Maryland companies benefit from drawing on the state's affluent consumers as a market for products and services. Maryland's top income rankings include:
The highest median household income in the nation at $68,080 for 2007, which is 34 percent above the national median
A 2008 per capita personal income of $48,091, ranking fifth among the 50 states, and topping the national average by 21 percent
A per capita personal income increase of 59 percent from 1998 to 2008.
Income levels vary from region to region within the state, with higher incomes concentrated in the urbanized counties of the Baltimore-Washington corridor. Top ranking counties for median household income in 2007 include:
Howard County, ranking first in the state at $96,900.
The Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia Combined Statistical Area, which includes nearly 90 percent of Maryland's population, is one of the wealthiest in the nation. Among U.S. combined metropolitan area, it ranks:
Third in effective buying income, with $237 billion.
Fourth in retail sales, with combined sales of $153 billion.
In addition to high income levels, Maryland also has the fourth lowest poverty rate in the nation. Only 8.3 percent of the state's residents live below the poverty level (2007), compared with 13.0 percent for the U.S. as a whole.
Additional demographic data for states, Maryland counties and major metro areas can be found in the Comparisons Tool .
