Employment rose in 7 of the 8 largest counties in Maryland from December 2023 to December 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that Anne Arundel County had the largest over-the-year increase in employment at 2.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in Maryland, December 2024

County	Percent change, December 2024
Anne Arundel	2.3
Prince George's	2.1
Harford	1.1
Frederick	0.6
Howard	0.4
Montgomery	0.4
Baltimore City	0.3
Baltimore	-0.2

Among the eight largest counties in Maryland, employment was highest in Montgomery (461,700) in December 2024. Together, the eight largest counties accounted for 78.7 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 369 largest counties comprise 73.3 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2023.)

All eight large Maryland counties reported average weekly wage gains over the year. (See chart 2.) Baltimore City had the largest gain (+5.6 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among Maryland’s other seven large counties ranged from 5.3 percent to 1.7 percent.

  

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Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in Maryland, fourth quarter 2024

County	Percent change, fourth quarter 2024
Baltimore City	5.6
Anne Arundel	5.3
Baltimore	4.7
Frederick	4.0
Montgomery	3.3
Howard	3.2
Prince George's	2.0
Harford	1.7

Weekly wages in 4 of the 8 largest counties in Maryland were above the national average of $1,507. Average weekly wages ranged from $1,844 in Montgomery to $1,359 in Harford.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 16 small counties in Maryland, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2023. (See table 2.) Wage levels in 15 of the 16 smaller counties were below the national average. St. Mary’s reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,652). Worcester reported the lowest average weekly wage ($963) in the state.

Among all 24 Maryland counties, 5 reported average weekly wages of less than $1,050, 7 registered wages from $1,050 to $1,199, 3 had wages from $1,200 to $1,349, 4 had wages from $1,350 to $1,499, and 5 had average weekly wages of $1,500 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3.

Nationwide coverage of the largest counties is published in the County Employment and Wages news release. Additional information about quarterly employment and wages data is available in the news release Technical Note and from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

The County Employment and Wages release for the first quarter 2025 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 9, 2025.