BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

09/16/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/16/2025 13:23

County Employment and Wages in Maryland — First Quarter 2025

News Release Information

25-1444-PHI
Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

County Employment and Wages in Maryland - First Quarter 2025

Employment decreased in 4 of the 7 large counties in Maryland with published data from March 2024 to March 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that Harford County had the largest over-the-year decline in employment, with a loss of 0.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

View Chart Data
Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in Maryland, March 2025
County Percent change, March 2025

Harford

-0.8

Montgomery

-0.7

Baltimore

-0.6

Frederick

-0.2

Anne Arundel

0.1

Baltimore City

0.2

Prince George's

0.4

Among the eight largest counties in Maryland, employment was highest in Montgomery (458,300) in March 2025. Together, the eight largest counties accounted for 78.8 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 372 largest counties comprise 73.4 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2024.)

Large county average weekly wages in the first quarter 2025

All eight large Maryland counties reported average weekly wage gains over the year. (See chart 2.) Prince George's had the largest gain (+5.6 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among Maryland's other seven large counties ranged from 4.3 percent to 0.7 percent.

View Chart Data
Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in Maryland, first quarter 2025
County Percent change, first quarter 2025

Prince George's

5.6

Baltimore

4.3

Baltimore City

4.0

Frederick

3.2

Howard

2.9

Harford

2.1

Montgomery

1.8

Anne Arundel

0.7

Weekly wages in four of the eight largest counties in Maryland were above the national average of $1,589. Average weekly wages ranged from $2,051 in Montgomery to $1,353 in Harford.

Smaller county average weekly wages in the first quarter of 2025

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 16 small counties in Maryland, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels in 15 of the 16 smaller counties were below the national average. St. Mary's reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,731). Worcester reported the lowest average weekly wage ($902) in the state.

Among all 24 Maryland counties, 6 reported average weekly wages of less than $1,075, 8 registered wages from $1,075 to $1,274, 3 had wages from $1,275 to $1,474, and 7 had average weekly wages of $1,475 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in Maryland, first quarter 2025

(U.S. average = $1,589)

Select a filter: 9981,5901,4751,4401,0291,0981,2381,1911,0491,4189441,3531,7531,0622,0511,4781,1111,7311,1471,1031,1451,0859021,734
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1,734
Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3.

Nationwide coverage of the largest counties is published in the County Employment and Wages news release. Additional information about quarterly employment and wages data is available in the news release Technical Note and from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

The County Employment and Wages release for the second quarter 2025 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 3, 2025.

County Changes for the 2025 County Employment and Wages News Releases

Counties with annual average employment of 75,000 or more in 2024 are included in this release and will be included in future 2025 releases. Four counties have been added to the nationwide publication tables: Pinal, AZ; Henry, GA; Wood, OH; and Comal, TX. One county has been dropped from the publication tables: Gregg, TX.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the eight largest counties in Maryland, first quarter 2025
Area Establishments,
first quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2025
(thousands) 		Percent change,
March
2024-25 (2) 		National ranking
by percent change (3) 		First quarter
2025 ($) 		National ranking
by level (3) 		Percent change,
first quarter
2024-25 (2) 		National ranking
by percent change (3)

United States (4)

12,249.3 154,523.8 0.4 -- 1,589 -- 4.1 --

Maryland

197.7 2,739.0 -0.2 -- 1,634 10 3.2 38

Anne Arundel

15.9 289.0 0.1 209 1,590 82 0.7 328

Baltimore

23.7 368.1 -0.6 301 1,475 119 4.3 94

Frederick

7.1 107.8 -0.2 246 1,418 143 3.2 187

Harford

6.2 94.9 -0.8 323 1,353 184 2.1 284

Howard

11.5 170.6 (5) - 1,753 50 2.9 217

Montgomery

36.1 458.3 -0.7 314 2,051 22 1.8 302

Prince George's

19.1 325.6 0.4 167 1,478 116 5.6 34

Baltimore City

15.2 344.7 0.2 189 1,734 52 4.0 110

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Percent changes were computed from employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications.
(3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(5) Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 2. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and all counties in Maryland, first quarter 2025
Area Establishments Employment March 2025 Average weekly wage ($) (1)

United States (2)

12,249,320 154,523,785 1,589

Maryland

197,740 2,739,032 1,634

Allegany

1,588 26,807 998

Anne Arundel

15,880 288,997 1,590

Baltimore

23,702 368,090 1,475

Calvert

2,034 22,731 1,440

Caroline

733 8,833 1,029

Carroll

4,537 58,741 1,098

Cecil

1,953 36,672 1,238

Charles

3,329 43,338 1,191

Dorchester

806 11,634 1,049

Frederick

7,126 107,784 1,418

Garrett

1,188 11,619 944

Harford

6,212 94,938 1,353

Howard

11,546 170,625 1,753

Kent

762 7,172 1,062

Montgomery

36,105 458,313 2,051

Prince George's

19,119 325,621 1,478

Queen Anne's

1,664 15,721 1,111

St. Mary's

2,147 47,777 1,731

Somerset

451 7,147 1,147

Talbot

1,622 18,068 1,103

Washington

3,759 64,169 1,145

Wicomico

2,700 46,107 1,085

Worcester

2,500 23,343 902

Baltimore City

15,198 344,710 1,734

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 3. Covered establishments, employment, and wages by state, first quarter 2025
State Establishments,
first quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2025
(thousands) 		Percent change,
March
2024-25 		First quarter
2025 ($) 		National ranking
by level 		Percent change,
first quarter
2024-25 		National ranking
by percent change

United States (2)

12,249.3 154,523.8 0.4 1,589 -- 4.1 --

Alabama

163.3 2,102.3 0.3 1,245 39 3.8 23

Alaska

25.3 323.5 1.3 1,452 20 5.8 4

Arizona

226.1 3,259.3 0.3 1,431 21 3.8 23

Arkansas

107.6 1,304.4 0.7 1,236 40 5.6 6

California

1,945.4 18,066.2 0.1 1,905 6 4.2 13

Colorado

242.4 2,862.7 0.1 1,681 8 4.2 13

Connecticut

148.5 1,671.7 0.5 1,980 4 3.8 23

Delaware

45.4 474.3 0.8 1,535 15 3.4 30

District of Columbia

51.5 748.9 -1.4 2,606 1 7.2 1

Florida

886.5 9,958.4 0.9 1,456 19 5.1 8

Georgia

394.8 4,860.7 0.4 1,491 17 3.4 30

Hawaii

60.3 644.8 0.6 1,363 27 6.7 2

Idaho

102.7 848.2 1.2 1,178 48 4.2 13

Illinois

407.1 5,988.9 0.2 1,662 9 3.2 38

Indiana

194.8 3,161.4 0.3 1,323 30 4.2 13

Iowa

111.3 1,537.7 -0.5 1,253 36 3.2 38

Kansas

104.3 1,428.0 0.8 1,246 38 4.0 19

Kentucky

159.6 1,986.3 0.0 1,213 44 2.4 51

Louisiana

157.0 1,921.2 0.5 1,227 42 2.8 49

Maine

66.6 629.6 0.1 1,283 34 2.7 50

Maryland

197.7 2,739.0 -0.2 1,634 10 3.2 38

Massachusetts

289.8 3,575.8 -0.7 2,107 3 4.6 11

Michigan

307.3 4,337.3 -0.3 1,391 24 2.9 48

Minnesota

211.8 2,878.6 -0.1 1,570 14 3.7 27

Mississippi

91.3 1,160.4 -0.4 1,018 51 4.1 17

Missouri

252.4 2,886.9 0.1 1,310 31 3.2 38

Montana

67.1 505.8 0.6 1,189 46 5.6 6

Nebraska

78.6 1,008.4 -0.1 1,231 41 3.1 42

Nevada

106.1 1,541.2 0.2 1,359 29 4.1 17

New Hampshire

66.3 681.0 0.1 1,606 11 4.8 9

New Jersey

338.9 4,259.0 1.1 1,815 7 3.0 44

New Mexico

66.8 868.2 0.3 1,203 45 3.9 22

New York

716.1 9,757.0 1.4 2,213 2 6.2 3

North Carolina

373.2 4,888.5 0.2 1,467 18 4.8 9

North Dakota

36.4 422.8 0.6 1,302 33 3.3 34

Ohio

344.2 5,466.8 0.2 1,361 28 3.5 28

Oklahoma

130.9 1,700.2 0.5 1,186 47 3.0 44

Oregon

186.2 1,965.7 -0.8 1,420 23 3.3 34

Pennsylvania

394.5 6,003.5 0.6 1,500 16 3.5 28

Rhode Island

49.0 489.3 1.0 1,429 22 3.0 44

South Carolina

198.7 2,304.9 1.7 1,247 37 4.4 12

South Dakota

40.5 450.5 0.2 1,163 49 3.0 44

Tennessee

221.0 3,251.5 -0.4 1,364 26 4.0 19

Texas

847.6 14,015.9 1.2 1,587 13 3.1 42

Utah

138.1 1,720.5 1.1 1,365 25 4.0 19

Vermont

33.5 306.8 -0.4 1,280 35 3.8 23

Virginia

321.9 4,108.8 0.8 1,605 12 3.4 30

Washington

240.9 3,583.7 0.9 1,935 5 5.8 4

West Virginia

61.9 694.6 0.0 1,149 50 3.3 34

Wisconsin

208.9 2,898.4 -0.2 1,305 32 3.4 30

Wyoming

31.0 274.6 0.0 1,216 43 3.3 34

Puerto Rico

52.0 946.1 -0.7 699 (3) 3.2 (3)

Virgin Islands

2.9 33.8 -7.5 1,034 (3) 2.7 (3)

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(3) Data not included in the national ranking.

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published this content on September 16, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 16, 2025 at 19:24 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]