Like all states, Maryland has certain places that are going on hard times. These Maryland places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in Maryland.
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 43 cities in Maryland with more than 5,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Poorest Places In Maryland For 2024:
What’s the poorest city in Maryland? According to the facts, Frostburg is the poorest place in Maryland for 2024.
This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.
For more Maryland reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Maryland
- Cheapest Places To Live In Maryland
- Most Dangerous Cities In Maryland
- The poorest states in the US
- The poorest cities in the US
The 10 Poorest Cities In Maryland For 2024
1. Frostburg
/10
Population: 7,118
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Income: $44,658 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 28.9% (highest)
People In Poverty: 2,056
More on Frostburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Frostburg, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Maryland thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 7,118 people averages the 3rd lowest median household income in Maryland and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Cambridge
/10
Population: 13,058
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Income: $44,114 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 22.2% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,905
More on Cambridge: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
The second poorest city in Maryland is Cambridge.
The city ranks as having the 5th highest incidence of poverty and 2nd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 10th highest in the Old Line State.
3. Salisbury
/10
Population: 32,960
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Income: $53,309 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 23.5% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 7,755
More on Salisbury: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Placing as the third poorest city, Salisbury’s median income ranks as the 6th lowest.
And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 23.53% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Old Line State.
4. Hagerstown
/10
Population: 43,374
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 3)
Median Income: $48,481 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 22.9% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 9,915
More on Hagerstown: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Hagerstown ranks as the fourth poorest place in Maryland.
The town ranks as having the 5th lowest median household income and the 4th highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Cumberland
/10
Population: 19,041
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Median Income: $45,915 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.8% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 4,150
More on Cumberland: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
The fifth poorest city in Maryland is Cumberland.
The city ranks as having the 4th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 6th highest in Maryland.
Still not the best news for Cumberland.
6. Cheste
/10
Population: 5,522
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Median Income: $43,980 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 16.2% (10th highest)
People In Poverty: 896
More on Cheste: Data
Cheste ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Old Line State.
It ranks as having the 10th highest incidence of poverty and the 30th highest unemployment rate.
7. Baltimore
/10
Population: 584,548
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $58,349 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 19.6% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 114,396
More on Baltimore: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Baltimore places as the seventh poorest city in Maryland.
The city of over 584,548 ranks as having the 7th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Elkton
/10
Population: 15,830
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Median Income: $58,593 (8th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 16.6% (9th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,619
More on Elkton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Elkton ranks as the eighth poorest city in Maryland.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.
9. College Park
/10
Population: 34,416
Rank Last Year: 9 (No Change)
Median Income: $76,973 (18th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 27.8% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 9,567
More on College Park: Data | Cost Of Living
College Park couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Maryland; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 18th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, College Park ranks as having the 2nd most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Maryland.
10. Bel Air
/10
Population: 10,630
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 1)
Median Income: $66,950 (13th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 17.9% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,899
More on Bel Air: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Maryland is Bel Air.
The city of 10,630 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Old Line State.
Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Maryland for 2024
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2018-2022 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 43 places with more than 5,000 people in Maryland, we ranked each place from 1 to 43 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Frostburg, crowned the “Poorest Place In Maryland For 2024”.
This report has been updated for 2024, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in Maryland.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In Maryland For 2024
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Maryland, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Maryland.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Maryland, according to data:
-
Richest: Poolesville
2nd Richest: Walkersville
3rd Richest: Mount Airy
For more Maryland reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In Maryland
- Safest Places In Maryland
- Worst Places To Live In Maryland
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Maryland
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Maryland
| Rank | City | Population | Poverty Rate | Median Income | People In Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frostburg | 7,118 | 28.9% | $44,658 | 2,056 |
| 2 | Cambridge | 13,058 | 22.2% | $44,114 | 2,905 |
| 3 | Salisbury | 32,960 | 23.5% | $53,309 | 7,755 |
| 4 | Hagerstown | 43,374 | 22.9% | $48,481 | 9,915 |
| 5 | Cumberland | 19,041 | 21.8% | $45,915 | 4,150 |
| 6 | Cheste | 5,522 | 16.2% | $43,980 | 896 |
| 7 | Baltimore | 584,548 | 19.6% | $58,349 | 114,396 |
| 8 | Elkton | 15,830 | 16.6% | $58,593 | 2,619 |
| 9 | College Park | 34,416 | 27.8% | $76,973 | 9,567 |
| 10 | Bel Air | 10,630 | 17.9% | $66,950 | 1,899 |
| 11 | Fruitland | 5,603 | 14.0% | $61,205 | 784 |
| 12 | Westminster | 20,099 | 12.2% | $71,286 | 2,460 |
| 13 | Aberdeen | 16,422 | 13.1% | $74,555 | 2,146 |
| 14 | Easton | 17,118 | 11.5% | $75,198 | 1,971 |
| 15 | District Heights | 5,905 | 16.1% | $84,929 | 947 |
| 16 | Greenbelt | 24,646 | 14.5% | $82,019 | 3,583 |
| 17 | Taneytown | 7,234 | 10.7% | $78,333 | 771 |
| 18 | Ocean City | 6,879 | 8.8% | $62,401 | 604 |
| 19 | Bladensburg | 9,574 | 7.6% | $58,619 | 725 |
| 20 | Mount Rainier | 8,262 | 7.2% | $64,170 | 591 |
| 21 | Berlin | 5,056 | 9.3% | $80,465 | 470 |
| 22 | Frederick | 78,390 | 9.8% | $89,981 | 7,690 |
| 23 | Laurel | 29,581 | 10.6% | $92,035 | 3,132 |
| 24 | Riverdale Park | 7,284 | 13.7% | $105,250 | 997 |
| 25 | Thurmont | 6,313 | 9.1% | $88,243 | 573 |
| 26 | Annapolis | 40,719 | 10.6% | $97,219 | 4,324 |
| 27 | Havre de Grace | 14,743 | 10.2% | $95,025 | 1,502 |
| 28 | New Carrollton | 13,580 | 6.3% | $76,386 | 862 |
| 29 | Hyattsville | 20,851 | 8.5% | $90,329 | 1,766 |
| 30 | Takoma Park | 17,542 | 9.0% | $95,316 | 1,575 |
| 31 | Hampstead | 6,278 | 6.6% | $87,454 | 416 |
| 32 | Gaithersburg | 69,016 | 9.7% | $104,544 | 6,666 |
| 33 | Glenarden | 6,335 | 6.2% | $100,179 | 395 |
| 34 | Manchester | 5,403 | 6.3% | $103,629 | 340 |
| 35 | Rockville | 67,142 | 8.3% | $122,470 | 5,566 |
| 36 | Brunswick | 7,781 | 6.2% | $104,700 | 480 |
| 37 | La Plata | 10,283 | 3.7% | $117,065 | 383 |
| 38 | Cheverly | 6,132 | 5.4% | $119,625 | 332 |
| 39 | Chesapeake Beach | 6,358 | 3.2% | $130,175 | 200 |
| 40 | Bowie | 57,922 | 3.5% | $138,797 | 1,998 |
| 41 | Mount Airy | 9,667 | 3.7% | $148,779 | 354 |
| 42 | Walkersville | 6,239 | 1.1% | $138,190 | 71 |
| 43 | Poolesville | 5,686 | 3.1% | $215,025 | 177 |