State Overview: Maryland

Maryland is a state on the East Coast of the United states that has a population of 5.6 million people and contains about 6.4 percent of the total population of the country. A large portion of the economy is based on the Chesapeake Bay, which is the major harbor for the East portion of the state. On the Eastern Half of the state is: Baltimore, which is the largest city in the state with a population of 628,670, Annapolis, the state’s capital has a population of about 36,178, and Washington DC, the countries capital is bordering the Northeast portion of the state. About one million people live on or around the bay making the health of the bay crucial to the industry of the state. The annual federal spending is about 6.4 Billion.

Maryland as a total land area of 9,773.82 square miles, and has a population density of 541 persons per square mile. It contains about .003 percent of the nations total landmass and has above average population density compared to the national average of 79.5 per square mile.

Of the state’s population about 2.9 million are actively enrolled in the workforce therein. The unemployment level of the state is 12.8 percent with 111,536 citizens, where the national level of unemployment is 8 percent. The mean income per capita is about $25,614 with 9.2 % of the population is under the poverty level. The amount of the population that has high school degrees past the age of 25 is 83.3 percent.






The city of Baltimore is the largest and yet one of the most problematic in Maryland. The decade between 1990 and 2000 the city experienced a loss of 11.3 percent of the population, whereas statewide the population grew by 10.3 percent. Other reasons for this can be attributed to the poor economy in the city compared to the rest of the state. The high school graduation rate is 68.4% and the college graduation rate is only at 19.1 percent. Also the poverty rate is twice as high the rest of the state (22.9 percent compared to 9.2 percent,)and mean income is $16,978.

On the other hand Rockville (population 55,213) is quite different compared to Baltimore. In the two year period between 2001 and 2003 the city's population grew at 16.5% The education standard is higher with a high school graduation rate of 89.1 % and a college graduation rate of 52.4%. The amount of people under the level of poverty is 7.8% and the mean income is 30,518.