MD Economy Has Been Stalled Since 2017: Comptroller Report

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The first report ever issued by officials on Maryland's economy said the state's growth is stagnant and has essentially not grown since 2017. The office of Brooke Lierman, the Maryland comptroller, issued the document Jan. 3.

"The report aims to examine trends in Maryland relative to the nation and our neighboring states to better understand challenges in our economic climate, identify opportunities to leverage our strengths as a state and capitalize on our competitive advantages to grow the economy," Lierman said.

The poor news about slowing growth comes even as Maryland ranks high in some economic areas. According to the Associated Press, Maryland has the highest median household income in the U.S. of about $108,200 and the nation’s lowest unemployment rate at 1.8%.

Maryland also has above average productivity and one of the lowest poverty rates in the country, about 8.6%, according to the report. The state’s economy also benefits from diverse employers and institutions, and Maryland’s proximity to the nation’s capital means the federal government plays an outsized role in the state’s economy, AP said.

Researchers noted Maryland lost lower- and middle-income workers to places with cheaper housing, and that a larger number of women left Maryland’s workforce compared with other states. The population growth slowed a few years before economic and wage growth stalled in 2017.

“Private sector job growth has been stagnant. People are moving to Maryland from states with higher costs of living, but more Marylanders are moving away to states where cost of living is even lower,” Lierman said, The Washington Post reported.

Maryland faces budget gaps likely to grow from $761 million next fiscal year to $2.7 billion in four years, the Post said.

Gov. Wes Moore raised budget concerns last summer, the Post said, as Lierman’s report was underway. The governor said Maryland’s “economic engine does not support our ambitions.”

His economic council, created in June, is expected to release an analysis within the next few weeks, the newspaper said.

Lierman said the report outlines some key challenges and offers policymakers data and research to help inform their policy decisions. Some key findings of the report, which can be found at www.marylandtaxes.gov, include:

1. The State of Maryland has a robust and resilient economy that leads the nation in key economic indicators: the lowest unemployment rate, the highest median household income, and among the highest educational attainment levels in the nation.
2. Maryland is experiencing stagnant growth. Maryland trails surrounding states and the nation in GDP, personal income, real wages, and population growth.
3. Maryland has experienced more women leaving the workforce compared with women leaving the workforce nationally. Maryland women ages 16 to 34 saw a 2.0% decline in labor participation from 2019 to 2021. By comparison, only 1% of women ages 16 to 24 and 0.4% of women ages 25 to 34 dropped out of the labor force nationally during that same time frame.
4. During the pandemic, Maryland lost population for the first time since World War II.
5. The high cost of living is driven by the high cost of housing in Maryland. Home prices have risen nationally since 2019. The median home price in Maryland was $411,200 compared to the national median home price of $348,600 in 2022.

Click here to download and read the entire State of the Economy Report.