2022 vs. 2026: How Maryland’s economy compares under Wes Moore

Maryland is in an affordability crisis. Inflation is putting pressure on wages, thousands of federal jobs were slashed, utility bills are a major pain point and the state is way behind on building more housing.

No governor can control everything about the economy or the cost of living. And economic cycles and trends often don’t become evident during an elected official’s term.

But as Gov. Wes Moore asks Marylanders to give him another four years, it’s worth considering Ronald Reagan’s famous question during the 1980 presidential campaign: Are you better off than you were four years ago?

Here are four indicators showing how things have changed since Moore was elected.

Maryland’s unemployment rate is nearly double what it was when Moore took office.

Much of Maryland’s economy is at the mercy of the federal government. Cuts to federal contracts, grants and jobs by the Trump administration led to a year-over-year loss of 31,100 federal jobs in January, with 800 more between February and March, according to the state Department of Labor.

Employment gains in other industries like construction, health care and state and local governments kept state unemployment from skyrocketing, “but beyond that, it’s very negative,” said Andy Bauer, vice president and regional executive for the Baltimore branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Maryland relies on the education, federal and medical sectors for its economic stability, which do provide good, stable jobs, he said. But those industries are not very dynamic and often don’t spur high levels of business formations, posing a challenge for the state moving forward.

Marylanders’ average monthly electric bill in 2025 was nearly $38 higher than it was in 2022.

Supply costs, rate increases from utility companies and power plant retirements — not controlled by the state — have driven costs up in recent years.

Moore joined a coalition of state governors to pressure the region’s power grid operator to slow skyrocketing prices. It’s worked, with a cap placed on supply-side costs. But utility companies in the state have continued to increase their delivery and transmission rates.

Moore, along with state lawmakers, passed and signed the Utility RELIEF Act this year, which is estimated to save ratepayers around $150 per year.

Maryland’s average hourly pay grew faster than the nation’s in the decade before Moore took office. At the end of 2013, the national average reached $24 per hour, which was still $3 less than Maryland’s.

So far this year, the earnings are nearly matched, with a mere 30 cents between them.

Hourly wages in Maryland took a hit last year, which allowed the U.S. average to catch up. Still, “workers were keeping ahead of inflation,” Bauer said in an email.

That’s still the case so far this year, he said.

Maryland is in a housing crisis, struggling with high home prices and rents, with a lack of housing supply to tamp down the problem, according to a 2025 report from the state’s comptroller’s office.

Permitting for new housing units has drastically declined since Moore took office. Fewer than half as many housing units were authorized last year as in 2022, when 22,800 units were permitted.

Permitting is typically a local-level issue, but Moore signed an executive order last fall aimed at making state-owned land available for housing development, improving permitting procedures, and incentivizing county leaders to meet goals.

But the slowing of construction, especially of affordable housing, has prompted residents and businesses to move to other states where the timeline to build is “a lot shorter and the process is a lot simpler,” Bauer said.

“We’re in a very high-cost state when it comes to housing, and the only solution to that is more housing units,” he said.