Why Are People Leaving Maryland?

Did you know that Maryland is a state that is home to many beautiful waterways and a gorgeous Atlantic coastline? Unsurprisingly, Maryland is one of the most intriguing states in the nation. However, although many residents and tourists love this state, some choose to leave.

Were you aware that more people left Maryland than moved to this state in 2021? According to a study released by United Van Lines in 2022 for 2021. This study’s findings revealed that 52 percent of the total shipments in Maryland accounted for outbound moves away from the state. Yet, why are people leaving Maryland?

To help you understand why people are choosing to leave Maryland, we have had a look at various studies and research into the topic to furnish you with the information you need. Should your interest be piqued and you want to learn more about why people are leaving Maryland, continue reading.

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What are the main reasons people are leaving Maryland?

As you now know, more people are leaving Maryland than moving to the state. In 2021 only 48 percent of 4,675 were inbound moves into Maryland. Let’s explore why people are leaving Maryland and moving on to bigger and better things.

  1. Job Opportunities

According to the study by United Van lines, most people leaving Maryland do so because of better job opportunities or job relocation prospects. Thirty-nine percent of people who left Maryland in 2021 did so for better job opportunities.

Although Maryland has one of the best job markets in the U.S., ranking 43 in terms of the unemployment rate, the dynamic in the state is changing due to a greater move to remote working. This prompts people to move to places where they can have a lower cost of living while working their dream job from the comfort of their homes.

  2. Taxes

Arguably, the second most common reason people choose to leave Maryland is because of the tax situation. In Maryland, taxes are higher than in other states. Maryland bases income taxes on personal income and implements a statewide tax.

Personal income tax of 2 percent begins when you earn more than $1,000 of taxable income. It increases up to 5.75 percent on incomes that exceed $250,000. The statewide sales tax is 6 percent.

In addition to the personal income tax and sales tax, pensions, IRA’s, and 401Ks are also taxable in Maryland. Moreover, this state is the only state with both an estate and inheritance tax.

  3. Retirement

Another significant reason people choose to leave Maryland is to retire somewhere else. As we mentioned earlier in Maryland, pensions are taxable, which is undesirable for retirement. That’s why many choose to retire somewhere they won’t have their pensions taxed.

Additionally, many retirees are leaving to move to states with a lower cost of living. Since Maryland has a high cost of living, many retirees find it hard to live and do the things they want because they have limited funds to spend on living day-to-day.

In other states, they can use their savings to do what they have always wanted to do without using up their savings and pensions on day-to-day expenses.

  4. Cost of living

As we briefly touched on above, Maryland is a state that has a high cost of living when compared to other states in the United States. The regions closest to D.C. tend to be the most expensive.

To explain how expensive it is and why people choose to leave for other states, we have decided to give an example. To learn how much it costs to live in Maryland, we compared it to Oklahoma, which has the second-lowest cost of living in America.

According to data, you can see that the cost of living in Rockville, Maryland is 65.4 percent more expensive than living in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In Rockville, Maryland, the cost of living is so high because of the median home cost. On average, it’s 259 percent more expensive to buy a home in Rockville than in Oklahoma City.

Additionally, utilities cost 9.1 percent more in Rockville, Maryland, transportation costs 40.2 percent more, and food and groceries cost 3.5 percent more than Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

  5. Education

In 2021 Maryland saw high public school failure rates during the second semester, with some schools doubling and tripling their failure rates. We can attribute this to the Covid-19 pandemic, which is an ongoing issue for schools in Maryland.

For example, in 2016, it was discovered that out of every school district in Baltimore, Maryland, there were no students who tested proficient on any state exam. However, not every city in Maryland has bad schools, but some regions do have educational issues.

That’s why many parents choose to leave the state if they live in Baltimore and move to a state with better education opportunities for their children.

  6. High crime areas

Not everywhere in Maryland experiences high crime rates, but the residents of a few of the big cities in this state are choosing to leave because of the crime rates. For example, the city of Baltimore is well known because of its high crime rate.

According to data, this state has a few serious crimes committed each year, such as muggings, organized crime, violent attacks, sex traffickers, and drug traffickers. Due to these crimes, many residents have to take extra precautions by placing locks on their steering wheels, installing high-end alarm systems, and avoiding walking in the streets at night.

Understandably not many want to live in fear, so they choose to leave Baltimore and thus Maryland for a city in a different state that experiences lower crime rates.

  7. Traffic

It might not seem like a significant reason, but many are choosing to leave Maryland because of the bad traffic the state experiences. People have to spend hours commuting to and from work in big cities because of congested highways. In addition to traffic taking up a lot of time in a person’s day, there are also more auto insurance claims partly because of traffic accidents.

For example, according to insurance companies, claim rates for Baltimore, Maryland drivers are approximately 150 percent higher than in other cities in the United States. In addition to this, on average, in America, a driver will make an auto insurance claim every ten years, but in Baltimore, a driver files a claim every five years.

Who is mainly leaving Maryland?

So now that we know why people are moving away from Maryland, which demographics are moving away the most? You might already know the answer to this based on what you could glean from the reasons why people are moving away from Maryland.

According to population studies and the United Van Lines, approximately 54% of those moving were over 55.

Where are people moving to from Maryland?

There are a few interesting places that Maryland residents choose to move to. According to data from the trusted U.S. Census Bureau in 2019, some places are more popular than others. Let’s look at a few examples of what the 2019 data showed.

• 975 people, or 0.5 percent of Maryland residents, moved to New Hampshire.
• 1,152 people, or 0.6 percent of Maryland residents, moved to Utah.
• 1,720 people, or 0.9 percent of Maryland residents, moved to Connecticut.
• 2,540 people, or 1.4 percent of Maryland residents, moved to Nevada.
• 3,976 people or 2.2 percent of Maryland residents moved to West Virginia.
• 8,646 people, or 4.7 percent of Maryland residents, moved to Delaware.
• 13,408 people or 7.3 percent of Maryland Residents moved to North Carolina.
• 15,499 people or 8.5 percent of Maryland residents moved to Washington D.C.
• 27,172 people or 14.8 percent of Maryland residents moved to Virginia.

As you can tell from these findings, most Maryland people moved to Virginia, and the state where the least amount of Maryland residents moved was New Hampshire in 2019.

Now you know why people are leaving Maryland!

After reading our article, you likely have a much better idea of why people leave Maryland and move to other states in America. Now that you have this information, you can decide if moving into or away from Maryland is the right decision for you.

If you’re a Maryland resident choosing to move away from this state can allow you to benefit. For example, depending on where you move, you will have access to lower taxes, better retirement opportunities, more job opportunities, a lower cost of living, and a safer environment.

Additionally, you will also benefit from lower housing costs, be closer to family in a less congested area, experience better weather conditions, and not have to put up with frustrating traffic conditions.