Incomes keep falling in Baltimore County

Baltimore County incomes fell in 2024 for the fifth time in a row, even as Maryland overall saw a modest uptick, a Banner analysis of estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau found.

The median household income in Baltimore County dropped to just under $88,000, a nearly 2% decline from 2023 when accounting for inflation, the analysis showed. Household income in the county has fallen by almost 8% since 2018.

Bill Barry, a former union organizer and retired director of labor studies at the Community College of Baltimore County, said the decline reflects the lasting impact of losing unionized steel and manufacturing jobs, especially on the county’s east side.

“What we’ve seen is the shift in 12 years from a highly unionized economy to nonunion,” Barry said. “It’s a big shift from economies where people had a union and they could keep up with the cost of living.”

Scott Holupka, a longtime community activist in Dundalk, said Baltimore County’s income declines may reflect its aging population. Adults who are 55 and older accounted for 32% of the county’s population and 31% of the state’s population.

Holupka said younger workers are choosing to live elsewhere.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if what we are particularly losing are working-age families who are moving to places with better opportunities,” he said. “I think people are moving to greener pastures.”

Baltimore County’s median household income ranked last among suburban Baltimore counties and 12th out of 16 Maryland counties for which 2024 census data was available.

Howard was Maryland’s wealthiest county, with a median income of nearly $152,000 a year. Anne Arundel, Carroll and Harford counties all ranked in the top 10 with incomes above $111,000.

Maryland as a whole remains one of the wealthiest states in the nation, the census estimates released Thursday show. Last year, the state’s median household income was nearly $103,000, up about 1% from 2023 when accounting for inflation.

Those slight gains reversed three consecutive years of decline, though they occurred before President Donald Trump returned to the White House and began cutting well-paying federal jobs that have historically helped underpin Maryland’s wealth.

High rent burden

Falling incomes have placed greater strain on the county’s renters, the census data shows.

The median Baltimore County renter spent 33% of their income on rent and utilities, behind only Prince George’s County. Around one-quarter of renters spent over 50% of their income on housing.

Households that spend more than 30% of their income on rent are considered cost-burdened, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Those that spend over 50% of income on housing costs are considered severely burdened.

“If you’re spending more than 30% of your income on housing, then you’re in a situation where you’re probably making choices between housing and other needs that you have in your household — energy costs, food costs, transportation costs,” said Michael Bader, a demographer and associate professor of sociology at the Johns Hopkins University.

About one-third of occupied housing units in the county are rented. Among owners with a mortgage, 25% are cost-burdened while 11% are severely cost-burdened.

The median cost of rent and utilities in Baltimore County last year was nearly $1,700, an increase of 1.5% from 2023 when factoring inflation. Over the last decade, rents in the county have climbed nearly 8%.

Holupka, who also serves on the Baltimore County Planning Board, said he wasn’t surprised rents are rising.

“We’re not building enough,” he said. “If you’re not building enough, one of the things that will happen is the cost of housing will increase.”

Median rent in Baltimore County ranked ninth among counties in the state for which new census data was available. The county was more affordable than neighboring Anne Arundel and Howard counties, where the median cost of rent and utilities exceeded $2,100, but more expensive than Carroll and Harford counties.