County Data

Maryland County Distress Index

Financial distress scores for all 24 counties in Maryland, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 52.2. 5counties are in Serious or Crisis.

Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26

Maryland Snapshot

24 Counties Scored
52.2 Mean Score
46.2 Median Score
82.0 Baltimore city Most Distressed
32.4 Carroll County Least Distressed
1 Crisis 4 Serious 6 Elevated 10 Normal 3 Healthy
Zone Distribution

Maryland County Map

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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis

All 24 Maryland counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.

Most & Least Distressed

Most Distressed

#1 Baltimore city
82.0 Crisis
Consumer Credit Distress
#2 Somerset County
74.1 Serious
Consumer Credit Distress
#3 Prince George's County
73.6 Serious
Consumer Credit Distress

Least Distressed

#24 Carroll County
32.4 Healthy
Housing Cost Burden
#23 Howard County
34.3 Healthy
Housing Cost Burden
#22 Garrett County
34.7 Healthy
Consumer Credit Distress

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 43 Baltimore city 82.0 Crisis Consumer Credit Distress
2 221 Somerset County 74.1 Serious Consumer Credit Distress
3 241 Prince George's County 73.6 Serious Consumer Credit Distress
4 396 Wicomico County 69.8 Serious Consumer Credit Distress
5 405 Dorchester County 69.7 Serious Consumer Credit Distress
6 674 Caroline County 64.5 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
7 786 Baltimore County 62.8 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
8 850 Charles County 61.4 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
9 1,050 Washington County 58.4 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
10 1,125 Allegany County 57.5 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
11 1,175 Cecil County 56.5 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
12 1,785 Kent County 46.9 Normal Housing Cost Burden
13 1,866 Harford County 45.6 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
14 1,886 Worcester County 45.2 Normal Housing Cost Burden
15 1,971 Calvert County 43.7 Normal Housing Cost Burden
16 2,082 Talbot County 41.8 Normal Housing Cost Burden
17 2,127 Anne Arundel County 41.0 Normal Housing Cost Burden
18 2,132 St. Mary's County 40.9 Normal Housing Cost Burden
19 2,169 Montgomery County 40.4 Normal Housing Cost Burden
20 2,266 Frederick County 38.9 Normal Housing Cost Burden
21 2,391 Queen Anne's County 36.4 Normal Housing Cost Burden
22 2,490 Garrett County 34.7 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
23 2,512 Howard County 34.3 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
24 2,627 Carroll County 32.4 Healthy Housing Cost Burden

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.

Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties

Full CDI methodology and data sources

Maryland Resources

Maryland State Profile

State ADI score: 56.0 (Elevated). Debt, delinquency, and economic indicators for Maryland.

Find Help in Maryland

HUD-approved housing counselors, legal aid offices, credit counselors, and debtor education providers in Maryland.

Maryland Foreclosure Laws

Foreclosure process, timeline, homeowner protections, and legal resources in Maryland.

State Distress Rankings

All 51 U.S. jurisdictions ranked by financial distress. Compare Maryland to the rest of the country.

National County Profiles

All 3,144 U.S. counties ranked by financial distress score.
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