About one in 15 people in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, lives below the poverty line
In Anne Arundel County, 6.6% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 97% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Anne Arundel County's score
In Anne Arundel County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 47.3. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 6.5. The typical household earns $127,042 a year (2024), more than in 98% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Anne Arundel County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Anne Arundel County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 47.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.1% · August 202526th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people172.1 · 202567th percentile
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- 46.1 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent19.9% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.0% · fiscal year 202731st percentile
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- 29.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.6% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.1% · August 202534th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score31.8% · second quarter of 202618th percentile
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- 23.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202635th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.9% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
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- 6.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.6% · 20243rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.9% · 20245th percentile
- People with a disability10.8% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- People without health insurance4.7% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$127,042 · 20241st percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Anne Arundel County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Anne Arundel County, 15.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Anne Arundel County
Maryland
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Anne Arundel County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 12.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Anne Arundel County, Maryland, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 12.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Anne Arundel County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 3.8% in 2011 to 4.8% in 2012.
The share of households in Anne Arundel County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 6.5%
High on the chart: 7.0% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
How Anne Arundel County has changed
Anne Arundel County's population had its largest rise, from 291,264 in 1969 to 334,752 in 1974.
Anne Arundel County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 602,350, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 602,350. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Anne Arundel County doubled to 293,059, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 293,059. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.3% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 5.4% | 2024 6.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $41,408 | 2024 $127,042 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Anne Arundel County's history
1783
Confederation Congress seat of temporary national capital 1783-1784. Wikipedia
1990
A thunderstorm in March 1990 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A thunderstorm in March 1990 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
Lightning in June 2000 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
Lightning in July 2010 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 588,261, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1971
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Anne Arundel County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Anne Arundel County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Anne Arundel County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Anne Arundel County ranks 5th of the six; Baltimore city is highest, at 30.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore city, MD | 97 | 18.0% | 30.5% |
| Prince George's County, MD | 78 | 10.4% | 17.8% |
| Baltimore County, MD | 61 | 9.3% | 17.1% |
| Calvert County, MD | 20 | 5.8% | 15.4% |
| Anne Arundel County, MD | 17 | 6.6% | 12.9% |
| Howard County, MD | 8 | 5.5% | 9.8% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Anne Arundel County the poorest county in Maryland?
No, Anne Arundel County's poverty rate was 6.6% in 2024, 19th highest of 24 in Maryland (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Somerset County, at 20.3%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Anne Arundel County ranks 21st of 24 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Anne Arundel County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Anne Arundel County Community Action Agency, Incorporated
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Arundel Community Development Service Inc
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS)
Legal aid
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Maryland Legal Aid
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Anne Arundel County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Anne Arundel County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.