (2024) Rank 1 California 2 New York 3 Massachusetts 4 Texas 5 Colorado 6 Florida 7 Washington 8 North Carolina 9 Illinois 10 Delaware 11 New Jersey 12 Pennsylvania 13 Virginia 14 Minnesota 15 Arizona 16 Connecticut 17 Georgia 18 Maryland 19 Ohio 20 Indiana 21 Utah 22 Tennessee 23 Oregon 24 Michigan 25 West Virginia 26 Nevada 27 Missouri 28 Wisconsin 29 Arkansas 30 Rhode Island 31 South Carolina 32 Kansas 33 New Mexico 34 Oklahoma 35 Idaho 36 Vermont 37 Wyoming 38 Iowa 39 New Hampshire 40 Montana 41 Louisiana 42 Kentucky 43 Alabama 44 Hawaii 45 Nebraska 46 Maine 47 South Dakota 48 Mississippi 49 North Dakota 50 Alaska Dist. of Columbia United States

Total (in millions) $118,096 $25,749 $15,244 $7,084 $5,264 $4,748 $3,606 $3,590 $3,417 $3,093 $2,943 $2,255 $1,724 $1,669 $1,666 $1,652 $1,490 $1,287 $1,252 $1,114 $1,095 $797 $665 $647 $457 $433 $423 $350 $261 $253 $236 $235 $234 $223 $219 $206 $170 $148 $139 $134 $130 $125 $116 $85 $78 $74 $37 $33 $31 $9 $393 $215,377

Per Capita $2,995 $1,296 $2,136 $226 $884 $203 $453 $325 $269 $2,940 $310 $172 $196 $288 $220 $449 $133 $205 $105 $161 $313 $110 $156 $64 $258 $132 $68 $59 $84 $228 $43 $79 $110 $54 $110 $317 $290 $46 $99 $118 $28 $27 $22 $58 $39 $53 $40 $11 $39 $12 $559 $633

Rank 1 4 3 17 5 20 6 8 14 2 11 22 21 13 18 7 25 19 31 23 10 28 24 36 15 26 35 37 33 16 42 34 29 39 30 9 12 41 32 27 46 47 48 38 45 40 43 50 44 49

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland continues to attract venture capital, but investment levels fell this year — a sign of softer momentum compared with top-performing states.

Strengthening competitiveness can help Maryland grow its startup pipeline and keep more high-growth firms scaling here.

Overall R&D Spending (2022) Rank 3 1 2 13 30 10 6 9 14 15 20 16 40 21 12 8 17 7 23 33 18 4 22 24 32 31 25 26 5 29 11 19 39 42 34 41 47 44 49 27 36 50 28 43 37 35 45 38 48 46

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland remains a national leader in research and development — a major competitive advantage that supports high-skill jobs and long-term growth.

The opportunity is translating R&D strength into more business formation, commercialization and job creation across the economy.

Source: National Science Foundation

Dollars Per Capita $6,647 $8,978 $8,022 $2,281 $1,352 $2,933 $4,719 $3,138 $2,110 $2,057 $1,849 $2,055 $712 $1,792 $2,403 $3,265 $2,003 $3,657 $1,675 $1,121 $1,974 $5,115 $1,692 $1,658 $1,126 $1,206 $1,605 $1,593 $4,871 $1,375 $2,794 $1,973 $725 $689 $1,119 $693 $408 $574 $367 $1,415 $850 $367 $1,404 $612 $758 $1,081 $461 $737 $403 $433 $12,985 $2,670

Modest improvement

Millions of Dollars $260,179 $63,050 $62,521 $44,935 $40,726 $29,475 $29,224 $29,167 $27,402 $24,229 $23,332 $22,014 $15,926 $15,565 $14,062 $13,869 $13,712 $13,232 $12,357 $12,254 $11,295 $10,812 $9,991 $8,415 $7,951 $7,453 $5,442 $5,103 $4,971 $4,039 $3,902 $3,837 $3,832 $2,776 $2,206 $2,201 $1,844 $1,690 $1,687 $1,556 $1,182 $1,117 $910 $881 $851 $844 $817 $541 $367 $252 $8,787 $891,834

TABLE 31

Rank 1 California 2 Massachusetts 3 Washington 4 New York 5 Texas 6 Michigan 7 Maryland 8 New Jersey 9 Pennsylvania 10 Ohio 11 Illinois 12 North Carolina 13 Florida 14 Virginia 15 Colorado 16 Oregon 17 Indiana 18 Connecticut 19 Arizona 20 Georgia 21 Minnesota 22 New Mexico 23 Wisconsin 24 Alabama 25 Tennessee 26 Missouri 27 Utah 28 Iowa 29 Delaware 30 Kansas 31 New Hampshire 32 Idaho 33 South Carolina 34 Oklahoma 35 Nebraska 36 Nevada 37 Kentucky 38 Mississippi 39 Louisiana 40 Rhode Island 41 Maine 42 Arkansas 43 Vermont 44 Hawaii 45 Montana 46 North Dakota 47 West Virginia 48 Alaska 49 South Dakota 50 Wyoming Dist. of Columbia United States

Source: National Science Foundation

Improved

TABLE 32

R&D Per Capita by Performing Sector (2023)

Rank 1 Massachusetts 2 Washington 3 California 4 Delaware 5 Connecticut 6 New Hampshire 7 New Jersey 8 Michigan 9 Oregon 10 Indiana 11 Colorado 12 New York 13 North Carolina 14 Pennsylvania 15 Minnesota 16 Illinois 17 Maryland 18 Idaho 19 Wisconsin 20 Iowa 21 Utah 22 Arizona 23 Texas 24 Ohio 25 Alabama 26 Nebraska 27 Kansas 28 Virginia 29 Vermont 30 Georgia 31 Missouri 32 North Dakota 33 New Mexico 34 Nevada 35 Oklahoma 36 Tennessee 37 South Carolina 38 Rhode Island 39 Florida 40 Maine 41 Montana 42 Hawaii 43 Kentucky 44 South Dakota 45 Arkansas 46 West Virginia 47 Louisiana 48 Mississippi 49 Wyoming 50 Alaska Dist. of Columbia United States

Academic R&D Industrial R&D Dollars Per Capita Dollars Per Capita FY 2023 CY 2023 $7,423 $733 $6,786 $275 $6,341 $344 $5,082 $445 $3,255 $483 $2,827 $423 $2,694 $183 $2,635 $334 $2,361 $258 $2,036 $313 $1,871 $354 $1,743 $459 $1,697 $400 $1,620 $459 $1,594 $238 $1,588 $275 $1,548 $963 $1,447 $105 $1,388 $374 $1,386 $343 $1,271 $368 $1,218 $260 $1,143 $271 $1,132 $287 $1,037 $309 $1,022 $342 $969 $358 $943 $263 $928 $370 $908 $331 $895 $302 $809 $474 $694 $266 $657 $102 $630 $179 $585 $276 $568 $171 $561 $471 $551 $154 $479 $152 $396 $340 $346 $236 $286 $166 $277 $142 $230 $150 $204 $164 $158 $233 $141 $207 $116 $257 $98 $328 $1,360 $1,346 $2,143 $323

Rank 2 28 16 8 3 9 40 20 34 23 15 6 10 7 36 29 1 49 11 17 13 33 30 26 24 18 14 32 12 21 25 4 31 50 41 27 42 5 45 46 19 37 43 48 47 44 38 39 35 22

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland’s academic research leadership remains a standout strength, and improving industrial R&D is a positive signal for private-sector innovation.

Connecting research strengths to business growth helps Maryland generate more jobs, investment and new company formation.

Science, Engineering, and Health Doctorates (2023) Rank 4 36 9 1 14 21 49 16 24 25 29 31 12 2 15 18 10 8 34 28 39 26 7 37 30 19 44 46 6 41 47 45 48 32 13 5 50 3 42 43 17 40 38 20 23 33 35 11 27 22

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR MARYLAND Maryland continues to rank among top states for advanced scientific and technical talent — a major asset for innovation-driven growth. Strengthening the broader business climate helps ensure Maryland retains this talent and expands the industries that rely on it.

Source: National Science Foundation

Doctorates % of Workforce Employed with Doctorates 156,900 0.85% 54,600 0.37% 61,750 0.66% 59,700 1.63% 37,150 0.59% 30,150 0.49% 24,200 0.23% 27,700 0.55% 22,000 0.46% 25,350 0.45% 13,550 0.41% 20,500 0.40% 28,300 0.64% 39,450 1.26% 16,750 0.55% 23,350 0.50% 20,100 0.64% 29,400 0.76% 13,650 0.38% 12,600 0.41% 11,750 0.36% 12,950 0.43% 14,250 0.77% 8,250 0.37% 6,600 0.40% 8,700 0.50% 6,150 0.31% 7,300 0.30% 16,250 0.78% 5,000 0.34% 5,350 0.28% 6,000 0.30% 3,150 0.26% 4,100 0.40% 3,550 0.63% 4,050 0.83% 2,950 0.19% 8,450 0.91% 4,400 0.33% 2,350 0.31% 3,800 0.51% 1,450 0.35% 3,400 0.36% 3,200 0.49% 2,600 0.47% 1,850 0.39% 1,100 0.38% 2,200 0.64% 2,800 0.42% 1,600 0.47% 19,500 5.05% 905,300 0.56%

Modest improvement

Doctorates Awarded 5,671 3,474 3,370 2,581 2,114 1,891 1,815 1,588 1,578 1,469 1,288 1,258 1,258 1,233 996 924 918 831 804 795 768 706 645 606 601 491 461 442 438 412 359 347 303 296 289 236 227 196 183 180 171 146 115 111 109 105 78 58 52 32 369 45,533

TABLE 33

Rank 1 California 2 Texas 3 New York 4 Massachusetts 5 Pennsylvania 6 Illinois 7 Florida 8 North Carolina 9 Michigan 10 Ohio 11 Indiana 12 Georgia 12 Virginia 14 Maryland 15 Minnesota 16 New Jersey 17 Colorado 18 Washington 19 Arizona 20 Wisconsin 21 Tennessee 22 Missouri 23 Connecticut 24 Alabama 25 Iowa 26 Utah 27 Louisiana 28 South Carolina 29 Oregon 30 Kansas 31 Oklahoma 32 Kentucky 33 Mississippi 34 Nebraska 35 Rhode Island 36 Delaware 37 Nevada 38 New Mexico 39 Arkansas 40 West Virginia 41 New Hampshire 42 North Dakota 43 Idaho 44 Hawaii 45 Montana 46 South Dakota 47 Wyoming 48 Vermont 49 Maine 50 Alaska Dist. of Columbia United States

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Modest improvement

TABLE 34

Educational Attainment of Population 25 and Older (2024) Completed Bachelor’s H.S. (or EQ.) Degree Advanced Rank or Higher or Higher Rank Degree 1 New Hampshire 95.0% 41.5% 8 16.6% 2 Maine 94.8% 37.1% 18 14.6% 3 Vermont 94.7% 45.1% 3 19.2% 4 Montana 94.6% 36.3% 21 12.0% 5 Wyoming 94.4% 32.3% 39 12.0% 6 Minnesota 94.2% 40.0% 11 14.0% 7 North Dakota 94.1% 34.0% 31 10.5% 8 South Dakota 94.0% 34.2% 30 11.2% 9 Hawaii 93.7% 37.8% 16 13.9% 9 Wisconsin 93.7% 34.6% 29 12.0% 11 Utah 93.6% 39.1% 13 13.7% 12 Alaska 93.4% 32.8% 36 13.1% 13 Colorado 93.2% 47.8% 2 18.7% 14 Iowa 93.0% 32.1% 40 10.9% 15 Nebraska 92.6% 35.4% 26 13.0% 16 Idaho 92.5% 33.0% 35 11.2% 17 Pennsylvania 92.4% 36.4% 20 15.1% 18 Oregon 92.3% 37.8% 16 14.9% 18 Washington 92.3% 41.0% 10 16.6% 20 Michigan 92.2% 33.3% 33 13.1% 20 Ohio 92.2% 32.4% 37 12.5% 22 Kansas 92.0% 36.0% 23 13.6% 22 Missouri 92.0% 33.5% 32 13.3% 24 Connecticut 91.8% 42.6% 7 19.3% 24 Delaware 91.8% 36.0% 23 16.0% 26 Virginia 91.7% 43.3% 6 19.2% 27 Maryland 91.4% 44.7% 4 21.5% 27 Massachusetts 91.4% 48.3% 1 22.6% 29 South Carolina 91.0% 33.3% 33 13.0% 30 North Carolina 90.9% 37.1% 18 14.5% 31 Illinois 90.7% 39.2% 12 15.9% 32 Indiana 90.6% 30.7% 42 11.2% 32 Tennessee 90.6% 32.4% 37 12.4% 34 Florida 90.4% 35.8% 25 13.7% 34 New Jersey 90.4% 44.5% 5 18.2% 34 Rhode Island 90.4% 39.0% 14 16.5% 37 Oklahoma 90.2% 29.3% 44 10.5% 38 West Virginia 90.1% 24.4% 50 9.6% 39 Georgia 89.8% 36.3% 21 14.8% 40 Arizona 89.7% 34.7% 28 13.8% 41 Alabama 89.6% 29.9% 43 11.8% 42 Arkansas 89.3% 27.1% 48 10.0% 43 Kentucky 89.0% 27.9% 46 11.8% 44 Louisiana 88.2% 27.8% 47 10.5% 45 Mississippi 88.0% 27.0% 49 10.7% 45 New York 88.0% 41.2% 9 18.4% 47 New Mexico 87.9% 31.8% 41 14.0% 48 Nevada 87.7% 28.5% 45 10.1% 49 Texas 86.7% 35.2% 27 13.1% 50 California 84.8% 38.1% 15 14.9% Dist. of Columbia 92.0% 65.5% 38.3% United States 89.9% 36.8% 14.7%

Rank 9 18 4 35 35 20 45 40 22 35 24 28 6 43 31 40 14 15 9 28 33 26 27 3 12 4 2 1 31 19 13 40 34 24 8 11 45 50 17 23 38 49 38 45 44 7 20 48 28 15

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland remains a national leader in educational attainment, continuing to rank among the top states for bachelor’s and advanced degrees. The opportunity is ensuring this advantage translates into stronger job growth and more opportunities for residents across industries statewide.

Higher Education Total Fall Enrollment as Percentage of Population: Public vs. Private (Fall 2022) Private % Rank 13.02% 1 6.10% 2 3.38% 6 3.47% 5 1.86% 16 3.56% 4 4.14% 3 0.87% 33 2.62% 8 2.42% 10 1.28% 23 1.17% 26 0.78% 35 1.61% 18 2.03% 14 2.26% 11 1.33% 22 1.50% 20 0.81% 34 2.73% 7 0.94% 29 1.51% 19 1.99% 15 2.07% 13 0.93% 30 0.98% 27 0.58% 43 0.61% 41 0.19% 48 1.19% 25 2.53% 9 0.69% 38 0.91% 31 0.17% 49 1.77% 17 0.53% 45 0.97% 28 2.24% 12 0.60% 42 0.67% 39 0.78% 36 0.61% 40 1.19% 24 1.40% 21 0.32% 46 0.90% 32 0.73% 37 0.56% 44 0.30% 47 0.13% 50 14.27% 1.53%

WHY IT MATTERS Higher education participation helps shape Maryland’s long-term talent pipeline. Even without updated data this cycle, the competitiveness goal remains supporting pathways that connect education to employment and keep skilled workers in Maryland.

Source: U.S. Department of Education

Public % Rank 2.32% 50 5.76% 1 5.10% 6 4.02% 26 4.99% 9 3.25% 42 2.57% 49 5.69% 2 3.91% 31 4.04% 25 5.11% 5 5.20% 4 5.55% 3 4.72% 12 4.27% 21 3.90% 32 4.61% 15 4.30% 20 4.99% 8 2.95% 45 4.70% 13 4.08% 23 3.41% 36 3.32% 39 4.44% 18 4.36% 19 4.72% 11 4.61% 14 5.02% 7 4.02% 27 2.67% 46 4.51% 17 4.26% 22 4.98% 10 3.37% 37 4.55% 16 3.99% 28 2.65% 47 4.05% 24 3.93% 30 3.81% 34 3.97% 29 3.30% 40 2.98% 44 3.88% 33 3.19% 43 3.36% 38 3.44% 35 3.28% 41 2.61% 48 0.53% 4.04%

No new data

Total % 15.33% 11.87% 8.48% 7.49% 6.85% 6.80% 6.72% 6.56% 6.53% 6.46% 6.38% 6.37% 6.33% 6.32% 6.29% 6.16% 5.94% 5.80% 5.79% 5.68% 5.64% 5.59% 5.40% 5.38% 5.37% 5.34% 5.31% 5.22% 5.21% 5.21% 5.20% 5.20% 5.17% 5.15% 5.14% 5.08% 4.96% 4.89% 4.65% 4.60% 4.59% 4.58% 4.49% 4.38% 4.20% 4.09% 4.09% 4.00% 3.57% 2.75% 14.80% 5.57%

TABLE 35

Rank 1 New Hampshire 2 Utah 3 Arizona 4 West Virginia 5 Nebraska 6 Rhode Island 7 Massachusetts 8 North Dakota 9 Minnesota 10 Idaho 11 Indiana 12 California 13 Kansas 14 Iowa 15 Virginia 16 Vermont 17 Colorado 18 Kentucky 19 Alabama 20 New York 21 South Dakota 22 Delaware 23 Missouri 24 Illinois 25 Wisconsin 26 Maryland 27 Mississippi 28 Texas 29 New Mexico 30 Ohio 31 Connecticut 32 Louisiana 33 North Carolina 34 Wyoming 35 Maine 36 Arkansas 37 Georgia 38 Pennsylvania 39 Michigan 40 Oregon 41 South Carolina 42 Oklahoma 43 Florida 44 Tennessee 45 Montana 46 New Jersey 47 Hawaii 48 Washington 49 Nevada 50 Alaska Dist. of Columbia United States

Source: U.S. Department of Education

No new data

TABLE 36

Fall Enrollment as Percentage of Population: Public (Fall 2021) Total Public Rank 1 California 2 Iowa 3 New Mexico 4 Kansas 5 Mississippi 6 Arizona 7 North Carolina 8 Nebraska 9 Illinois 10 Minnesota 11 Virginia 12 Oregon 13 Maryland 14 Kentucky 15 Wyoming 16 Hawaii 17 Alabama 18 Wisconsin 19 Arkansas 20 Michigan 21 South Carolina 22 Indiana 23 Louisiana 24 New Jersey 25 Oklahoma 26 Missouri 27 Ohio 28 Texas 29 New York 30 Rhode Island 31 Maine 32 Tennessee 33 Connecticut 34 Georgia 35 Massachusetts 36 Idaho 37 North Dakota 38 Vermont 39 Utah 40 South Dakota 41 Pennsylvania 42 New Hampshire 43 West Virginia 44 Montana 45 Colorado 46 Washington 47 Florida 48 Alaska 48 Delaware 48 Nevada Dist. of Columbia United States

2-yr % 2.62% 2.55% 2.42% 2.40% 2.18% 2.10% 2.00% 1.99% 1.79% 1.79% 1.70% 1.58% 1.58% 1.55% 1.50% 1.50% 1.49% 1.44% 1.30% 1.27% 1.27% 1.26% 1.26% 1.24% 1.24% 1.20% 1.17% 1.16% 1.14% 1.09% 1.09% 1.05% 1.02% 1.01% 0.97% 0.90% 0.87% 0.86% 0.82% 0.80% 0.75% 0.71% 0.70% 0.66% 0.33% 0.26% 0.09% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 1.35%

4-yr Undergrad % Rank 2.20% 27 1.73% 40 1.83% 36 2.43% 22 1.99% 32 2.34% 24 1.82% 38 2.26% 26 1.01% 50 1.70% 41 1.98% 33 1.90% 34 2.19% 29 2.06% 30 3.18% 6 1.56% 44 2.61% 15 2.54% 18 2.41% 23 2.29% 25 2.01% 31 2.97% 9 2.59% 17 1.53% 46 2.19% 28 1.75% 39 2.60% 16 2.98% 8 1.55% 45 1.82% 37 1.88% 35 1.58% 43 1.34% 48 2.45% 21 1.27% 49 2.76% 13 3.92% 2 2.52% 19 4.49% 1 3.35% 5 1.59% 42 1.45% 47 2.70% 14 2.77% 12 3.56% 4 2.95% 10 2.94% 11 2.47% 20 3.60% 3 3.04% 7 0.44% 2.25%

Post-Baccalaureate % Rank 0.33% 47 0.45% 28 0.61% 13 0.79% 4 0.59% 18 0.60% 15 0.50% 24 0.72% 5 0.44% 31 0.43% 36 0.59% 17 0.43% 35 0.64% 7 0.60% 16 0.45% 29 0.38% 40 0.85% 2 0.44% 33 0.63% 11 0.61% 14 0.45% 30 0.81% 3 0.63% 9 0.44% 34 0.57% 19 0.47% 26 0.51% 23 0.55% 20 0.36% 43 0.35% 46 0.36% 44 0.39% 38 0.36% 42 0.63% 12 0.41% 37 0.44% 32 0.88% 1 0.48% 25 0.45% 27 0.64% 8 0.38% 39 0.30% 49 0.63% 10 0.51% 22 0.72% 6 0.36% 45 0.37% 41 0.25% 50 0.54% 21 0.30% 48 0.08% 0.48%

WHY IT MATTERS Public higher education enrollment helps build Maryland’s long-term workforce pipeline and supports access to credentials. Even without updated data this cycle, the opportunity is strengthening pathways that align education with high-demand jobs.

Fall Enrollment as Percentage of Population: Private (Fall 2021) Post-Baccalaureate % Rank 0.33% 23 0.94% 5 0.60% 14 0.00% 50 0.27% 27 0.10% 43 0.23% 32 0.75% 9 0.38% 21 0.18% 36 0.49% 18 0.15% 38 0.24% 29 0.07% 46 0.02% 49 0.13% 42 0.91% 6 0.28% 25 0.17% 37 0.79% 8 0.28% 24 0.09% 44 0.15% 39 0.04% 47 0.81% 7 0.57% 15 0.66% 13 0.14% 40 0.04% 48 0.09% 45 0.13% 41 0.73% 10 0.21% 35 1.41% 4 1.75% 2 0.24% 30 0.27% 26 0.24% 31 0.52% 17 2.23% 1 0.33% 22 0.26% 28 1.50% 3 0.43% 20 0.55% 16 0.69% 12 0.21% 34 0.70% 11 0.21% 33 0.47% 19 6.80% 0.48%

WHY IT MATTERS Private colleges and universities are an important part of Maryland’s education ecosystem and talent pipeline. Strengthening connections between education and employment helps ensure graduates can build careers in Maryland.

Source: U.S. Department of Education

4-yr Undergrad % Rank 0.74% 26 2.28% 7 2.61% 4 0.00% 50 0.83% 23 0.10% 47 0.88% 22 1.42% 11 0.93% 20 0.44% 38 0.63% 33 0.39% 44 0.66% 31 0.06% 48 0.06% 49 0.43% 40 1.78% 9 0.58% 36 0.77% 25 1.22% 17 0.95% 19 0.42% 41 0.40% 43 0.24% 46 1.24% 15 0.42% 42 0.81% 24 0.63% 32 2.47% 5 0.60% 35 0.47% 37 1.28% 13 0.62% 34 4.50% 2 2.43% 6 0.38% 45 0.66% 30 0.44% 39 0.92% 21 9.61% 1 1.32% 12 0.69% 28 1.24% 16 1.19% 18 1.27% 14 1.71% 10 0.68% 29 2.84% 3 0.72% 27 1.92% 8 7.45% 1.00%

No new data

2-yr % 0.28% 0.19% 0.17% 0.13% 0.13% 0.12% 0.11% 0.09% 0.09% 0.08% 0.08% 0.07% 0.07% 0.06% 0.05% 0.05% 0.05% 0.04% 0.04% 0.04% 0.03% 0.03% 0.03% 0.03% 0.03% 0.03% 0.03% 0.03% 0.03% 0.02% 0.02% 0.02% 0.02% 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.09% 0.06%

TABLE 37

Total Private Rank 1 Colorado 2 Arizona 3 West Virginia 4 Wyoming 5 Florida 6 Nevada 7 Ohio 8 Pennsylvania 9 Tennessee 10 Louisiana 11 California 12 Texas 13 Georgia 14 New Mexico 15 Alaska 16 Oklahoma 17 New York 18 New Jersey 19 Kansas 20 Virginia 21 Indiana 22 Arkansas 23 Washington 24 Montana 25 Illinois 26 Maryland 27 Kentucky 28 South Carolina 29 Idaho 30 Hawaii 31 Michigan 32 Missouri 33 Alabama 34 Utah 35 Massachusetts 36 Mississippi 37 North Carolina 38 Oregon 39 Delaware 40 New Hampshire 41 Maine 42 Wisconsin 43 Minnesota 44 Iowa 45 Nebraska 46 Connecticut 46 North Dakota 46 Rhode Island 46 South Dakota 46 Vermont Dist. of Columbia United States

Source: U.S. Department of Education

No new data

TABLE 38

Fall Enrollment in Private For-Profit and Non-Profit Colleges (Fall 2021) Rank 1 Arizona 2 California 3 Minnesota 4 Florida 5 Illinois 6 West Virginia 7 Colorado 8 New York 9 Texas 10 Virginia 11 Georgia 12 Alabama 13 Ohio 14 Tennessee 15 Connecticut 16 Pennsylvania 17 New Jersey 18 Kentucky 19 Utah 20 Kansas 21 North Carolina 22 Nevada 23 Washington 24 South Carolina 25 Louisiana 26 Missouri 27 Maryland 28 Indiana 29 Iowa 30 Michigan 31 New Mexico 32 Oklahoma 33 Wisconsin 34 Oregon 35 South Dakota 36 Mississippi 37 Idaho 38 Wyoming 39 North Dakota 40 Maine 41 Hawaii 42 Massachusetts 43 Arkansas 44 Alaska 45 Delaware 46 Montana 47 Nebraska 48 New Hampshire 48 Rhode Island 48 Vermont Dist. of Columbia United States

Total For-Profit 235,682 146,311 89,334 72,013 57,796 53,312 45,393 39,365 36,954 29,940 21,956 18,691 15,795 15,541 14,268 11,866 9,400 9,017 8,498 7,275 6,689 6,073 5,161 4,551 3,572 3,423 3,402 2,819 2,671 2,637 2,482 2,119 2,001 1,988 1,269 804 745 742 597 519 475 448 417 317 300 50 28 0 0 0 11,877 1,003,223

Total Non-Profit 11,956 321,710 67,237 195,734 206,460 7,127 33,113 503,768 144,339 148,685 82,276 23,889 127,380 82,018 72,144 282,286 74,000 58,369 189,385 21,478 93,118 3,919 40,081 36,807 29,079 122,139 59,350 82,879 49,210 59,795 1,705 22,137 53,667 27,190 7,125 17,743 47,582 0 6,295 22,333 9,828 292,863 16,189 676 14,353 3,421 35,750 164,416 38,832 15,481 84,082 4,113,104

Rank 41 2 19 6 5 43 30 1 10 9 15 33 11 16 18 4 17 22 7 36 13 46 26 28 31 12 21 14 24 20 48 35 23 32 44 37 25 50 45 34 42 3 38 49 40 47 29 8 27 39

WHY IT MATTERS Postsecondary participation across different institution types contributes to Maryland’s talent supply. The competitiveness goal is ensuring students have clear pathways to in-demand skills and good jobs in Maryland.

Import/Export Ratio of College-Bound High School Graduates (Fall 2022) Imp/Exp Ratio (<1=Exporter, >1=Importer)

Migration Out of State

Freshmen in Institutions Inside State

4.56 3,004 13,696 3.83 7,582 29,008 3.67 1,919 7,048 3.65 4,958 18,093 3.10 3,882 12,038 3.05 2,935 8,962 2.81 1,507 4,230 2.72 5,555 15,092 2.54 2,916 7,406 2.51 8,345 20,947 2.43 2,089 5,073 2.23 3,721 8,286 2.08 1,912 3,970 2.07 6,515 13,495 1.99 1,846 3,682 1.84 4,756 8,729 1.64 2,888 4,728 1.63 3,795 6,197 1.57 6,412 10,088 1.56 2,868 4,488 1.56 10,351 16,182 1.55 22,634 35,176 1.55 1,146 1,772 1.52 4,851 7,384 1.52 15,012 22,796 1.49 5,755 8,567 1.47 9,448 13,880 1.46 12,276 17,886 1.45 21,793 31,537 1.39 5,868 8,169 1.32 22,129 29,109 1.22 16,045 19,522 1.21 10,202 12,389 1.19 36,967 44,063 1.09 13,824 15,021 1.06 10,636 11,308 1.06 4,411 4,654 0.91 3,044 2,775 0.88 46,041 40,554 0.82 14,528 11,867 0.80 20,280 16,302 0.68 4,236 2,872 0.59 14,714 8,671 0.53 16,387 8,753 0.51 35,844 18,369 0.51 38,282 19,538 0.51 18,491 9,392 0.33 5,104 1,705 0.20 34,867 6,914 0.15 2,009 292 3.78 2,719 10,283 1.16 574,581 666,574

37,138 73,139 16,077 23,025 33,689 14,865 8,375 47,587 26,928 63,902 6,810 26,108 8,746 46,332 8,820 28,544 9,561 15,626 33,086 11,725 55,768 106,760 4,893 30,817 94,012 37,327 49,451 83,663 153,364 39,133 65,691 78,383 75,002 168,650 44,623 45,212 17,932 15,999 363,439 30,769 81,285 8,620 50,911 39,627 91,456 240,809 41,401 16,244 61,001 2,196 11,044 2,749,449

Rank

27 12 38 35 28 41 47 19 33 14 48 34 45 20 44 32 43 40 29 42 16 5 49 30 6 26 18 8 4 25 13 10 11 3 22 21 36 39 1 31 9 46 17 24 7 2 23 37 15 50

WHY IT MATTERS Whether Maryland keeps college-bound graduates is a meaningful long-term competitiveness signal. Retaining more young talent depends on creating a strong job market, affordability, and clear opportunities for graduates to build careers in Maryland.

No new data

Into State

TABLE 39 Source: U.S. Department of Education

Rank 1 Utah 2 Arizona 3 West Virginia 4 New Hampshire 5 Iowa 6 Rhode Island 7 North Dakota 8 Alabama 9 Mississippi 10 Indiana 11 Vermont 12 Arkansas 13 Montana 14 South Carolina 15 South Dakota 16 Kansas 17 Delaware 18 Idaho 19 Oregon 20 Maine 21 Tennessee 22 Pennsylvania 23 Wyoming 24 Oklahoma 25 Ohio 26 Kentucky 27 Wisconsin 28 North Carolina 29 Florida 30 Louisiana 31 Massachusetts 32 Virginia 33 Michigan 34 New York 35 Colorado 36 Missouri 37 Nebraska 38 New Mexico 39 California 40 Connecticut 41 Georgia 42 Hawaii 43 Washington 44 Minnesota 45 Illinois 46 Texas 47 Maryland 48 Nevada 49 New Jersey 50 Alaska Dist. of Columbia United States

Source: U.S. Department of Education

Improved

TABLE 40

National Assessment of Educational Progress (2024) 4th Grade 8th Grade 4th Grade 8th Grade Reading Reading Math Math Overall Rank Scores Scores Rank Scores Rank Scores Rank 1 Massachusetts 225 268 1 246 1 283 1 2 New Jersey 222 266 2 240 9 282 3 2 Wyoming 222 260 12 243 2 278 12 4 Colorado 221 265 3 239 13 278 12 4 New Hampshire 221 264 4 242 4 280 7 6 Indiana 220 262 6 240 9 278 12 7 Connecticut 219 263 5 239 13 277 16 7 Mississippi 219 253 41 239 13 269 34 7 Utah 219 261 8 242 4 282 3 10 Florida 218 253 41 243 2 267 41 10 Kentucky 218 258 21 238 20 271 27 12 Montana 217 261 8 238 20 279 10 13 Hawaii 216 257 24 239 13 270 29 13 Idaho 216 261 8 238 20 278 12 13 Louisiana 216 257 24 235 34 267 41 13 Maryland 216 258 21 234 38 268 38 13 North Dakota 216 257 24 241 6 280 7 13 Ohio 216 260 12 239 13 279 10 13 Pennsylvania 216 259 17 238 20 276 18 13 Rhode Island 216 258 21 237 28 270 29 13 Washington 216 259 17 238 20 274 24 22 Iowa 215 261 8 237 28 275 22 22 New York 215 257 24 234 38 271 27 22 South Carolina 215 254 38 238 20 268 38 22 Tennessee 215 259 17 240 9 276 18 22 Wisconsin 215 260 12 239 13 283 1 27 Georgia 214 259 17 236 31 269 34 27 Illinois 214 262 6 236 31 277 16 27 Minnesota 214 260 12 241 6 282 3 27 South Dakota 214 260 12 240 9 281 6 27 Virginia 214 256 29 238 20 275 22 32 Alabama 213 250 45 236 31 262 48 32 Kansas 213 255 31 237 28 274 24 32 Nevada 213 253 41 233 40 265 44 32 North Carolina 213 255 31 239 13 276 18 32 Vermont 213 257 24 235 34 276 18 37 California 212 254 38 233 40 269 34 37 Missouri 212 255 31 235 34 270 29 37 Nebraska 212 256 29 238 20 280 7 37 Texas 212 252 44 241 6 269 34 41 Arkansas 210 255 31 230 47 266 43 41 Delaware 210 249 46 233 40 263 47 41 Maine 210 255 31 233 40 273 26 44 Michigan 209 255 31 235 34 270 29 45 Arizona 208 254 38 232 45 270 29 46 Oklahoma 207 249 46 233 40 264 45 46 Oregon 207 255 31 229 48 268 38 48 West Virginia 206 247 48 232 45 261 49 49 Alaska 202 246 49 226 49 264 45 50 New Mexico 201 245 50 224 50 256 50 Dist. of Columbia 209 251 231 262 United States 214 257 237 272

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland’s latest NAEP results show encouraging progress in reading and math — a positive signal for long-term workforce readiness. Maryland’s competitiveness depends on sustaining improvements in outcomes while ensuring families and employers see value from public investments.

Estimated Public School Spending Per Pupil (SY 2022-23)

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland’s per-pupil spending rose again this year, alongside encouraging improvement in student outcomes. The priority is sustaining progress while keeping education costs manageable over time.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Support Services Dollars Rank $9,197 5 $10,650 1 $9,921 2 $9,452 3 $8,553 8 $7,935 9 $9,289 4 $8,707 7 $9,092 6 $7,813 10 $7,187 14 $7,467 12 $7,452 13 $6,458 19 $7,167 15 $7,654 11 $7,043 18 $7,132 17 $7,138 16 $6,396 21 $5,237 32 $5,268 31 $6,038 23 $6,073 22 $5,228 33 $5,891 25 $6,407 20 $5,302 29 $5,935 24 $5,221 34 $5,366 28 $5,104 37 $5,643 26 $5,193 35 $5,133 36 $5,451 27 $5,283 30 $4,814 39 $5,080 38 $4,130 48 $4,572 41 $4,455 45 $4,488 44 $4,413 46 $4,191 47 $4,563 42 $4,791 40 $4,550 43 $3,412 50 $3,835 49 $14,349 $6,132

Mixed results

Instruction Dollars Rank $20,183 1 $14,752 4 $15,587 2 $14,764 3 $13,985 5 $13,271 6 $11,351 12 $11,899 9 $10,534 16 $11,894 10 $12,141 7 $11,599 11 $11,275 13 $11,912 8 $10,928 14 $10,455 17 $10,555 15 $9,800 19 $9,516 22 $9,564 21 $10,179 18 $9,595 20 $9,447 23 $8,975 25 $9,309 24 $8,411 29 $7,944 33 $8,902 26 $7,943 34 $8,536 28 $8,288 30 $8,570 27 $7,636 36 $8,019 32 $8,025 31 $7,458 37 $7,224 38 $7,141 40 $6,934 43 $7,764 35 $7,144 39 $7,119 41 $6,890 45 $6,922 44 $7,083 42 $6,716 46 $5,956 49 $5,930 50 $6,469 47 $5,992 48 $16,422 $9,762

TABLE 41

Total Spending Rank Dollars 1 New York $30,012 2 Vermont $26,345 3 New Jersey $26,280 4 Connecticut $25,081 5 Massachusetts $22,947 6 New Hampshire $21,731 7 Delaware $21,340 8 Rhode Island $21,182 9 Alaska $20,340 10 Illinois $20,253 11 Pennsylvania $20,056 12 Hawaii $20,056 13 Wyoming $19,324 14 Maryland $18,887 15 California $18,798 16 Maine $18,797 17 Washington $18,181 18 Michigan $17,535 19 Oregon $17,161 20 Ohio $16,476 21 Minnesota $16,117 22 North Dakota $16,114 23 Virginia $16,098 24 New Mexico $15,693 25 Nebraska $15,200 26 Wisconsin $14,882 27 Colorado $14,858 28 Kansas $14,847 29 Louisiana $14,645 30 Kentucky $14,633 31 West Virginia $14,575 32 Georgia $14,414 33 South Carolina $13,957 34 Iowa $13,792 35 Montana $13,771 36 Missouri $13,472 37 Indiana $13,121 38 Alabama $12,765 39 Arkansas $12,738 40 North Carolina $12,492 41 Texas $12,304 42 Tennessee $12,197 43 Mississippi $12,093 44 South Dakota $12,005 45 Florida $11,862 46 Nevada $11,673 47 Arizona $11,297 48 Oklahoma $11,155 49 Utah $10,333 50 Idaho $10,247 Dist. of Columbia $31,629 United States $16,526

Partisan Composition of State Governments

Source: National Conference of State Legislators

Information only

TABLE 42

(Aug. 29, 2025) State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Senate Senate Senate House House House Gov. Dem. Rep. Other Dem. Rep. Other Party 8 27 29 71 5 v Rep 9 11 14 21 5 Rep 13 17 27 33 Dem 6 29 19 81 Rep 30 10 60 19 1 v Dem 23 12 43 21 1 v Dem 25 11 102 49 Dem 15 6 27 14 Dem 10 26 1, 3 v 32 86 2 v Rep 23 32 1v 80 100 Rep 22 3 42 9 Dem 6 29 9 61 Rep 40 19 78 40 Dem 10 40 30 70 Rep 17 33 33 67 Rep 9 31 37 88 Dem 6 32 20 80 Dem 11 28 32 73 Rep 20 14 1 76 73 2 Dem 34 13 102 39 Dem 35 5 134 25 1 Dem 19 18 1v 52 58 Dem 33 32 2v 66 67 1 v Dem 14 36 2v 39 80 2, 1 v Rep 10 24 52 108 3 v Rep 18 32 42 58 Rep 49 Unicameral/Nonpartisan Rep 13 8 27 15 Rep 8 16 177 218 2, 3 v Rep 25 15 52 28 Dem 26 16 44 26 Dem 41 22 103 47 Dem 20 30 49 71 Dem 5 42 11 81 2 v Rep 9 24 33 65 1 v Rep 8 40 20 81 Rep 18 12 36 24 Dem 23 27 102 101 Dem 34 4 64 10 1 Dem 12 33 1v 36 86 2 v Rep 3 32 6 63 1 v Rep 6 27 24 75 Rep 11 19 1v 62 88 Rep 6 22 1 14 61 Rep 16 13 1 87 56 7 Rep 21 19 51 48 1 v Rep 30 19 59 39 Dem 2 32 9 91 Rep 15 18 45 54 Dem 2 28 1v 6 56 Rep

v = vacant

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland currently has Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, and a Democratic Governor. Regardless of party control, long-term competitiveness depends on policies that strengthen affordability, opportunity and growth.

Average Retail Price Per KwH for Industrial Customers (2023 – 2024) Change from 2023 to 2024 (cents) -0.32 -0.27 -0.42 -0.48 -0.02 -0.06 0.26 -0.26 -0.10 -0.14 0.16 0.06 0.33 -0.12 0.15 -0.21 0.03 0.52 0.10 0.62 0.57 0.87 0.12 -0.03 -0.21 0.90 0.53 -0.10 0.10 0.27 0.64 -0.89 -0.14 0.12 -1.72 0.62 0.08 -0.06 2.31 0.06 0.31 0.25 0.17 0.45 1.43 0.31 0.61 0.71 2.89 -1.15 -0.05 0.09

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland’s industrial electricity prices rose slightly this year and remain relatively high compared to many states. Because energy reliability and supply conditions influence costs over time, maintaining a stable, affordable energy environment is particularly important for industrial employers.

Modest decline

Cents/KwH (2023) 5.75 5.88 6.26 6.60 6.23 6.55 6.35 6.87 6.91 6.96 6.68 7.03 6.88 7.37 7.10 7.80 7.63 7.17 7.64 7.15 7.24 6.99 7.75 7.90 8.11 7.06 7.52 8.24 8.16 8.01 7.85 9.39 8.68 8.50 10.36 8.20 8.92 9.20 6.87 9.94 11.27 11.68 12.30 15.76 15.69 17.88 18.70 18.98 18.64 35.28 10.85 8.04

TABLE 43 Source: U.S. Department of Energy

Rank 1 New Mexico 2 Louisiana 3 Oklahoma 4 Texas 5 Tennessee 6 Kentucky 7 Washington 8 Arkansas 9 Iowa 10 Mississippi 11 South Carolina 12 Ohio 13 Georgia 14 North Dakota 15 Alabama 16 Montana 17 Nebraska 18 Idaho 19 Kansas 20 North Carolina 21 West Virginia 22 Utah 23 Pennsylvania 24 Missouri 25 Arizona 26 Wyoming 27 Oregon 28 Indiana 29 Michigan 30 South Dakota 31 Delaware 32 Florida 33 Wisconsin 34 Colorado 35 Nevada 36 Illinois 37 Virginia 38 Minnesota 39 New York 40 Maryland 41 Vermont 42 New Jersey 43 Maine 44 New Hampshire 45 Connecticut 46 Massachusetts 47 Alaska 48 Rhode Island 49 California 50 Hawaii Dist. of Columbia United States

Cents/KwH (2024) 5.43 5.61 5.84 6.12 6.21 6.50 6.61 6.61 6.80 6.81 6.84 7.10 7.21 7.25 7.25 7.59 7.66 7.69 7.73 7.77 7.81 7.86 7.87 7.87 7.90 7.96 8.05 8.15 8.26 8.28 8.49 8.50 8.54 8.62 8.64 8.83 8.99 9.15 9.17 10.01 11.58 11.93 12.46 16.21 17.12 18.19 19.31 19.70 21.53 34.13 10.80 8.13

Modest decline

Source: U.S. Department of Energy

TABLE 44

Average Retail Price Per KwH for Commercial Customers (2023 – 2024)

Rank 1 North Dakota 2 Nebraska 3 Texas 4 Virginia 5 Oklahoma 6 Idaho 7 Wyoming 8 Utah 9 Washington 10 Oregon 11 Nevada 12 Iowa 13 Arkansas 14 Missouri 15 Louisiana 16 New Mexico 17 South Dakota 18 North Carolina 19 South Carolina 20 Ohio 21 Georgia 22 Florida 23 Pennsylvania 24 Kansas 25 Kentucky 26 West Virginia 27 Colorado 28 Illinois 29 Montana 30 Tennessee 31 Minnesota 32 Delaware 33 Arizona 34 Mississippi 35 Indiana 36 Wisconsin 37 Maryland 38 Alabama 39 Michigan 40 New Jersey 41 Maine 42 New York 43 Vermont 44 New Hampshire 45 Massachusetts 46 Rhode Island 47 Connecticut 48 Alaska 49 California 50 Hawaii Dist. of Columbia United States

Cents/KwH (2024) 7.19 8.39 8.55 8.72 8.92 9.17 9.27 9.39 9.99 10.11 10.19 10.22 10.24 10.26 10.46 10.54 10.55 10.56 10.64 10.66 10.87 10.99 11.03 11.19 11.50 11.62 11.71 11.81 11.87 12.05 12.15 12.20 12.23 12.32 12.44 12.63 12.96 13.64 14.01 14.64 18.22 18.77 18.89 19.40 20.90 21.09 21.21 21.57 25.54 38.18 17.07 12.75

Cents/KwH (2023) 7.38 8.76 8.82 8.95 9.34 8.78 8.94 8.51 9.92 9.92 11.91 10.33 10.34 10.14 10.45 10.68 10.16 9.67 10.39 10.75 10.70 11.95 11.26 10.85 11.38 11.03 11.64 11.24 12.11 11.80 12.39 11.83 11.79 12.37 12.55 12.76 12.77 13.16 13.40 14.00 17.88 18.01 18.00 20.40 19.62 17.68 19.99 20.87 23.91 39.03 16.94 12.59

Change from 2023 to 2024 (cents) -0.19 -0.36 -0.27 -0.23 -0.41 0.39 0.34 0.88 0.07 0.19 -1.72 -0.11 -0.10 0.12 0.01 -0.14 0.39 0.89 0.24 -0.09 0.17 -0.96 -0.23 0.34 0.12 0.59 0.07 0.57 -0.24 0.26 -0.24 0.37 0.44 -0.05 -0.11 -0.13 0.19 0.48 0.61 0.64 0.34 0.76 0.89 -1.01 1.27 3.41 1.22 0.70 1.62 -0.84 0.13 0.16

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland’s commercial electricity prices increased again this year, adding to day-to-day operating costs for employers. Keeping energy reliable and affordable supports small businesses and major employers alike — and helps Maryland remain competitive for growth and investment.

Average Retail Price Per KwH for Residential Customers (2023 – 2024) Change from 2023 to 2024 (cents) 0.50 0.47 0.33 0.18 0.92 1.02 0.16 0.07 0.23 1.01 0.12 0.13 0.54 0.33 0.17 0.10 0.39 1.21 -1.07 0.77 0.35 0.55 0.15 1.97 -0.17 0.89 0.62 0.47 -1.67 1.02 0.55 0.72 0.16 0.60 0.84 0.31 -0.34 1.26 0.46 1.64 1.08 -4.75 -3.13 2.18 0.92 1.63 -1.14 -0.26 2.46 0.47 1.26 0.48

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland’s residential electricity prices rose again this year, increasing costof-living pressure for households. Because affordability affects workforce retention and long-term economic growth, maintaining reliable and costcompetitive energy is an important competitiveness priority.

Declined

Cents/KwH (2023) 11.01 11.05 11.20 11.55 10.98 11.20 12.08 12.25 12.19 11.46 12.54 12.65 12.32 12.58 13.23 13.31 13.69 12.93 15.21 13.38 13.85 13.68 14.26 12.73 14.94 14.02 14.30 14.46 16.67 14.05 14.63 14.73 15.71 15.38 15.73 16.88 18.10 16.60 18.84 17.70 20.82 28.15 27.42 22.24 23.90 27.02 29.88 29.61 29.51 42.39 16.45 16.00

TABLE 45 Source: U.S. Department of Energy

Rank 1 North Dakota 2 Idaho 3 Nebraska 4 Louisiana 5 Washington 6 Utah 7 Oklahoma 8 Arkansas 9 Tennessee 10 Wyoming 11 Montana 12 Kentucky 13 South Dakota 14 Missouri 15 Mississippi 16 Iowa 17 Georgia 18 North Carolina 19 Florida 20 Kansas 21 New Mexico 22 South Carolina 23 Virginia 24 Oregon 25 Indiana 26 Arizona 27 Colorado 28 Texas 29 Nevada 30 West Virginia 31 Alabama 32 Minnesota 33 Illinois 34 Ohio 35 Delaware 36 Wisconsin 37 Pennsylvania 38 Maryland 39 Michigan 40 New Jersey 41 Vermont 42 New Hampshire 43 Maine 44 New York 45 Alaska 46 Rhode Island 47 Connecticut 48 Massachusetts 49 California 50 Hawaii Dist. of Columbia United States

Cents/KwH (2024) 11.51 11.52 11.53 11.73 11.90 12.22 12.24 12.32 12.42 12.47 12.66 12.79 12.86 12.91 13.39 13.40 14.08 14.13 14.14 14.15 14.20 14.23 14.41 14.70 14.77 14.91 14.92 14.94 15.00 15.07 15.18 15.45 15.87 15.99 16.57 17.18 17.77 17.86 19.30 19.34 21.90 23.40 24.29 24.43 24.82 28.65 28.75 29.35 31.97 42.86 17.71 16.48

Source: U.S. Department of Energy

Information only

TABLE 46A

Generation of Energy Resources (2024) State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Dist. of Columbia United States

% Coal Rank 14.6% 21 11.2% 26 8.5% 27 25.4% 12 0.1% 41 28.0% 11 0.0% 42 3.0% 35 2.9% 36 12.8% 23 0.0% 42 0.0% 42 14.6% 22 41.8% 8 20.5% 18 22.7% 14 67.0% 2 3.7% 34 0.2% 40 7.0% 29 0.0% 42 20.7% 17 19.5% 19 4.3% 33 58.1% 4 36.4% 9 43.9% 7 5.1% 32 1.3% 39 0.0% 42 21.2% 15 0.0% 42 12.7% 24 54.5% 5 21.1% 16 6.5% 30 0.0% 42 5.4% 31 0.0% 42 16.8% 20 7.5% 28 22.9% 13 11.6% 25 45.4% 6 0.0% 42 1.9% 38 2.8% 37 85.2% 1 31.8% 10 59.9% 3 0.0% 15.1%

% Gases Rank 45.2% 19 46.8% 17 47.5% 16 40.2% 26 41.0% 23 30.5% 31 58.2% 10 92.2% 1 76.8% 6 40.7% 24 0.0% 50 31.4% 30 16.4% 39 43.3% 21 13.9% 41 9.2% 44 25.8% 35 77.0% 5 43.7% 20 39.3% 27 77.5% 4 45.6% 18 27.1% 33 77.6% 3 13.6% 42 3.7% 47 3.7% 48 54.9% 11 26.1% 34 49.5% 14 29.3% 32 48.3% 15 41.1% 22 5.8% 46 60.2% 7 50.8% 13 38.5% 28 59.8% 8 89.9% 2 22.7% 36 10.8% 43 21.7% 37 52.2% 12 33.1% 29 0.0% 49 59.4% 9 17.9% 38 7.6% 45 40.2% 25 14.1% 40 53.2% 43.7%

% Nuclear Rank 31.1% 11 0.0% 29 27.9% 13 24.0% 14 8.6% 27 0.0% 29 37.7% 7 0.0% 29 10.9% 25 34.3% 8 0.0% 29 0.0% 29 53.6% 2 0.0% 29 0.0% 29 16.0% 19 0.0% 29 14.7% 22 0.0% 29 41.6% 6 0.0% 29 21.2% 15 20.2% 17 13.8% 23 15.7% 20 0.0% 29 16.4% 18 0.0% 29 57.1% 1 46.0% 4 0.0% 29 21.0% 16 32.1% 9 0.0% 29 12.6% 24 0.0% 29 0.0% 29 31.2% 10 0.0% 29 53.5% 3 0.0% 29 42.3% 5 6.8% 28 0.0% 29 0.0% 29 28.2% 12 9.7% 26 0.0% 29 15.5% 21 0.0% 29 0.0% 18.1%

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Maryland’s energy mix continues to evolve, and the competitiveness priority is ensuring energy remains reliable and affordable as generation sources change. Energy diversity and overall strategy matter because they directly influence household bills and business operating costs.

Generation of Energy Resources, cont. (2024)

Source: U.S. Department of Energy

% Pumped % Storage Renewable % Sources Rank Petroleum Rank and Other Rank 9.0% 39 0.0% 48 0.0% 29 28.2% 20 13.7% 2 -0.1% 42 16.3% 25 0.0% 43 -0.1% 43 10.2% 37 0.1% 28 0.1% 19 50.8% 10 0.0% 42 -0.5% 47 41.3% 13 0.1% 32 0.1% 21 3.1% 50 0.0% 36 1.0% 4 4.4% 45 0.4% 9 0.0% 31 8.2% 40 0.3% 10 0.8% 7 12.5% 31 0.2% 16 -0.5% 46 21.2% 22 77.0% 1 1.8% 3 68.3% 4 0.0% 50 0.3% 14 15.3% 26 0.0% 46 0.1% 20 14.4% 28 0.1% 21 0.4% 12 65.5% 5 0.1% 33 0.0% 34 52.0% 9 0.2% 17 0.0% 28 7.1% 41 0.1% 29 0.0% 27 4.1% 47 0.0% 35 0.5% 11 53.8% 8 0.4% 8 1.9% 2 10.7% 36 0.6% 7 1.0% 5 19.6% 24 0.8% 5 2.1% 1 12.0% 34 1.2% 4 -0.7% 48 32.6% 17 0.0% 39 0.5% 9 4.3% 46 0.0% 47 0.0% 36 12.1% 33 0.2% 14 0.2% 17 57.4% 7 1.5% 3 1.0% 6 35.9% 16 0.1% 20 0.0% 33 40.2% 14 0.0% 45 -0.3% 45 14.9% 27 0.3% 11 0.3% 15 3.8% 48 0.1% 34 0.6% 8 49.4% 11 0.0% 49 0.0% 40 30.0% 18 0.2% 13 0.5% 10 13.8% 29 0.1% 22 0.2% 18 39.5% 15 0.1% 26 0.1% 22 5.3% 44 0.8% 6 0.0% 30 42.7% 12 0.0% 41 0.0% 41 61.4% 6 0.0% 44 0.0% 26 3.5% 49 0.0% 40 0.0% 38 10.0% 38 0.1% 30 0.0% 35 7.1% 42 0.1% 24 -0.2% 44 81.6% 2 0.1% 31 0.0% 31 13.8% 30 0.2% 18 -0.7% 49 29.4% 19 0.0% 38 0.0% 39 20.9% 23 0.1% 27 0.4% 13 99.8% 1 0.1% 19 0.0% 24 11.4% 35 0.2% 15 -1.1% 50 69.5% 3 0.0% 37 0.1% 23 7.0% 43 0.2% 12 0.0% 37 12.3% 32 0.1% 25 0.0% 25 25.6% 21 0.1% 23 0.2% 16 46.8% 0.0% 0.0% 22.7% 0.4% 0.1%

TABLE 46B

State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Dist. of Columbia United States

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

No change

TABLE 47A

Metropolitan Commuting (2024) Rank 1 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ 2 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 3 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 4 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 5 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 6 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 7 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX 8 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN 9 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 10 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 11 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 12 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 13 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 14 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 15 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 16 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 17 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 18 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX 19 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 20 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO 20 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA 22 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ 22 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 24 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 24 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 26 Jacksonville, FL 26 Raleigh-Cary, NC 28 Birmingham, AL 29 Richmond, VA 30 Pittsburgh, PA 31 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 32 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA 33 Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV 34 Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN 35 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC 36 St. Louis, MO-IL 36 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 38 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 38 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 40 Fresno, CA 41 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 42 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 43 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 43 Columbus, OH 45 Cleveland, OH 46 Kansas City, MO-KS 47 Oklahoma City, OK 47 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT 49 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI 50 Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI

Average Commute Time 36.5 34.2 33.8 32.7 32.4 31.9 31.1 30.9 30.7 30.3 30.2 30.0 29.7 29.4 29.0 28.8 28.7 28.2 27.9 27.7 27.7 27.6 27.6 27.5 27.5 27.4 27.4 27.3 26.6 26.3 26.2 26.1 25.9 25.6 25.5 25.4 25.4 25.1 25.1 24.7 24.4 24.3 24.1 24.1 24.0 23.7 23.5 23.5 23.2 21.9

WHY IT MATTERS Long commute times remain a defining feature of Maryland’s major metro regions, which can affect worker time, productivity and employer location decisions. Improving mobility and reliability supports both quality of life and a stronger business climate.

Metropolitan Commuting, cont. (2024) % Carpool Rank 6.6% 50 11.6% 5 8.6% 22 9.4% 15 8.5% 25 7.5% 44 11.0% 6 8.0% 38 9.7% 13 8.3% 28 10.8% 8 9.0% 18 7.8% 42 8.6% 22 9.7% 13 10.1% 11 9.2% 16 8.8% 20 8.8% 20 7.3% 46 9.2% 16 10.5% 10 12.0% 2 9.0% 18 10.9% 7 8.0% 38 7.0% 48 7.8% 42 8.1% 35 6.8% 49 8.0% 38 8.3% 28 12.0% 2 8.3% 28 8.3% 28 8.3% 28 8.3% 28 7.1% 47 8.4% 26 13.3% 1 10.8% 8 8.1% 35 7.5% 44 8.0% 38 8.6% 22 8.1% 35 9.9% 12 11.8% 4 8.2% 34 8.4% 26

% Public Transit Use Rank 27.2% 1 0.9% 37 9.0% 4 10.9% 2 1.6% 26 9.8% 3 1.7% 24 9.0% 4 3.5% 8 3.5% 8 2.6% 14 6.3% 7 7.3% 6 0.9% 37 1.1% 33 0.6% 44 0.8% 39 1.4% 27 2.5% 15 2.1% 19 1.8% 23 1.2% 30 1.4% 27 1.1% 33 2.8% 13 0.5% 48 0.6% 44 0.7% 42 1.3% 29 3.4% 10 0.8% 39 1.9% 21 2.3% 17 0.6% 44 1.2% 30 1.7% 24 3.4% 10 1.0% 35 0.7% 42 0.8% 39 0.3% 49 3.0% 12 2.1% 19 1.0% 35 1.9% 21 0.6% 44 0.3% 49 2.5% 15 2.2% 18 1.2% 30

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Work-from-home rates eased slightly this year, suggesting changing work patterns that can influence commuting, workforce preferences and business operations. A competitive environment supports both employers and workers as workplace models continue to evolve.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Rank 50 10 48 49 31 47 15 44 36 29 33 46 41 35 27 20 20 45 14 42 33 37 26 30 40 22 38 1 23 25 4 32 24 9 8 11 43 4 7 17 2 17 28 19 15 12 3 39 13 6

TABLE 47B

% Single Occ. Vehicle Use 44.5% 73.8% 57.1% 53.4% 67.8% 58.3% 71.8% 62.5% 67.0% 68.4% 67.5% 60.3% 64.1% 67.1% 68.9% 70.5% 70.5% 62.1% 72.2% 64.0% 67.5% 66.3% 69.5% 67.9% 65.5% 70.3% 66.2% 78.6% 70.2% 69.7% 75.6% 67.6% 69.8% 74.6% 75.0% 73.7% 62.9% 75.6% 75.1% 71.6% 76.4% 71.6% 68.5% 70.6% 71.8% 73.4% 76.3% 65.6% 72.6% 75.5%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Information only

TABLE 48A

Percentage of Workers Who Worked From Home (2024) Rank 1 Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area 2 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area 3 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area 4 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro Area 5 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area 6 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metro Area 7 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area 8 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area 9 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area 10 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area 11 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ Metro Area 12 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area 13 Jacksonville, FL Metro Area 14 Columbus, OH Metro Area 15 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metro Area 16 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN Metro Area 17 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA Metro Area 18 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT Metro Area 19 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area 20 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area 21 Richmond, VA Metro Area 22 Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area 23 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area 24 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area 25 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area 26 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area 27 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area 28 Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area 29 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area 30 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metro Area 31 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT Metro Area 32 Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Metro Area 33 Cleveland, OH Metro Area 34 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX Metro Area 35 St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area 36 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area 37 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area 38 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area 39 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metro Area 40 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area 41 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area 42 Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV Metro Area 43 Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Metro Area 44 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC Metro Area 45 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area 46 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area 47 Birmingham, AL Metro Area 48 Oklahoma City, OK Metro Area 49 Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metro Area 50 Fresno, CA Metro Area

WHY IT MATTERS Work-from-home rates eased slightly this year, suggesting changing work patterns that can influence commuting, workforce preferences and business operations. A competitive environment supports both employers and workers as workplace models continue to evolve.

Percentage of Workers Who Worked From Home, cont. (2024) 2021 Rank 31.0% 5 32.2% 4 27.5% 7 27.5% 7 33.1% 3 21.2% 23 25.3% 11 35.1% 1 24.2% 12 30.6% 6 23.4% 14 26.0% 10 17.9% 33 23.0% 16 19.0% 31 20.6% 27 23.3% 15 22.9% 18 26.9% 9 22.1% 21 23.0% 16 21.1% 25 20.7% 26 23.6% 13 22.2% 20 21.2% 23 21.5% 22 20.0% 29 34.8% 2 16.1% 38 20.3% 28 17.7% 35 16.5% 37 15.8% 39 18.7% 32 17.9% 33 22.8% 19 17.1% 36 19.8% 30 15.4% 42 15.5% 41 13.3% 47 13.9% 43 13.8% 44 15.8% 39 13.6% 46 13.7% 45 12.3% 48 11.7% 49 11.2% 50

2019 Rank 10.2% 2 10.5% 1 9.1% 3 8.0% 6 6.3% 20 8.6% 5 8.0% 6 7.2% 13 8.8% 4 6.5% 16 7.9% 8 6.5% 16 7.5% 11 5.4% 31 7.0% 14 7.8% 9 7.8% 9 6.5% 16 5.6% 29 7.5% 11 5.8% 25 5.8% 25 6.6% 15 5.9% 23 5.5% 30 6.3% 20 5.7% 27 6.4% 19 4.8% 38 6.3% 20 5.3% 34 5.7% 27 4.8% 38 4.8% 38 5.1% 35 4.7% 43 4.8% 38 5.4% 31 4.4% 46 5.1% 35 5.1% 35 4.7% 43 4.8% 38 4.5% 45 4.0% 48 5.9% 23 4.0% 48 4.4% 46 3.6% 50 5.4% 31

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

2023 Rank 24.5% 2 24.9% 1 22.3% 3 21.2% 6 21.9% 4 19.5% 9 21.5% 5 20.5% 7 19.1% 13 20.3% 8 19.4% 10 19.1% 12 19.3% 11 16.8% 20 17.5% 17 17.4% 18 18.3% 15 18.5% 14 17.7% 16 16.0% 25 16.6% 21 15.4% 28 16.5% 22 16.9% 19 16.3% 23 15.0% 30 15.5% 27 15.7% 26 16.2% 24 14.6% 33 14.9% 31 15.0% 29 12.8% 39 14.8% 32 13.9% 35 14.5% 34 13.5% 37 13.2% 38 13.8% 36 12.4% 41 12.6% 40 12.0% 43 12.1% 42 11.8% 44 10.8% 46 11.4% 45 10.7% 47 10.1% 48 9.3% 49 9.2% 50

TABLE 48B

2024 23.5% 23.2% 22.6% 20.0% 19.9% 19.3% 19.0% 18.9% 18.8% 18.5% 17.8% 17.4% 17.4% 16.9% 16.8% 16.8% 16.8% 16.3% 16.2% 16.1% 16.1% 15.7% 15.6% 15.4% 15.1% 14.9% 14.9% 14.7% 14.6% 14.3% 13.8% 13.6% 13.5% 13.4% 13.3% 12.9% 12.9% 12.7% 12.5% 12.5% 12.1% 11.4% 11.4% 11.3% 11.1% 10.9% 10.8% 10.5% 9.9% 8.4%

Modest improvement

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation

TABLE 49

Airport On-Time Performance (Aug. 2024 – July 2025) Rank 1 Salt Lake City, UT (SLC) 2 Los Angeles, CA (LAX) 3 Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN (MSP) 4 Washington, DC (IAD) 5 San Francisco, CA (SFO) 6 Detroit, MI (DTW) 7 Phoenix, AZ (PHX) 8 Seattle, WA (SEA) 9 New York, NY (JFK) 10 New York, NY (LGA) 11 Boston, MA (BOS) 12 Austin, TX (AUS) 13 San Diego, CA (SAN) 14 Las Vegas, NV (LAS) 15 Nashville, TN (BNA) 16 Atlanta, GA (ATL) 17 Tampa, FL (TPA) 18 Chicago, IL (ORD) 19 Chicago, IL (MDW) 20 Newark, NJ (EWR) 21 Philadelphia, PA (PHL) 22 Houston, TX (IAH) 23 Orlando, FL (MCO) 24 Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) 25 Denver, CO (DEN) 26 Charlotte, NC (CLT) 27 Miami, FL (MIA) 28 Washington, DC (DCA) 29 Baltimore, MD (BWI) 30 Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW)

Departure Arrival On-Time % On-Time % 84% 85% 83% 82% 82% 82% 81% 81% 80% 76% 80% 81% 80% 82% 79% 79% 79% 77% 79% 76% 78% 76% 78% 78% 78% 75% 78% 79% 78% 79% 77% 81% 77% 75% 77% 77% 77% 81% 76% 72% 76% 74% 76% 79% 76% 76% 75% 76% 75% 78% 74% 78% 74% 77% 74% 72% 73% 80% 71% 75%

Rank 1 3 2 6 20 7 4 10 18 21 24 14 25 11 13 8 26 17 5 29 28 12 22 23 15 16 19 30 9 27

WHY IT MATTERS BWI’s on-time performance moved in a better direction this year — a positive operational signal. Reliable air travel matters for Maryland’s business connectivity and competitiveness, especially for employers that depend on efficient travel and freight movement.

State Expenditures on Roadways (2022)

Rank 1 2 8 5 4 3 6 11 9 18 7 10 14 13 16 15 12 17 33 31 19 27 20 26 22 23 25 29 21 34 24 28 32 30 37 36 35 38 40 44 41 42 39 46 43 45 47 49 48 50

Maint.

Per Capita $338 $215 $517 $307 $152 $62 $219 $317 $160 $237 $72 $118 $153 $119 $112 $89 $49 $73 $202 $164 $81 $135 $82 $116 $90 $86 $90 $96 $45 $118 $55 $64 $89 $53 $112 $109 $93 $95 $71 $94 $63 $66 $40 $80 $63 $42 $59 $70 $26 $36 $245 $94

Rank 2 7 1 4 12 41 6 3 10 5 34 15 11 14 18 27 45 33 8 9 31 13 30 17 26 29 25 21 46 16 43 38 28 44 19 20 24 22 35 23 39 37 48 32 40 47 42 36 50 49

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland’s roadway spending increased slightly this year, but the state continues to rank relatively low overall. Maintenance investment improved, while capital investment fell behind other states — highlighting the importance of prioritizing reliable infrastructure that supports the state.

Mixed results

Capital Per Capita $1,060 $954 $533 $717 $795 $877 $577 $472 $521 $412 $545 $479 $438 $450 $426 $427 $452 $421 $285 $306 $388 $329 $381 $330 $347 $344 $335 $320 $363 $280 $336 $323 $291 $310 $249 $251 $255 $247 $240 $211 $225 $223 $243 $202 $211 $209 $157 $143 $153 $119 $464 $302

TABLE 50 Source: U.S. Department of Transportation

Rank 1 Alaska 2 Wyoming 3 Delaware 4 West Virginia 5 South Dakota 6 North Dakota 7 Vermont 8 Maine 9 Montana 10 Oklahoma 11 Kansas 12 Arkansas 13 Kentucky 14 North Carolina 15 Rhode Island 16 Nebraska 17 Michigan 18 Idaho 19 Virginia 20 Indiana 21 Iowa 22 Pennsylvania 23 Texas 24 South Carolina 25 Florida 26 Connecticut 27 New Jersey 28 Washington 29 Mississippi 30 Louisiana 31 New Mexico 32 Illinois 33 Utah 34 Wisconsin 35 New York 36 Minnesota 37 Oregon 38 Missouri 39 Tennessee 40 Maryland 41 Nevada 42 Colorado 43 Alabama 44 New Hampshire 45 Georgia 46 Ohio 47 Massachusetts 48 California 49 Arizona 50 Hawaii Dist. of Columbia United States

Total Per Capita $1,398 $1,169 $1,049 $1,023 $947 $939 $796 $789 $682 $648 $617 $598 $591 $569 $538 $516 $500 $493 $486 $470 $469 $464 $462 $445 $437 $430 $425 $416 $407 $397 $391 $387 $380 $363 $360 $359 $348 $342 $311 $305 $289 $288 $283 $282 $274 $251 $216 $213 $179 $155 $709 $396

Mixed results

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce: Bureau of Economic Analysis

TABLE 51

Health Care Expenditures Per Capita (2024)

Rank 1 Alaska 2 South Dakota 3 New York 4 West Virginia 5 Delaware 6 Massachusetts 7 North Dakota 8 Vermont 9 Indiana 10 California 11 Maine 12 New Hampshire 13 Connecticut 14 Minnesota 15 New Jersey 16 Pennsylvania 17 Ohio 18 Nebraska 19 Louisiana 20 Wisconsin 21 Missouri 22 Kentucky 23 Oregon 24 Illinois 25 Rhode Island 26 Hawaii 27 Montana 28 Washington 29 Wyoming 30 Florida 31 Maryland 32 Virginia 33 Kansas 34 Oklahoma 35 Michigan 36 Colorado 37 Tennessee 38 North Carolina 39 Georgia 40 Iowa 41 Arkansas 42 Arizona 43 New Mexico 44 Mississippi 45 Idaho 46 Alabama 47 Texas 48 South Carolina 49 Nevada 50 Utah Dist. of Columbia United States

Total Per Capita $14,044 $12,451 $12,221 $12,055 $11,987 $11,985 $11,667 $11,493 $11,071 $11,054 $10,913 $10,682 $10,639 $10,567 $10,468 $10,262 $10,202 $10,192 $10,148 $10,079 $10,036 $9,964 $9,931 $9,895 $9,864 $9,808 $9,747 $9,693 $9,640 $9,545 $9,456 $9,123 $9,066 $9,052 $9,023 $8,871 $8,760 $8,744 $8,680 $8,660 $8,562 $8,556 $8,469 $8,135 $8,078 $7,980 $7,807 $7,741 $7,536 $7,233 $13,865 $9,747

Total as % Total of Personal (billions) Income Rank $10.4 18.4% 2 $11.5 16.4% 6 $242.8 14.3% 18 $21.3 21.8% 1 $12.6 17.6% 3 $85.5 12.8% 39 $9.3 16.3% 8 $7.5 16.1% 9 $76.7 17.3% 4 $435.9 12.8% 38 $15.3 15.8% 10 $15.1 12.8% 37 $39.1 11.2% 45 $61.2 14.0% 24 $99.5 12.3% 41 $134.2 14.5% 16 $121.2 15.8% 11 $20.4 14.0% 23 $46.7 16.4% 7 $60.1 14.9% 14 $62.7 15.5% 13 $45.7 17.1% 5 $42.4 14.0% 22 $125.8 13.3% 31 $11.0 14.0% 25 $14.2 13.8% 27 $11.1 14.1% 21 $77.1 11.4% 44 $5.7 11.1% 47 $223.1 13.1% 34 $59.2 11.9% 42 $80.4 11.8% 43 $26.9 13.8% 29 $37.1 14.2% 19 $91.5 14.2% 20 $52.9 10.7% 50 $63.3 13.2% 33 $96.6 13.3% 30 $97.0 13.8% 28 $28.1 13.3% 32 $26.4 14.4% 17 $64.9 13.0% 35 $18.0 14.5% 15 $23.9 15.6% 12 $16.2 13.0% 36 $41.2 13.9% 26 $244.3 11.2% 46 $42.4 12.7% 40 $24.6 10.8% 48 $25.3 10.7% 49 $9.7 12.5% $3,315.0 13.3%

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland’s health care spending per person declined this year, a positive affordability signal. However, costs remain high relative to income, reinforcing the importance of improving efficiency and reducing long-term cost pressures for families and employers.

Percentage Without Health Insurance

by State by Age (2024)

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR MARYLAND Maryland’s overall uninsured rate remained steady this year, supporting coverage stability for residents and employers. Important to note: the uninsured rate increased for residents age 65+, a trend worth watching.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Age 65+ Rank 0.6% 21 0.5% 12 0.3% 1 0.6% 21 0.4% 2 0.9% 36 0.4% 2 0.4% 2 0.4% 2 0.4% 2 0.4% 2 0.4% 2 0.8% 34 0.5% 12 0.4% 2 1.0% 40 0.6% 21 1.3% 48 0.6% 21 0.6% 21 0.6% 21 1.0% 40 0.9% 36 0.8% 34 0.4% 2 0.7% 29 0.5% 12 0.5% 12 1.2% 46 0.9% 36 0.7% 29 0.5% 12 0.9% 36 0.5% 12 0.7% 29 0.5% 12 0.5% 12 0.6% 21 0.5% 12 0.6% 21 0.7% 29 1.0% 40 1.0% 40 0.4% 2 1.0% 40 1.2% 46 1.5% 49 0.7% 29 1.0% 40 1.6% 50 1.1% 0.8%

Mixed results

Age 19-64 Rank 3.7% 1 4.9% 2 6.3% 3 6.5% 5 6.3% 3 7.0% 6 7.2% 8 7.0% 6 7.6% 11 7.3% 9 7.7% 12 7.9% 14 8.6% 17 7.8% 13 9.0% 18 8.4% 15 7.4% 10 8.5% 16 9.2% 20 9.1% 19 9.5% 21 9.6% 23 9.9% 25 9.5% 21 9.8% 24 10.1% 26 11.5% 32 10.5% 27 10.8% 31 10.5% 27 10.6% 29 12.3% 36 10.7% 30 11.7% 33 12.1% 34 12.2% 35 13.1% 39 12.3% 36 12.9% 38 14.2% 42 13.6% 40 14.9% 45 13.8% 41 14.2% 42 15.5% 46 14.5% 44 15.5% 46 15.9% 48 16.5% 49 21.6% 50 5.7% 11.3%

TABLE 52

Age Rank Overall <19 Rank 1 Massachusetts 2.8% 2.1% 1 2 Hawaii 3.5% 2.9% 8 3 Vermont 4.2% 2.6% 3 4 New Hampshire 4.5% 2.3% 2 5 Rhode Island 4.6% 3.7% 12 6 New York 5.0% 2.7% 5 7 Michigan 5.1% 3.5% 10 7 Minnesota 5.1% 3.7% 12 9 Oregon 5.2% 2.7% 5 10 Wisconsin 5.3% 4.2% 17 11 Iowa 5.4% 3.8% 14 12 Maine 5.5% 4.5% 19 13 Connecticut 5.8% 2.6% 3 13 Pennsylvania 5.8% 5.4% 25 13 West Virginia 5.8% 2.8% 7 16 California 5.9% 3.1% 9 17 North Dakota 6.1% 6.7% 37 18 Maryland 6.3% 4.6% 20 19 Washington 6.5% 3.9% 15 20 Ohio 6.7% 5.6% 27 21 Kentucky 6.8% 5.0% 22 22 Delaware 6.9% 5.8% 28 22 Illinois 6.9% 3.6% 11 22 Virginia 6.9% 5.2% 23 25 Nebraska 7.1% 5.3% 24 26 Indiana 7.5% 6.1% 32 27 Louisiana 7.7% 4.1% 16 27 Missouri 7.7% 6.6% 35 27 New Jersey 7.7% 4.7% 21 30 Colorado 7.9% 6.0% 31 31 South Dakota 8.1% 8.0% 42 32 Alabama 8.2% 4.3% 18 33 Utah 8.3% 6.6% 35 34 Kansas 8.5% 7.0% 38 35 North Carolina 8.6% 5.5% 26 36 Montana 8.8% 7.7% 39 37 South Carolina 9.0% 5.9% 30 38 Idaho 9.2% 8.1% 44 39 Arkansas 9.4% 7.7% 39 40 Mississippi 9.7% 5.8% 28 40 Tennessee 9.7% 6.5% 34 42 New Mexico 10.1% 6.1% 32 43 Arizona 10.3% 9.3% 49 43 Wyoming 10.3% 9.0% 48 45 Florida 10.9% 8.5% 45 46 Alaska 11.0% 8.8% 47 47 Nevada 11.4% 8.0% 42 48 Oklahoma 11.5% 8.5% 45 49 Georgia 12.0% 7.9% 41 50 Texas 16.7% 13.6% 50 Dist. of Columbia 4.5% 2.7% United States 8.2% 6.0%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Mixed results

TABLE 53

Percent of Privately Insured Persons with Employment-Based Insurance (2024) Rank 1 Connecticut 2 New Jersey 3 West Virginia 4 Illinois 5 Michigan 6 Ohio 7 Massachusetts 8 New York 9 Maryland 10 Indiana 11 Kentucky 12 California 13 Washington 14 Alaska 15 Pennsylvania 16 Nevada 17 Missouri 18 Wisconsin 19 Hawaii 20 Delaware 21 New Hampshire 22 Utah 23 Oregon 24 Louisiana 25 Minnesota 26 Arizona 27 Rhode Island 28 Virginia 29 Iowa 30 Texas 31 New Mexico 32 Colorado 33 Georgia 34 Kansas 35 Oklahoma 36 Maine 37 Tennessee 38 Alabama 39 Arkansas 40 North Carolina 41 Nebraska 42 Vermont 43 Idaho 44 South Carolina 45 North Dakota 46 Wyoming 47 Mississippi 48 South Dakota 49 Montana 50 Florida Dist. of Columbia United States

2024 86.1% 86.0% 85.4% 85.2% 85.2% 85.0% 84.4% 84.2% 84.2% 84.1% 83.9% 83.1% 83.0% 82.8% 82.6% 82.5% 82.0% 82.0% 81.9% 81.8% 81.6% 81.5% 81.4% 81.4% 81.3% 80.9% 80.9% 80.8% 80.7% 80.6% 80.4% 80.0% 79.9% 79.7% 79.7% 79.5% 79.4% 79.2% 78.4% 78.2% 78.2% 78.1% 77.7% 77.0% 76.8% 76.4% 75.8% 74.6% 73.0% 70.0% 87.3% 81.3%

2023 85.1% 85.9% 85.5% 85.4% 85.5% 85.3% 85.1% 84.2% 84.6% 84.3% 84.2% 83.0% 83.2% 81.9% 82.5% 83.0% 82.7% 82.5% 81.8% 84.7% 82.1% 82.4% 81.6% 82.1% 82.1% 81.7% 82.3% 79.9% 81.1% 81.3% 79.9% 81.4% 80.0% 79.3% 79.6% 79.2% 79.5% 80.0% 78.6% 78.0% 79.4% 80.4% 78.3% 76.8% 78.3% 76.2% 76.2% 76.1% 74.3% 71.2% 87.8% 81.6%

Change Rank 1.0% 1 0.1% 13 -0.2% 21 -0.1% 18 -0.2% 24 -0.3% 26 -0.7% 36 0.0% 15 -0.4% 27 -0.2% 20 -0.3% 25 0.1% 11 -0.2% 23 0.9% 2 0.1% 12 -0.5% 31 -0.6% 34 -0.5% 30 0.1% 10 -2.9% 50 -0.5% 32 -0.9% 41 -0.2% 22 -0.7% 37 -0.8% 40 -0.7% 38 -1.4% 45 0.9% 3 -0.5% 29 -0.6% 35 0.5% 4 -1.4% 46 -0.1% 17 0.5% 5 0.0% 14 0.3% 6 0.0% 16 -0.7% 39 -0.2% 19 0.3% 9 -1.2% 43 -2.3% 49 -0.6% 33 0.3% 8 -1.5% 48 0.3% 7 -0.5% 28 -1.4% 47 -1.4% 44 -1.2% 42 -0.5% -0.3%

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland remains a top state for employer-sponsored health insurance, reflecting the strength of job-based benefits. The share dipped slightly this year — a reminder that benefit affordability and job growth both matter for maintaining this advantage.

State and Local Government Health and Hospital Spending (2023) Total Total % of (millions) Personal Income Rank $2,171 4.5% 1 $4,786 4.1% 3 $11,456 4.1% 2 $84,465 2.7% 10 $16,190 2.5% 11 $22,165 3.3% 6 $10,901 3.5% 5 $6,275 3.1% 7 $5,627 3.8% 4 $5,390 2.9% 8 $7,221 2.5% 12 $10,427 2.7% 9 $30,524 1.9% 17 $5,063 2.3% 13 $1,017 1.9% 16 $13,923 2.3% 14 $38,232 1.8% 18 $10,835 1.7% 21 $5,219 2.1% 15 $7,755 1.8% 19 $25,326 1.6% 26 $14,233 1.6% 24 $6,330 1.3% 30 $7,607 1.7% 22 $11,215 1.7% 20 $3,600 1.1% 37 $11,678 1.6% 25 $4,487 1.7% 23 $5,393 1.4% 28 $1,702 1.5% 27 $558 1.3% 32 $1,227 1.3% 33 $4,858 1.2% 36 $3,417 1.4% 29 $1,536 1.1% 38 $9,616 1.1% 39 $779 1.2% 35 $2,227 1.3% 31 $4,963 0.8% 43 $2,130 1.0% 40 $739 1.0% 41 $1,154 1.2% 34 $703 0.9% 42 $5,929 0.8% 44 $3,531 0.8% 45 $422 0.7% 46 $596 0.7% 47 $331 0.5% 49 $2,307 0.5% 48 $322 0.3% 50 $879 1.2% $439,435 1.9%

WHY IT MATTERS Maryland’s state and local government spending on health and hospitals decreased this year and remains low compared with other states. This measure provides context on public-sector costs and fiscal capacity, which can influence long-term affordability and budget flexibility.

Information only

Total Per Capita $3,710 $2,256 $2,238 $2,155 $2,060 $2,037 $2,023 $1,950 $1,912 $1,826 $1,698 $1,680 $1,547 $1,470 $1,381 $1,381 $1,244 $1,240 $1,147 $1,127 $1,106 $1,093 $1,073 $1,064 $1,014 $988 $988 $978 $909 $863 $860 $851 $844 $841 $773 $761 $752 $726 $702 $663 $654 $652 $637 $632 $568 $534 $426 $360 $309 $230 $1,279 $1,305

TABLE 54 Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Rank 1 Wyoming 2 New Mexico 3 Alabama 4 California 5 Washington 6 North Carolina 7 South Carolina 8 Iowa 9 Mississippi 10 Kansas 11 Oregon 12 Missouri 13 New York 14 Utah 15 Alaska 16 Michigan 17 Texas 18 Virginia 19 Kentucky 20 Indiana 21 Florida 22 Pennsylvania 23 Colorado 24 Tennessee 25 Georgia 26 Connecticut 27 Ohio 28 Louisiana 29 Wisconsin 30 Idaho 31 Vermont 32 Hawaii 33 Minnesota 34 Oklahoma 35 Nebraska 36 Illinois 37 Delaware 38 Arkansas 39 Massachusetts 40 Nevada 41 Montana 42 West Virginia 43 Rhode Island 44 New Jersey 45 Maryland 46 North Dakota 47 Maine 48 South Dakota 49 Arizona 50 New Hampshire Dist. of Columbia United States

Mixed results

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

TABLE 55

Occupational Injury and Illness Incidence (2023) Rank 1 Wyoming 2 West Virginia 3 Arkansas 4 Alaska 5 Montana 6 North Dakota 7 Mississippi 8 Iowa 9 Louisiana 10 Idaho 10 Tennessee 12 Indiana 13 South Carolina 13 Vermont 15 Nebraska 16 Kentucky 17 New Mexico 18 Oklahoma 18 South Dakota 20 Maine 21 Missouri 21 Texas 21 Utah 24 Georgia 24 Nevada 26 Wisconsin 27 Kansas 28 North Carolina 29 Alabama 29 Michigan 31 Massachusetts 32 Arizona 32 Florida 32 New Hampshire 32 Ohio 36 Pennsylvania 37 Colorado 37 New York 37 Oregon 40 Virginia 40 Washington 42 Hawaii 43 California 43 Delaware 43 Illinois 43 Minnesota 47 Maryland 48 Connecticut 49 New Jersey 50 Rhode Island Dist. of Columbia United States

Fatalities Per 100K Injury/Illness Per 100 Workers 2023 Private Workers 2023 16.0 2.7 8.3 2.6 7.5 1.9 7.4 3.1 7.1 3.4 6.9 No Data Available 6.3 No Data Available 5.9 3.1 5.6 1.4 5.4 No Data Available 5.4 2.2 5.1 2.5 5.0 1.9 5.0 4.0 4.8 2.5 4.6 2.8 4.5 No Data Available 4.3 2.4 4.3 No Data Available 4.2 4.2 4.1 2.6 4.1 1.8 4.1 2.5 4.0 No Data Available 4.0 3.3 3.9 2.8 3.8 2.5 3.7 2.0 3.6 2.0 3.6 2.6 3.3 2.2 3.1 2.4 3.1 No Data Available 3.1 No Data Available 3.1 2.2 2.9 2.6 2.8 2.7 2.8 2.1 2.8 3.4 2.7 2.1 2.7 3.4 2.6 3.1 2.5 3.0 2.5 2.2 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.8 2.4 2.3 2.0 2.6 1.8 2.3 1.2 No Data Available 4.4 1.2 3.6 2.4

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Maryland’s workplace fatality rate improved this year, while injury and illness rates held steady. Protecting worker safety remains essential.

Safer workplaces benefit employees and help employers reduce disruptions and manage costs tied to injuries and compliance.

Rank 14 16 38 7 3 N/A N/A 7 41 N/A 30 21 38 2 21 11 N/A 25 N/A 1 16 40 21 N/A 6 11 21 36 36 16 30 25 N/A N/A 30 16 14 34 3 34 3 7 10 30 25 11 28 16 28 N/A

Housing Price Appreciation (2nd Quarter 2025)

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR MARYLAND Housing appreciation moderated this year, which can ease short-term affordability pressure. But Maryland’s long-term competitiveness depends on keeping housing accessible for working families while supporting stable growth and community investment.

Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency

1-year Rank 4.3% 20 4.3% 21 2.4% 36 -1.4% 50 2.2% 38 6.0% 6 2.9% 32 5.6% 9 -0.4% 48 0.4% 46 -0.1% 47 6.0% 7 1.1% 44 8.0% 1 7.5% 3 4.8% 13 2.0% 40 -0.6% 49 3.8% 24 3.0% 30 0.6% 45 4.4% 18 5.4% 10 3.2% 29 3.4% 26 4.8% 14 3.2% 28 2.3% 37 1.8% 41 1.3% 43 4.6% 15 5.8% 8 2.8% 34 3.3% 27 7.8% 2 2.8% 33 2.0% 39 4.9% 12 4.6% 16 4.2% 23 3.5% 25 3.0% 31 4.2% 22 4.5% 17 2.7% 35 5.3% 11 1.3% 42 7.3% 4 4.4% 19 6.7% 5 -7.6% 2.9%

Mixed results

25-year 5-year Annualized Annualized Rank 6.2% 8.4% 36 6.0% 10.4% 11 5.9% 11.1% 7 5.8% 10.4% 12 5.6% 8.0% 39 5.6% 12.3% 1 5.5% 9.4% 19 5.5% 11.5% 4 5.4% 9.5% 17 5.3% 7.2% 44 5.2% 11.6% 3 5.2% 11.6% 2 5.2% 6.8% 46 5.1% 10.3% 13 5.0% 11.5% 5 5.0% 8.4% 37 5.0% 8.5% 35 4.9% 6.9% 45 4.9% 9.1% 27 4.9% 10.6% 10 4.8% 7.9% 41 4.8% 9.2% 24 4.7% 6.5% 49 4.7% 7.4% 43 4.7% 9.1% 28 4.6% 8.9% 32 4.6% 10.8% 9 4.6% 10.9% 8 4.4% 8.9% 31 4.3% 10.0% 15 4.3% 9.2% 22 4.2% 10.1% 14 4.2% 6.7% 48 4.1% 9.2% 25 4.1% 11.4% 6 4.0% 8.6% 34 4.0% 7.9% 40 4.0% 9.2% 23 4.0% 9.1% 26 3.9% 9.4% 20 3.9% 6.8% 47 3.9% 9.0% 30 3.8% 9.4% 21 3.6% 7.7% 42 3.6% 8.7% 33 3.5% 9.6% 16 3.4% 4.6% 50 3.4% 8.4% 38 3.3% 9.5% 18 3.3% 9.1% 29 6.5% 1.8% 4.6% 9.0%

TABLE 56

Rank 1 Hawaii 2 Idaho 3 Montana 4 Florida 5 Washington 6 Maine 7 Utah 8 Rhode Island 9 Arizona 10 California 11 Vermont 12 New Hampshire 13 Oregon 14 New York 15 New Jersey 16 Wyoming 17 Nevada 18 Colorado 19 Virginia 20 Tennessee 21 Texas 22 Massachusetts 23 North Dakota 24 Maryland 25 South Dakota 26 Pennsylvania 27 South Carolina 28 North Carolina 29 Delaware 30 Georgia 31 New Mexico 32 Wisconsin 33 Alaska 34 Missouri 35 Connecticut 36 Nebraska 37 Oklahoma 38 Kentucky 39 Kansas 40 Arkansas 41 Minnesota 42 Alabama 43 Indiana 44 Iowa 45 West Virginia 46 Ohio 47 Louisiana 48 Mississippi 49 Michigan 50 Illinois Dist. of Columbia United States

Home Ownership Rates

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Mixed results

TABLE 57

(2nd Quarter 2020 – 2nd Quarter 2025) Rank 1 West Virginia 2 Delaware 3 Vermont 4 Mississippi 4 Wyoming 6 Maine 7 Indiana 8 New Hampshire 9 Michigan 10 South Carolina 11 Arizona 11 Kentucky 13 Ohio 14 Alabama 15 New Mexico 16 Virginia 17 Iowa 18 Arkansas 19 Montana 20 Minnesota 21 Utah 22 Maryland 22 Tennessee 24 South Dakota 25 Louisiana 26 Connecticut 27 Missouri 28 Pennsylvania 29 Nebraska 30 Illinois 31 Idaho 32 Kansas 33 Alaska 33 Wisconsin 35 North Dakota 36 Florida 37 Georgia 38 New Jersey 39 North Carolina 39 Texas 41 Rhode Island 42 Washington 43 Massachusetts 44 Colorado 45 Oregon 46 Hawaii 46 Oklahoma 48 Nevada 49 California 50 New York Dist. of Columbia United States

2025 77.2% 76.8% 75.3% 74.9% 74.9% 74.2% 73.4% 73.3% 72.6% 72.4% 72.3% 72.3% 71.4% 71.2% 70.8% 70.6% 70.5% 70.1% 69.9% 69.7% 69.4% 69.0% 69.0% 68.3% 68.0% 67.8% 67.6% 67.3% 67.1% 67.0% 66.7% 66.3% 66.0% 66.0% 65.7% 65.5% 64.6% 63.6% 63.4% 63.4% 63.3% 62.7% 62.6% 62.4% 62.0% 60.6% 60.6% 58.9% 55.3% 52.2% 42.4% 65.0%

2020 78.2% 81.3% 76.8% 74.0% 77.4% 79.3% 72.6% 74.7% 75.2% 73.5% 71.7% 76.0% 70.1% 76.9% 73.8% 72.9% 70.7% 71.3% 70.6% 76.0% 74.4% 74.7% 72.1% 72.3% 70.1% 66.7% 74.6% 70.9% 71.9% 66.1% 72.0% 72.0% 67.0% 69.8% 65.5% 70.1% 68.7% 64.3% 72.6% 67.6% 64.3% 66.7% 63.5% 66.0% 65.7% 60.0% 74.1% 62.8% 56.4% 54.4% 42.5% 67.9%

Change Rank -1.0% 13 -4.5% 38 -1.5% 20 0.9% 3 -2.5% 24 -5.1% 42 0.8% 5 -1.4% 19 -2.6% 25 -1.1% 16 0.6% 7 -3.7% 30 1.3% 1 -5.7% 44 -3.0% 26 -2.3% 23 -0.2% 9 -1.2% 18 -0.7% 10 -6.3% 47 -5.0% 41 -5.7% 45 -3.1% 27 -4.0% 34 -2.1% 21 1.1% 2 -7.0% 48 -3.6% 29 -4.8% 40 0.9% 3 -5.3% 43 -5.7% 45 -1.0% 13 -3.8% 32 0.2% 8 -4.6% 39 -4.1% 36 -0.7% 11 -9.2% 49 -4.2% 37 -1.0% 13 -4.0% 34 -0.9% 12 -3.6% 28 -3.7% 30 0.6% 6 -13.5% 50 -3.9% 33 -1.1% 17 -2.2% 22 -0.1% -2.9%

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR MARYLAND Recent gains in Maryland’s homeownership rate and rank show shortterm improvement, but long-term declines point to ongoing affordability and supply challenges.

Metropolitan Median House Price to Median Income Ratio (1990 – 2024) 1990 Ratio 6.20 6.21 6.25 5.15 3.07 4.40 3.41 4.04 3.93 2.52 2.44 2.94 2.21 4.19 3.08 4.03 2.70 2.68 2.75 2.66 3.09 2.21 2.56 2.56 2.76 2.70 2.41 2.97 2.68 2.87 2.64 2.45 2.37 2.37 2.15 3.00 2.06 2.95 2.61 2.28 3.82 2.28 2.39 2.16 2.54 2.11 1.88 2.59 2.55 2.27 3.12

WHY IT MATTERS Housing affordability declined in Maryland’s major metro areas in the most recent year, with higher price-to-income ratios in both the Washington D.C. and Baltimore regions.

Declined

2024 Ratio 12.04 10.76 10.46 9.40 8.04 7.26 6.93 6.56 6.50 6.18 6.15 6.07 5.87 5.75 5.70 5.60 5.48 5.45 5.38 5.15 5.11 4.96 4.94 4.91 4.80 4.77 4.74 4.41 4.32 4.32 4.28 4.27 4.24 4.22 4.20 4.20 4.19 4.17 4.10 4.09 4.02 4.02 3.97 3.92 3.72 3.65 3.62 3.34 3.08 3.02 4.98

TABLE 58 Source: Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies

Rank 1 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 2 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 3 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 4 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA 5 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 6 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ 7 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 8 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 9 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 10 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO 11 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 12 Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV 13 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT 14 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 15 Fresno, CA 16 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA 17 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 18 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 19 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ 20 Jacksonville, FL 21 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 22 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 23 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI 24 Richmond, VA 25 Raleigh-Cary, NC 26 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 27 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX 28 Birmingham, AL 29 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 30 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 31 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC 32 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 33 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 34 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 35 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX 36 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN 37 Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI 38 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 39 Columbus, OH 40 Kansas City, MO-KS 41 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 42 Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN 43 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 44 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 45 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 46 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 47 Oklahoma City, OK 48 St. Louis, MO-IL 49 Cleveland, OH 50 Pittsburgh, PA United States

Mixed results

Source: Tax Foundation TABLE 59

Tax Foundation State Tax Competitiveness Index (FY 2026) Corp.

Rank Tax 1 Wyoming 1 2 South Dakota 1 3 New Hampshire 37 4 Alaska 35 5 Florida 17 6 Montana 24 7 Texas 46 8 Tennessee 48 9 Idaho 21 10 Indiana 7 11 North Dakota 11 12 Missouri 5 13 North Carolina 3 14 Arizona 13 15 Utah 12 16 Michigan 22 17 Iowa 25 18 Georgia 9 19 Oklahoma 4 20 Nevada 39 21 Wisconsin 31 22 Nebraska 14 23 Kansas 26 24 Delaware 50 25 Kentucky 19 26 Maine 40 27 Mississippi 6 28 New Mexico 23 29 South Carolina 8 30 Virginia 18 31 Louisiana 10 32 West Virginia 29 33 Colorado 20 34 Arkansas 15 35 Oregon 49 36 Pennsylvania 34 37 Alabama 16 38 Illinois 42 39 Ohio 45 40 Rhode Island 32 41 Hawaii 27 42 Vermont 38 43 Massachusetts 33 44 Minnesota 43 45 Washington 47 46 Maryland 36 47 Connecticut 30 48 California 41 49 New Jersey 44 50 New York 28 Dist. of Columbia 32

Individual Income Tax 1 1 1 1 1 12 1 1 14 20 18 17 22 9 10 19 11 16 29 8 34 26 28 43 25 23 32 37 24 36 15 27 21 40 41 38 35 13 33 30 45 39 42 44 31 47 46 49 48 50 46

Sales Tax 6 31 1 5 16 3 36 47 8 14 17 25 15 45 26 10 11 18 32 41 7 12 21 2 20 9 23 38 28 13 50 33 39 43 4 24 48 37 44 27 29 30 22 35 49 40 19 46 34 42 43

Prop. Unemployment Tax Insurance Tax 37 33 8 20 44 23 31 50 20 8 17 25 38 31 32 16 3 36 4 15 6 14 12 5 21 7 10 1 14 29 29 28 33 35 35 22 11 6 9 47 7 32 46 3 26 4 2 2 30 30 45 21 39 13 1 17 40 27 24 37 22 9 19 24 34 40 16 10 28 41 13 34 18 19 41 42 5 11 43 48 15 43 50 12 48 45 23 44 25 49 36 18 49 39 27 26 42 46 47 38 47 24

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR MARYLAND Maryland’s overall tax competitiveness ranking remained near the bottom nationally this year. While some categories improved slightly, the overall structure continues to be a long-term competitiveness challenge that can influence business expansion decisions.

NOTES

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