Market

Location

Maryland is centrally located in the heart of the eastern seaboard. The area thrives with easy access to and through for nearly 1/3 of the U.S. population.

Thriving Chesapeake Bay is a port for the World – The port of Baltimore is the nation’s leading roll-on/roll-off port. It is served by two Class I freight rail lines, and offers immediate access to I-95 and I-70, the major thoroughfares to points north, south and west. Access by air is equally easy. Besides Maryland’s own BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, three other major airports are just a short drive away, in neighboring Philadelphia, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. And the Baltimore-Washington area is the nation’s fourth-largest market.

The Baltimore Metro Region consists of the independent city of Baltimore and five counties in Maryland. The market is located between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. For purposes of this analysis, and includes the Counties of Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Anne Arundel, and Howard.

Economy

Business

Maryland’s economy has grown rapidly in the last 6 years due to the passing of new legislation with a concerted effort to be business friendly.

Nonfarm payrolls in the Baltimore Metro region increased in each of the past 8 years, led by gains in the professional and business services and in the education and health services sectors. During the 12 months ending May 2018, nonfarm payrolls increased by 5,600 jobs, or 1.1 percent, to 1.41 million jobs. During the 3-year forecast period, nonfarm payrolls are expected to grow at an average annual pace of 1.1 percent annually.

Economic Rankings

• 1st in percentage of employed PhDs and engineers
• 1st highest concentration of workers in STEM occupations (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018) 2nd Most Educated State (WalletHub, 2018)
• 5th Most Innovative State (Bloomberg, 2019)
• 15 of 20 Aerospace & defense companies in the U.S. call Maryland home
• 70 of 100 top defense contractors are located in Maryland

Rental Economics

The overall rental vacancy rate is estimated at 4.3 percent, down from 7.2 percent in 2010. During the 3-year forecast period, demand is expected for 2,500 new market-rate rental units.

Educational Excellence

Maryland is known for its excellence in education.

• Maryland ranks 2nd overall in the U.S. based on educational attainment, school quality, and achievement gaps.
• Maryland’s public K-12 school system ranks eighth in the nation based on 25 quality and safety metrics.
• Johns Hopkins University ranks 10th in the U.S. News and World Report rankings for Best Colleges.
• Johns Hopkins University ranks first among U.S. colleges and universities in total National Institutes of Health awards, including grants and contracts for research, development, training and fellowships ($674.6 million).
• Johns Hopkins University ranks first among academic institutions in the nation in research and development expenditures, totaling $2.56 billion in FY 2017. The university also ranks first in federally funded research ($2.18 billion).
• University of Maryland College Park ranks 15th in the word following subjects: atmospheric science, environmental engineering, remote sensing, communications, business administration, management, and library and information sciences.