People are leaving Maryland. Liberal policies are driving them out.
There is also the possibility that Maryland, like Minnesota, is rife with fraud.
Too many people leaving Maryland was the conclusion of a recent report by the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. The holiday timing may have buried the report titled “Maryland’s Population Challenge: Maryland Is Losing People to Other States and Why It Matters.” Or perhaps the media doesn’t like reporting on a blue state’s failing policies.
“Imagine deciding where to build your career or expand your business,” the report reads. “You want good jobs, affordable housing and a thriving community. Increasingly, Maryland struggles to deliver on all three. Maryland ranks 45th in the nation for domestic migration, a troubling signal for a state that urgently needs stronger momentum in talent, jobs and economic growth.”
The COC report follows a report from the Maryland Comptroller that “rightly raises alarm about out-migration and highlights housing affordability as a major concern. That warning is important — but housing alone doesn’t explain why people and businesses are leaving Maryland. Our insights show that slower job growth, rising costs and limited economic opportunity are playing a larger role — and shaping housing affordability itself.”
From July 2023 to July 2024:
- Maryland added just 46,158 people (+0.7% growth, 24th nationally).
- But that growth masks a deeper issue: 18,509 residents left for other states — ranking Maryland 45th in domestic migration.
- Maryland only grew because 53,100 international arrivals offset domestic losses.
Over four years (2020–2024), Maryland lost 120,435 residents to other U.S. states, highlighting a persistent talent drain that threatens businesses, communities, and taxpayers alike. The COC report: “Nearly 19,000 people who previously called Maryland home — working-age professionals, retirees with disposable income, families with kids — moved elsewhere. These aren’t random moves. They’re calculated decisions based on jobs, taxes, housing costs and quality of life. And increasingly, Maryland is losing in that calculation.”
There’s also the possibility that deep blue Maryland is suffering from the same kind of fraud currently plaguing Minnesota.
“As Maryland faces a $1.4B deficit, officials can’t say whether massive fraud is occurring.” That was the conclusion of a recent report by Gary Collins on Fox 45. Collins reported that David Turner, a senior adviser and communications director for Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD), could not give a definitive answer “when asked point-blank whether fraud on the alleged scale in Minnesota is not occurring in Maryland.” Turner stopped short of offering a definitive assurance. “To answer your question — can I assure you of that level of abuse?” Turner said. “I don’t have the answer for you on that, but I can assure you we are doing everything we can to mitigate waste, fraud, and abuse.”
To those of us who have called Maryland home our entire lives, the COC report is devastating news. Washingtonian magazine is going to publish a profile of me and my life in journalism, and for a couple weeks the writer walked with me around the landmarks of my life. There’s the house in Potomac where I grew up, the restaurants and movie theater in Bethesda where I met new friends and girlfriends, the high school in Rockville I attended. There are the wonderful vacation spots: Ocean City, Annapolis, and the lovely mountains in the western part of the state. Phillips crab soup is my favorite.
After the Washingtonian reporter had spent a couple weeks with me, she said, “I can see why you have trouble leaving here. It’s a beautiful place and everybody knows you.”
THE PRIME OF TOUGH GUY PROGRESSIVISM
I don’t want to leave, but it may come to that. More and more of my friends from Maryland are moving to the Eastern Shore but opting to land in Delaware, which has lower poverty taxes than Maryland and no sales tax. Others want to stay in the DMV but move to Virginia and deal with a long commute rather than the bureaucracy of Maryland — not to mention the nightmare of parking and speed cameras that seem to be on every street in D.C. and the Maryland suburbs.
If the Old Line State has Minnesota-level fraud, that might be the final blow.
