Maryland County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 24 counties in Maryland, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 52.0. 5counties are in Serious or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Maryland Snapshot
Maryland County Map
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All 24 Maryland counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Maryland's 24 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Maryland Counties
24 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Baltimore city | 81.9 | Crisis | Legal Distress |
| 2 | 233 | Somerset County | 73.8 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 3 | 248 | Prince George's County | 73.5 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 4 | 409 | Wicomico County | 69.7 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 5 | 416 | Dorchester County | 69.5 | Serious | Legal Distress |
| 6 | 706 | Caroline County | 64.1 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 7 | 795 | Baltimore County | 62.6 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 8 | 861 | Charles County | 61.4 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 9 | 1,060 | Washington County | 58.2 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 10 | 1,134 | Allegany County | 57.4 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 11 | 1,186 | Cecil County | 56.3 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 12 | 1,818 | Kent County | 46.4 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 13 | 1,873 | Harford County | 45.5 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 14 | 1,889 | Worcester County | 45.1 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 15 | 1,974 | Calvert County | 43.6 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 16 | 2,095 | Talbot County | 41.5 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 17 | 2,134 | Anne Arundel County | 40.9 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 18 | 2,143 | St. Mary's County | 40.8 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 19 | 2,172 | Montgomery County | 40.3 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 20 | 2,269 | Frederick County | 38.8 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 21 | 2,402 | Queen Anne's County | 36.4 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 22 | 2,502 | Garrett County | 34.5 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 23 | 2,514 | Howard County | 34.2 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 24 | 2,633 | Carroll County | 32.3 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.