View source for Maryland

{{Short description|U.S. state}}
{{About|the U.S. state}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox U.S. state
| name = Maryland
| image_flag = Flag of Maryland.svg
| flag_link = Flag of Maryland
| image_seal = {{Multiple image
| border=infobox
| width=100
| align=center
| direction=vertical
| image1=Seal of Maryland (reverse).svg
| alt1=Seal of Maryland (reverse)
| image2=Seal of Maryland (obverse).svg
| alt2=Seal of Maryland (obverse)
}}
| image_map = Maryland in United States (zoom).svg
| nicknames = "[[Maryland 400|Old Line State]]", "Free State", "Little America",<ref>{{cite news |url=https://indexarticles.com/business/daily-record-the-baltimore/marylands-quality-of-life-ranks-high-compared-to-other-states/ |title=Maryland's quality of life ranks high compared to other states |date=July 1, 2021|newspaper=[[The Daily Record (Maryland)|The Daily Record]] |access-date=September 30, 2023 |archive-date=October 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022213144/https://indexarticles.com/business/daily-record-the-baltimore/marylands-quality-of-life-ranks-high-compared-to-other-states/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> "America in Miniature"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visitmaryland.org/Students/Pages/MarylandFacts.aspx|title=Maryland Facts|publisher=Maryland Office of Tourism|access-date=June 2, 2009|archive-date=June 13, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613040009/http://visitmaryland.org/Students/Pages/MarylandFacts.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>
| population_demonym = Marylander
| motto = {{ubl|{{lang|it|[[Seal of Maryland|"Fatti maschii, parole femine"]]}}<br />(English: "Strong Deeds, Gentle Words")
(lit.: Manly deeds, womanly words)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2017RS/bills/sb/sb0088T.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929054058/http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2017RS/bills/sb/sb0088T.pdf|archive-date=September 29, 2017|title=Senate Bill 88}}</ref>
|The Latin text encircling the seal: <br />{{lang|la|Scuto bonæ voluntatis tuæ coronasti nos}} ("With Favor Wilt Thou Compass Us as with a Shield") Psalm 5:12<ref>{{cite web |url=http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/reverse.html |title=Great Seal of Maryland (reverse) |publisher=Maryland State Archives |access-date=March 4, 2014 |archive-date=January 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104185053/http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/reverse.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| Former = Province of Maryland
| seat = [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]]
| LargestCity = [[Baltimore]]
| LargestCounty = [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery]]
| LargestMetro = {{ubl|[[Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area|Washington–Baltimore]] (combined)|[[Baltimore metropolitan area|Baltimore]] (metro and urban)}}
| Governor = {{nowrap|[[Wes Moore]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])}}
| Lieutenant Governor = {{nowrap|[[Aruna Miller]] (D)}}
| Legislature = [[Maryland General Assembly|General Assembly]]
| Upperhouse = [[Maryland Senate|Senate]]
| Lowerhouse = [[Maryland House of Delegates|House of Delegates]]
| Judiciary = [[Supreme Court of Maryland]]
| Senators = {{ubl|{{nowrap|[[Chris Van Hollen]] (D)}}|{{nowrap|[[Angela Alsobrooks]] (D)}}}}
| Representative = {{ubl|7 Democrats|1 [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]}}
| postal_code = MD
| TradAbbreviation = Md.
| OfficialLang = None (English, ''de facto'')
| area_rank = 42nd
| area_total_sq_mi = 12,407
| area_total_km2 = 32,133
| area_land_sq_mi = 9,776
| area_land_km2 = 25,314
| area_water_sq_mi = 2,633
| area_water_km2 = 6,819
| area_water_percent = 21
| population_rank = 18th
| population_as_of = 2024
| 2010Pop = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 6,263,220<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MD/PST045224|accessdate=January 3, 2025|title= United States Census Quick Facts Maryland}}</ref>
| population_density_rank = 5th
| 2000DensityUS = 632
| 2000Density = 
| MedianHouseholdIncome = ${{round|98678|-2}} (2<span>0</span>23)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2024/demo/acsbr-023.pdf|title=Household Income in States and Metropolitan Areas: 2023|accessdate=January 12, 2025}}</ref>
| IncomeRank = [[List of U.S. states and territories by income#States and territories ranked by median household income|3rd]]
| AdmittanceOrder = 7th
| AdmittanceDate = April 28, 1788
| timezone1 = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern]]
| utc_offset1 = −05:00
| timezone1_DST = [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]]
| utc_offset1_DST = −04:00
| Latitude = 37° 53′ N to 39° 43′ N
| Longitude = 75° 03′ W to 79° 29′ W
| length_mi = 200
| length_km = 320
| width_mi = 125
| width_km = 200
| elevation_ft = 350
| elevation_max_point = [[Hoye-Crest]]<ref name=USGS>{{cite web|url=http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html |title=Elevations and Distances in the United States |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |year=2001 |access-date=October 21, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015012701/http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html |archive-date=October 15, 2011 }}</ref>{{efn|name=NAVD88|Elevation adjusted to [[North American Vertical Datum of 1988]]}}
| elevation_max_ft = 3,360
| elevation_max_m = 1024
| elevation_min_point = [[Atlantic Ocean]]<ref name=USGS/>
| elevation_min_ft = 0
| elevation_min_m = 0
| iso_code = US-MD
| website = maryland.gov
| Capital = 
| Representatives = 
}}
{{Infobox region symbols|country=United States
<!--http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/00list.html
http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/md_symb.htm-->
|state = Maryland
|image_flag = Flag of Maryland.svg
|image_flag_size = 175px
|image_seal = Seal_of_Maryland_(reverse).svg
|image_arms = Coat of arms of the State of Maryland.svg
|bird = [[Baltimore oriole]]
|ship = [[Skipjack (boat)|Skipjack]]
|cat= [[Calico cat]]
|crustacean = [[Callinectes sapidus|Blue crab]]
|beverage = [[Milk]]
|food = [[Smith Island cake]]
|dinosaur = ''[[Astrodon johnstoni]]''
|dog = [[Chesapeake Bay Retriever]]
|fish = [[Striped bass|Rock fish]]
|flower =[[Rudbeckia hirta|Black-eyed Susan]]
|dance = [[Square dance]]
|fossil = ''[[Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae]]''
|gemstone = [[Patuxent River stone]]
|horse = [[Thoroughbred]]
|insect = [[Baltimore checkerspot butterfly]]
|reptile = [[Diamondback terrapin]]
|sport = {{ubl|[[Jousting]]|[[Lacrosse]]}}
|tree = [[Quercus alba|White oak]]
|song = None. Formerly: "[[Maryland, My Maryland]]" by [[James Ryder Randall]] (1861), (adopted 1939, repealed 2021)
|image_route = MD Route 2.svg
|image_quarter = 2000 MD Proof.png
|quarter_release_date = 2000
}}

'''Maryland''' ({{IPAc-en|US|audio=en-us-Maryland.ogg|ˈ|m|ɛr|ᵻ|l|ə|n|d}} {{respell|MERR|il|ənd}}){{Efn|In American English, the first syllable is pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɛr|-}} even by the minority of speakers who contrast the vowels in ''merry'' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɛr|i}} and ''Mary'' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɛər|i}}. The pronunciation {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɛər|ᵻ|l|ə|n|d}} {{respell|MAIR|il|ənd}} is the predominant one in British [[Received Pronunciation]].<ref>{{cite LPD|3}}</ref>}} is a [[U.S. state|state]] in the [[Mid-Atlantic (United States)|Mid-Atlantic]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Mid-Atlantic Home : Mid–Atlantic Information Office |url=https://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408092405/https://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/|archive-date=April 8, 2019|access-date=July 27, 2017|website=U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}}</ref> region of the United States. It borders the states of [[Virginia]] to its south, [[West Virginia]] to its west, [[Pennsylvania]] to its north, and [[Delaware]] to its east, as well as with the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to its east, and the national capital and federal district of [[Washington, D.C.]] to the southwest. With a total area of {{Convert|12407|sqmi|km2}}, Maryland is the [[List of U.S. states and territories by area|ninth-smallest state by land area]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maryland - 2023 - III.B. Overview of the State |url=https://mchb.tvisdata.hrsa.gov/Narratives/Overview/5f6bf77b-2287-4416-9871-38c1d74644fd |access-date=January 3, 2024 |website=mchb.tvisdata.hrsa.gov |archive-date=January 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103080055/https://mchb.tvisdata.hrsa.gov/Narratives/Overview/5f6bf77b-2287-4416-9871-38c1d74644fd |url-status=live }}</ref> and its population of 6,177,224 ranks it the [[List of U.S. states and territories by population|18th-most populous state]] and the [[List of states and territories of the United States by population density|fifth-most densely populated]]. Maryland's capital city is [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]], and the state's most populous city is [[Baltimore]].<ref name="BaltBrit">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Baltimore |title=Baltimore |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=June 18, 2023 |access-date=April 25, 2019 |archive-date=July 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719161537/https://www.britannica.com/place/Baltimore |url-status=live }}</ref>

Maryland's coastline was first explored by Europeans in the 16th century. Prior to that, it was inhabited by several [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribes, mostly the [[Algonquian peoples]].<ref>{{cite web |title=People, Tribes and Bands |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/native/html/01native.html |website=Maryland Manual On-line: A Guide to Maryland and its Government |publisher=Maryland State Archives |access-date=August 25, 2019 |archive-date=July 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717013734/https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/native/html/01native.html |url-status=live }}</ref> One of the original [[Thirteen Colonies]], the [[Province of Maryland]] was founded in 1634 by [[George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore]], a [[Catholic Church in England and Wales|Catholic]] convert<ref name="Cecilius Calvert 2010">"George Calvert and Cecilius Calvert, Barons Baltimore" William Hand Browne, Nabu Press (August 1, 2010), {{ISBN|117662539X}} {{ISBN|978-1176625396}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=English and Catholic : the Lords Baltimore in the seventeenth century|author=Krugler, John D.|date=2004|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-0801879630|location=Baltimore|oclc=53967315}}</ref> who sought to provide a religious haven for Catholics persecuted in England.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=History of Maryland: Province and State|last=Andrews|first=Matthew Page|publisher=Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc|year=1929|location=Garden City, New York|pages=3–5}}</ref> In 1632, [[Charles I of England]] granted Lord Baltimore a [[colonial charter]], naming the colony after his wife, [[Henrietta Maria of France|Henrietta Maria]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/ma01.asp|title=The Charter of Maryland : 1632|date=December 18, 1998|website=avalon.law.yale.edu|access-date=May 2, 2018|archive-date=March 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325164510/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/ma01.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1649, the Maryland General Assembly passed an [[Maryland Toleration Act|Act Concerning Religion]], which enshrined the principle of [[toleration]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/maryland_toleration.asp|title=Avalon Project—Maryland Toleration Act; September 21, 1649|website=avalon.law.yale.edu|access-date=May 3, 2018|archive-date=November 25, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091125140850/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/maryland_toleration.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> Religious strife was common in Maryland's early years, and [[Catholic Church|Catholics]] remained a minority, albeit in greater numbers than in any other English colony.

Maryland's early settlements and population centers clustered around waterways that empty into the [[Chesapeake Bay]]. Its economy was heavily [[Plantation economy|plantation-based]] and centered mostly on the cultivation of [[tobacco]]. Demand for cheap labor from Maryland colonists led to the importation of numerous [[Indentured servitude in British America|indentured servants]] and [[History of slavery in Maryland|enslaved Africans]]. In 1760, Maryland's current boundaries took form following the [[Mason–Dixon line|settlement]] of a long-running border dispute with Pennsylvania. Many of its citizens played [[Maryland in the American Revolution|key political and military roles]] in the [[American Revolutionary War]]. Although it was a [[Slave states and free states|slave state]], Maryland [[Border states (American Civil War)|remained in the Union]] during the [[American Civil War]], and its proximity to Washington D.C. and Virginia made it [[Maryland in the American Civil War|a significant strategic location]]. After the Civil War ended in 1865, Maryland took part in the [[Industrial Revolution in the United States|Industrial Revolution]], driven by its seaports, railroad networks, and mass immigration from Europe.

Since the 1940s, the state's population has grown rapidly, to approximately six million residents, and it is among the most densely populated U.S. states. {{as of|2015}}, Maryland had the [[List of U.S. states by income|highest median household income]] of any state, owing in large part to its proximity to Washington, D.C., and a highly diversified economy spanning manufacturing, retail services, public administration, real estate, higher education, information technology, defense contracting, health care, and biotechnology.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://proximityone.com/stmhi0910.htm|title=State Median Household Income Patterns: 1990–2010|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=August 6, 2012|archive-date=October 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026201715/http://proximityone.com/stmhi0910.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Maryland is one of the most multicultural states in the country; it is one of the nine states where [[Majority minority in the United States|non-Whites compose a majority of the population]], with the fifth-highest percentage of [[African Americans]], and high numbers of residents born in [[Africa]], [[Asia]], [[Central America]], and the [[Caribbean]]. The state's central role in U.S. history is reflected by its hosting of some of the [[List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state|highest numbers of historic landmarks]] per capita.

The [[Western Maryland|western]] portion of the state contains stretches of the [[Appalachian Mountains]], the [[Baltimore metropolitan area|central portion]] is primarily composed of the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]], and the [[Eastern Shore of Maryland|eastern side of the state]] makes up a significant portion of the Chesapeake Bay. Sixteen of Maryland's twenty-three counties, and the city of Baltimore, border the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay estuary and its many tributaries,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FHCtrYIDq0MC&pg=PA221 |page=221 |title=Turning the Tide: Saving the Chesapeake Bay |author1=Tom Horton |author2=William Chesapeake Bay Foundation |publisher=Island Press |year=2013|isbn=9781610911160 }}</ref><ref name="BaltBrit"/> which combined total more than 4,000 miles of shoreline. Although one of the smallest states in the U.S., it features a variety of climates and topographical features that have earned it the moniker of ''America in Miniature''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.visitmaryland.org/info/maryland-facts |work=Visit Maryland |title=Maryland Facts |access-date=April 25, 2019 |archive-date=April 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425083324/https://www.visitmaryland.org/info/maryland-facts |url-status=live }}</ref> Maryland's geography, culture, and history are diverse, including elements of the Mid-Atlantic, [[Northeastern United States|Northeastern]], and [[Southern United States|Southern]] regions of the country.

==History==
{{Main|History of Maryland|Native American tribes in Maryland}}
===17th century===
====Maryland's first colonial settlement====
{{Main|Province of Maryland}}
Present-day Maryland was originally inhabited by tribes such as the [[Piscataway people|Piscataway]] (including the [[Patuxent people|Patuxent]]), the [[Nanticoke people|Nanticoke]] (including the [[Tockwogh|Tocwogh]], the [[Ozinie]] and other subdivisions), the [[Powhatan]], the [[Lenape]], the [[Susquehannock]], the [[Shawnee]], the [[Tutelo]], the [[Saponi]], the [[Pocomoke people|Pocomoke]] and the [[Massawomeck people|Massawomeck]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maryland Indian Tribes and Languages |url=https://www.native-languages.org/maryland.htm |access-date=September 3, 2024 |website=www.native-languages.org}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=September 2024}} [[George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore]] (1579–1632), sought a charter from King [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] for the territory between [[Massachusetts]] to the north and [[Virginia]] to the immediate south.<ref name="Stewart 1967 42–43">{{Cite book|last=Stewart
|first= George R.|author-link= George R. Stewart|title= Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States|orig-year= 1945 |edition= Sentry (3rd)|year= 1967 |publisher= [[Houghton Mifflin]]|pages= 42–43}}</ref>
After Baltimore died in April 1632, the charter was granted to his son, [[Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore]] (1605–1675), on June 20, 1632. Officially, the new "Maryland Colony" was named in honor of [[Henrietta Maria of France]], wife of Charles I.{{sfn|Marsh|2011|p=5}} Lord Baltimore initially proposed the name "Crescentia", the land of growth or increase, but "the King proposed Terra Mariae [Mary Land], which was concluded on and inserted in the bill."<ref name=":1" />

The original capital of Maryland was [[St. Mary's City, Maryland|St. Mary's City]], on the north shore of the [[Potomac River]], and the county surrounding it was the first erected and created in the province,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/photos/lowe/html/sm_2.html|title=Maryland In Focus—St. Mary's County|first=Kristin P.|last=Masser|website=Maryland State Archives|access-date=September 6, 2017|archive-date=October 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010135440/http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/photos/lowe/html/sm_2.html|url-status=live}}</ref> first called Augusta Carolina, after the King, and later named [[St. Mary's County, Maryland|St. Mary's County]].<ref>''History of Maryland'', p. 32</ref>

Lord Baltimore's first settlers arrived in the new colony in March 1634, with his younger brother, [[Leonard Calvert]] (1606–1647), as the first provincial [[Governor of Maryland]]. They made their first permanent settlement at [[St. Mary's City, Maryland|St. Mary's City]] in what is now [[St. Mary's County, Maryland|St. Mary's County]]. They purchased the site from the [[paramount chief]] of the region, who was eager to establish trade. St. Mary's became the first [[state capital|capital]] of Maryland, and remained so for 60 years until 1695. More settlers soon followed. Their tobacco crops were successful and quickly made the new colony profitable. However, given the incidence of [[malaria]], [[yellow fever]], and [[typhoid]], life expectancy in Maryland was about 10 years less than in [[New England]].<ref name=iha>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ushistory.org/us/5a.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322155310/http://www.ushistory.org/us/5a.asp|url-status=dead|title=Maryland—The Catholic Experiment |archive-date=March 22, 2016|website=www.ushistory.org}}</ref>

====Persecution of Catholics====
{{See also|Plundering Time}}
Maryland was founded to provide a haven for England's [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] minority.<ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{Cite news |last=Greenwell |first=Megan |author-link=Megan Greenwell |date=August 21, 2008 |title=Religious Freedom Byway Would Recognize Maryland's Historic Role |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/15/AR2008081504104.html |access-date=May 3, 2014 |archive-date=February 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217132059/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/15/AR2008081504104.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
Although Maryland was the most heavily Catholic of the English mainland colonies, the religion was still in the minority, consisting of less than 10% of the total population.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Slavery's Capitalism: A New History of American Economic Development|last=Wilder|first=Craig Steven|publisher=University of Pennsylvania|year=2016|isbn=978-0-8122-4841-8|editor-last=Beckert|editor-first=Seth|location=Philadelphia, PA|page=233|chapter=War and Priests: Catholic Colleges and Slavery in the Age of Revolution|editor-last2=Rockman|editor-first2=Seth}}</ref>

In 1642, several [[Puritans]] left [[Virginia]] for Maryland and founded the city of Providence, now called [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]], on the western shore of the upper [[Chesapeake Bay]].<ref>Taylor, Owen M., ''History of Annapolis'' (1872) [https://books.google.com/books?id=Vr9ib-I1WlIC p. 5]</ref> A dispute with traders from Virginia over [[Kent Island]] in the Chesapeake led to armed conflict. In 1644, [[William Claiborne]], a Puritan, seized Kent Island while his associate, the [[Roundheads|pro-Parliament]] Puritan [[Richard Ingle]], took over St. Mary's.<ref>Brenner, Robert. ''Merchants and Revolution'' London:Verso. 2003, {{ISBN|1-85984-333-6}}</ref> Both used religion as a tool to gain popular support. The two years from 1644 to 1646 when Claiborne and his Puritan associates held sway were known as "The Plundering Time". They captured Jesuit priests, imprisoned them, and then sent them back to England.

In 1646, [[Leonard Calvert]] returned with troops, recaptured St. Mary's City, and restored order. The House of Delegates passed the "Act concerning Religion" in 1649, granting religious liberty to all [[Trinitarianism|Trinitarian]] Christians.<ref name=iha/>

In 1650, the Puritans revolted against the proprietary government. "Protestants swept the Catholics out of the legislature{{spaces}}... and religious strife returned."<ref name=iha/> The Puritans set up a new government prohibiting both [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]] and [[Church of England|Anglicanism]]. The Puritan revolutionary government persecuted Maryland Catholics during its reign, known as the "plundering time". Mobs burned down all the original Catholic churches of southern Maryland. The Puritan rule lasted until 1658, when the Calvert family and Lord Baltimore regained proprietary control and re-enacted the Toleration Act.

After England's [[Glorious Revolution]] in 1688, Maryland outlawed Catholicism. In 1704, the Maryland General Assembly prohibited Catholics from operating schools, limited the corporate ownership of property to hamper religious orders from expanding or supporting themselves, and encouraged the conversion of Catholic children.<ref name=":0" /> The celebration of the Catholic sacraments was also officially restricted. This state of affairs lasted until after the [[American Revolutionary War]] (1775–1783). Wealthy Catholic planters built chapels on their land to practice their religion in relative secrecy.

Into the 18th century, individual priests and lay leaders claimed Maryland farms belonging to the Jesuits as personal property and [[bequest|bequeathed]] them to evade the legal restrictions on religious organizations' owning property.<ref name=":0" />

===Border disputes (1681–1760)===
{{Main|Penn–Calvert boundary dispute|Cresap's War}}
[[File:1732 map of Maryland.jpg|thumb|A 1732 map of Maryland<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ghostsofbaltimore.org/2014/03/04/lord-baltimores-map-maryland-1732/|title=Lord Baltimore's Map of Maryland in 1732|last=Tom|date=March 4, 2014|website=Ghosts of Baltimore|access-date=February 24, 2019|archive-date=February 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225044819/https://ghostsofbaltimore.org/2014/03/04/lord-baltimores-map-maryland-1732/|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
The royal charter granted Maryland the land north of the [[Potomac River]] up to the [[40th parallel north|40th parallel]]. A problem arose when [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] granted a charter for the [[Province of Pennsylvania]], which defined Pennsylvania's southern border as the 40th parallel, identical to Maryland's northern border. But the grant indicated that Charles II and [[William Penn]] assumed the 40th parallel would pass close to [[New Castle, Delaware]], where it falls north of [[Philadelphia]], which Penn already designated as Pennsylvania's capital city. Negotiations ensued after the problem was discovered in 1681.

A compromise proposed by Charles II in 1682 was undermined by Penn's receiving the additional grant of what is now Delaware.<ref name=hubbard>{{Cite book|last=Hubbard |first=Bill Jr. |title=American Boundaries: the Nation, the States, the Rectangular Survey |url=https://archive.org/details/americanboundari00jrbi |url-access=limited |year=2009 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-35591-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanboundari00jrbi/page/n35 21]–23}}</ref> Penn successfully argued that the Maryland charter entitled Lord Baltimore only to unsettled lands, and Dutch settlement in Delaware predated his charter. The dispute remained unresolved for nearly a century, carried on by the descendants of William Penn and Lord Baltimore—the [[Baron Baltimore|Calvert family]], which controlled Maryland, and the [[William Penn|Penn family]], which controlled Pennsylvania.<ref name=hubbard/>

The border dispute with Pennsylvania led to Cresap's War in the 1730s. Hostilities erupted in 1730 and escalated through the first half of the decade, culminating in the deployment of military forces by Maryland in 1736 and by Pennsylvania in 1737. The armed phase of the conflict ended in May 1738 with the intervention of King George II, who compelled the negotiation of a cease-fire. A provisional agreement had been established in 1732.<ref name=hubbard/>

Negotiations continued until a final agreement was signed in 1760. The agreement defined the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania as the line of latitude now known as the [[Mason–Dixon line]]. Maryland's border with Delaware was based on the [[Transpeninsular Line]] and the [[Twelve-Mile Circle]] around New Castle.<ref name=hubbard/>

===18th century===

{{Main|American Revolutionary War|Maryland in the American Revolution|Lee Resolution|United States Declaration of Independence|Philadelphia campaign|Articles of Confederation#Ratification|Treaty of Paris (1783)|Mount Vernon Conference|Annapolis Convention (1786)|Constitutional Convention (United States)|Admission to the Union|List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union}}

Most of the English colonists arrived in Maryland as [[indentured servant]]s, and had to serve a several-year term as laborers to pay for their passage.<ref>[http://www.folger.edu/html/folger_institute/jamestown/c_shifflet.htm "Indentured Servants and the Pursuits of Happiness"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104180311/http://www.folger.edu/html/folger_institute/jamestown/c_shifflet.htm |date=January 4, 2010 }}. Crandall Shifflett, ''Virginia Tech''.</ref> In the early years, the line between indentured servants and African slaves or laborers was fluid, and white and black laborers commonly lived and worked together, and formed unions. [[Mixed-race]] children born to white mothers were considered free by the principle of ''[[partus sequitur ventrem]]'', by which children took the social status of their mothers, a principle of slave law that was adopted throughout the colonies, following Virginia in 1662.

Many of the free black families migrated to Delaware, where land was cheaper.<ref name="Heinegg">[http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/ Paul Heinegg. ''Free African Americans in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100807191511/http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/ |date=August 7, 2010 }}. Retrieved February 15, 2008.</ref> As the flow of indentured laborers to the colony decreased with improving economic conditions in England, planters in Maryland imported thousands more slaves and racial caste lines hardened.

Maryland was one of the [[Thirteen Colonies|thirteen colonies]] that revolted against British rule in the [[American Revolution]]. Near the end of the [[American Revolutionary War]] (1775–1783), on February 2, 1781, Maryland became the last and 13th state to approve the ratification of the [[Articles of Confederation|Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union]], first proposed in 1776 and adopted by the [[Second Continental Congress]] in 1778, which brought into being the United States as a united, [[sovereignty|sovereign]] and [[nation state|national state]]. It also became the seventh state admitted to the Union after ratifying the new federal Constitution in 1788. In December 1790, prior to the move of the national capital from [[Philadelphia]] in 1800, Maryland donated land selected by first President [[George Washington]] to the [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]] for its creation. The land was provided along the north shore of the [[Potomac River]] from [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery]] and [[Prince George's County, Maryland|Prince George's]] counties, as well as from [[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax County]] and [[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria]] on the south shore of the Potomac in [[Virginia]]; however, the land donated by the Commonwealth of Virginia was later returned to that state by the [[District of Columbia retrocession]] in 1846.

===19th century===
[[File:Ft. Henry bombardement 1814.jpg|thumb|The bombardment of Fort McHenry in the [[Battle of Baltimore]], which inspired "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]"]]
Influenced by a changing economy, revolutionary ideals, and preaching by ministers, numerous planters in Maryland freed their slaves in the 20 years after the [[American Revolution|Revolutionary War]]. Across the Upper South the free black population increased from less than 1% before the war to 14% by 1810.<ref name="Kolchin"/> Abolitionists [[Harriet Tubman]] and [[Frederick Douglass]] were born slaves during this time in [[Dorchester County, Maryland|Dorchester County]] and [[Talbot County, Maryland|Talbot County]], respectively.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/harriet-tubman|title=Harriet Tubman|website=HISTORY|date=October 29, 2009 |access-date=January 18, 2019|archive-date=January 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121457/https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/harriet-tubman|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Douglass |first=Frederick |title=Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave |publisher=Barnes & Noble Classics |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-59308-041-9 |location=New York, NY |pages=17 |language=English}}</ref>

During the [[War of 1812]], the British military attempted to capture Baltimore, which was protected by [[Fort McHenry]]. During its bombardment, the song "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]" was written by [[Francis Scott Key]]; it was later adopted as the national anthem.

National Road, later renamed [[U.S. Route 40 in Maryland|U.S. Route 40]], was authorized in 1817 as the federal highway, and ran from [[Baltimore]] to [[St. Louis]]. The [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]], the first chartered railroad in the United States, opened its first section of track for regular operation in 1830 between Baltimore and [[Ellicott City, Maryland|Ellicott City]],<ref name="Dilts">{{cite book |title=The Great Road: The Building of the Baltimore and Ohio, the Nation's First Railroad, 1828–1853 |last=Dilts |first=James D. |year=1993 |publisher=Stanford University Press |location=Palo Alto, CA |isbn=978-0-8047-2235-3 |page=80}}</ref> and in 1852 it became the first rail line to reach the [[Ohio River]] from the eastern seaboard.<ref name="Stover">{{cite book |last=Stover |first=John F. |title=History of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad |publisher=Purdue University Press |year=1987 |location=West Lafayette, IN |isbn=978-0-911198-81-2 |page=18}}</ref>

====Civil War====
{{Main|Maryland in the American Civil War}}
[[File:Kurz & Allison - Battle of Antietam.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Antietam]] in 1862, one of the bloodiest battles of the [[American Civil War]], with nearly 23,000 casualties]]
The state remained in the Union during the [[American Civil War]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://civilwarmonths.com/2016/04/29/maryland-remains-in-the-union/ |title=Maryland Remains in the Union |access-date=July 7, 2016 |date=April 29, 2016 |publisher=Walter Coffey |author=Walter Coffey |website=The Civil War Months |archive-date=August 17, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817135903/https://civilwarmonths.com/2016/04/29/maryland-remains-in-the-union/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> due in significant part to demographics and Federal intervention. The 1860 census, held shortly before the outbreak of the civil war, showed that 49% of Maryland's African Americans were [[free black|free]].<ref name="Kolchin">Peter Kolchin, ''American Slavery: 1619–1877'', New York: Hill and Wang, 1993, pp. 81–82</ref>

Governor [[Thomas Holliday Hicks]] suspended the state legislature, and to help ensure [[1861 Maryland gubernatorial election|the election]] of a new pro-union governor and legislature, President [[Abraham Lincoln]] had a number of its pro-slavery politicians arrested, including the Mayor of Baltimore, [[George William Brown (mayor)|George William Brown]]; suspended several civil liberties, including ''habeas corpus''; and ordered artillery placed on [[Federal Hill, Baltimore, Maryland|Federal Hill]] overlooking Baltimore.

In April 1861, Federal units and state regiments were attacked as they marched through Baltimore, sparking the [[Baltimore riot of 1861]], the first bloodshed in the Civil War.<ref>{{cite web |last=Vogler |first=Mark E. |title=Civil War Guard on duty in Baltimore to save President Street Station |url=http://www.eagletribune.com/punews/local_story_107204538.html |date=April 18, 2009 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20090419134532/http://www.eagletribune.com/punews/local_story_107204538.html |archive-date=April 19, 2009 |url-status=dead |website=eagletribune.com |publisher=Eagle Tribune |access-date=April 28, 2015 }}</ref> The largest and most significant battle in the state was the [[Battle of Antietam]] on September 17, 1862, near [[Sharpsburg, Maryland|Sharpsburg]]. Although a tactical draw, the battle was considered a strategic Union victory and a [[turning point of the American Civil War|turning point]] of the war.

====Post-Civil War====
A new state constitution in 1864 [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolished]] slavery and Maryland was first recognized as a "Free State" in that context.<ref name=freestate>{{cite web |url=http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/nickname.html |title=Maryland at a Glance: Nicknames |publisher=Maryland State Archives |date=September 29, 2015 |access-date=February 8, 2018 |archive-date=January 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122110422/http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/nickname.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Following passage of constitutional amendments that granted voting rights to [[freedmen]], in 1867 the state extended suffrage to non-white males.

The [[History of the United States Democratic Party|Democratic Party]] rapidly regained power in the state from [[History of the United States Republican Party|Republicans]]. Democrats replaced the Constitution of 1864 with the [[Maryland Constitution of 1867|Constitution of 1867]]. Following the end of Reconstruction in 1877, Democrats devised means of [[Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disenfranchising]] blacks, initially by physical intimidation and voter fraud, later by constitutional amendments and laws. Blacks and immigrants, however, resisted Democratic Party disfranchisement efforts in the state. Maryland blacks were part of a biracial Republican coalition elected to state government in 1896–1904 and comprised 20% of the electorate.<ref name="tuck">{{cite web |url=http://www.brandonkendhammer.com/democratization_Spring2013/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Tuck-2007.pdf |first=Stephen |last=Tuck |title=Democratization and the Disfranchisement of African Americans in the US South during the Late 19th Century |date=Spring 2013 |department=Reading for "Challenges of Democratization" |via=Brandon Kendhammer, Ohio University |author-link=Stephen Tuck |access-date=February 11, 2014 |archive-date=February 23, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223124800/http://www.brandonkendhammer.com/democratization_Spring2013/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Tuck-2007.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Compared to some other states, blacks were better established both before and after the civil war. Nearly half the black population was free before the war, and some had accumulated property. Half the population lived in cities. Literacy was high among blacks and, as Democrats crafted means to exclude them, suffrage campaigns helped reach blacks and teach them how to resist.<ref name="tuck"/> Whites did impose [[racial segregation]] in public facilities and [[Jim Crow]] laws, which effectively lasted until the passage of federal civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s.

Baltimore grew significantly during the [[Industrial Revolution]], due in large part to its seaport and good railroad connections, attracting European immigrant labor. Many manufacturing businesses were established in the Baltimore area after the Civil War. Baltimore businessmen, including [[Johns Hopkins]], [[Enoch Pratt]], [[George Peabody]], and [[Henry Walters]], founded notable city institutions that bear their names, including respectively a [[Johns Hopkins University|university]], [[Enoch Pratt Free Library|library system]], [[Peabody Institute|music and dance conservatory]], and [[Walters Art Museum|art museum]].

[[Cumberland, Maryland|Cumberland]] was Maryland's second-largest city in the 19th century. Nearby supplies of natural resources along with railroads fostered its growth into a major manufacturing center.<ref name="WDL">{{cite web |url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11374/ |title=Bird's Eye View of Cumberland, Maryland 1906 |website=[[World Digital Library]] |year=1906 |access-date=July 22, 2013 |archive-date=October 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003004014/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11374/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===20th century===
[[File:Rubble_of_the_Great_Baltimore_Fire.jpg|thumb|The ruins left by the [[Great Baltimore Fire]] of 1904]]
The [[Progressive Era]] of the late 19th and early 20th centuries brought political reforms. In a series of laws passed between 1892 and 1908, reformers worked for standard state-issued ballots (rather than those distributed and marked by the parties); obtained closed voting booths to prevent party workers from "assisting" voters; initiated [[Partisan primary|primary election]]s to keep party bosses from selecting candidates; and had candidates listed without party symbols, which discouraged the [[illiterate]] from participating. These measures worked against ill-educated whites and blacks. The measures were led by the Democratic Party, which sought to disenfranchise Blacks, who were becoming an important part of the Republican Party.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gray |first1=Thomas R. |last2=Jenkins |first2=Jeffery A. |date=2025 |title=The Dog That Did Not Bark: The Failed Attempts to Disenfranchise African Americans in Early Twentieth Century Maryland |url=https://www.nowpublishers.com/article/Details/HPE-0091 |journal=Journal of Historical Political Economy |language=English |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=139–166 |doi=10.1561/115.00000091 |issn=2693-9290|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Blacks resisted such efforts, with suffrage groups conducting voter education.
Blacks defeated three efforts to disenfranchise them, making alliances with immigrants to resist various Democratic campaigns.<ref name="tuck"/> Disenfranchisement bills in 1905, 1907, and 1911 were rebuffed, in large part because of black opposition. Blacks comprised 20% of the electorate and immigrants comprised 15%, and the legislature had difficulty devising requirements against blacks that did not also disadvantage immigrants.<ref name="tuck"/>

The Progressive Era also brought reforms in working conditions for Maryland's labor force. In 1902, the state regulated conditions in [[Mining|mines]]; outlawed [[child labor]]ers under the age of 12; mandated compulsory school attendance; and enacted the nation's first [[workers' compensation]] law. The workers' compensation law was overturned in the courts, but was redrafted and finally enacted in 1910.

The [[Great Baltimore Fire]] of 1904 burned for more than 30 hours, destroying 1,526 buildings and spanning 70 city blocks. More than 1,231 [[firefighter]]s worked to bring the blaze under control.

With the nation's [[World War I#Entry of the United States|entry into World War I]] in 1917, new military bases such as [[Fort George G. Meade|Camp Meade]], the [[Aberdeen Proving Ground]], and the [[Edgewood Arsenal]] were established. Existing facilities, including [[Fort McHenry]], were greatly expanded.

After Georgia congressman [[William D. Upshaw]] criticized Maryland openly in 1923 for not passing [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] laws, ''Baltimore Sun'' editor Hamilton Owens coined the "Free State" nickname for Maryland in that context, which was popularized by [[H. L. Mencken]] in a series of newspaper editorials.<ref name=freestate /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/ph-ce-eagle-archive-1008-20121003-story.html |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |date=October 7, 2012 |first=Kevin |last=Dayhoff |title=Eagle Archive: Here's a toast to Maryland's origins as 'The Free State' |access-date=February 8, 2018 |archive-date=February 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209063600/http://www.baltimoresun.com/ph-ce-eagle-archive-1008-20121003-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Maryland's urban and rural communities had different experiences during the [[Great Depression]]. The "[[Bonus Army]]" marched through the state in 1932 on its way to Washington, D.C. Maryland instituted its first [[income tax]] in 1937 to generate revenue for schools and welfare.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1093&context=mlr
| title = History and Constitutionality of the Maryland Income Tax Law
| last1 = Cairns
| first1 = Huntington
| date = December 1937
| website = Maryland Law Review
| series = Legal History, Theory and Process Commons
| publisher = UM Carey Law
| at = pp. 1, 6
| access-date = August 19, 2015
| quote = "...{{spaces}}1937 Special Session of the Maryland Legislature imposed an income tax{{spaces}}... expenditure of public funds for the benefit of able-bodied persons whose inability to support themselves arises from the prevalence of widespread unemployment."
| archive-date = March 4, 2016
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112451/http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1093&context=mlr
| url-status = live
}}</ref>

Passenger and freight steamboat service, once important throughout Chesapeake Bay and its many tributary rivers, ended in 1962.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Steamboats of Chesapeake Bay |url=https://www.calvertmarinemuseum.com/DocumentCenter/View/2347/-Bugeye-Times-Winter-2017?bidId= |access-date=March 9, 2020 |archive-date=August 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804222419/http://calvertmarinemuseum.com/DocumentCenter/View/2347/-Bugeye-Times-Winter-2017?bidId= |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Baltimore was a major war production center during [[World War II]]. The biggest operations were [[Bethlehem Steel]]'s Fairfield Yard, which built [[Liberty ship]]s; and [[Glenn L. Martin Company|Glenn Martin]], an aircraft manufacturer.

Maryland experienced population growth following World War II. Beginning in the 1960s, as suburban growth took hold around Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, the state began to take on a more mid-Atlantic culture as opposed to the traditionally Southern and Tidewater culture that previously dominated most of the state. Agricultural tracts gave way to residential communities, some of them carefully planned such as [[Columbia, Maryland|Columbia]], [[St. Charles, Maryland|St. Charles]], and [[Montgomery Village, Maryland|Montgomery Village]]. Concurrently the [[Interstate Highway System]] was built throughout the state, most notably [[Interstate 95 in Maryland|I-95]], [[Interstate 695 (Maryland)|I-695]], and the [[Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway)|Capital Beltway]], altering travel patterns. In 1952, the eastern and western halves of Maryland were linked for the first time by the [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge]], which replaced a nearby [[ferry]] service.<ref name="baybridge.com-history">{{cite web|url=http://www.baybridge.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=|title=William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bay Bridge—History|publisher=baybridge.com|access-date=February 5, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080701104741/http://www.baybridge.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=|archive-date=July 1, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Maryland's regions experienced economic changes following WWII. Heavy manufacturing declined in Baltimore. In Maryland's four westernmost counties, industrial, railroad, and coal mining jobs declined. On the lower [[Eastern Shore of Maryland|Eastern Shore]], family farms were bought up by major concerns and large-scale poultry farms and vegetable farming became prevalent. In Southern Maryland, tobacco farming nearly vanished due to suburban development and a state tobacco buy-out program in the 1990s.

In an effort to reverse depopulation due to the loss of working-class industries, Baltimore initiated [[urban renewal]] projects in the 1960s with [[Charles Center]] and the [[Baltimore World Trade Center]]. Some resulted in the break-up of intact residential neighborhoods, producing social volatility, and some older residential areas around the harbor have had units renovated and have become popular with new populations.

==Geography==
{{See also|Geography of Maryland|List of islands of Maryland|List of rivers of Maryland}}
[[File:MDGeoReg.PNG|thumb|Physical regions of Maryland]]
Maryland has an area of {{convert|12,406.68|sqmi|km2}} and is comparable in overall area with [[Belgium]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/belgium/
|title=Belgium
|access-date=May 15, 2008
|date=May 15, 2008
|website=CIA World Factbook
|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency
|quote=Area—comparative: about the size of Maryland
|archive-date=January 9, 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109104644/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/belgium/
|url-status=live
}}</ref> It is the 42nd-largest and 9th-smallest state and is closest in size to the state of [[Hawaii]] that, with its {{convert|10930.98|mi2}}, is the next smallest state. The next largest state is Maryland's neighbor, [[West Virginia]], which is nearly twice the size of Maryland with its area of {{convert|24229.76|mi2}}.

===Description===
[[File:Deep Creek Lake Maryland Panoramic View.jpg|thumb|[[Western Maryland]] is known for its heavily forested mountains. A panoramic view of [[Deep Creek Lake]] and the surrounding [[Appalachian Mountains]] in [[Garrett County, Maryland|Garrett County]].]]
[[File:Great Falls, Maryland, cliffs.jpg|thumb|[[Great Falls (Potomac River)|Great Falls]] on the [[Potomac River]]]]
[[File:Patapsco fg01.jpg|thumb|[[Patapsco River]] includes the [[Thomas Viaduct]] and is part of the [[Patapsco Valley State Park]]; the river forms [[Baltimore]]'s [[Inner Harbor]] as it empties into the [[Chesapeake Bay]].]]
[[File:Sunset over the marsh at Cardinal Cove - NOAA.jpg|thumb|Sunset over a marsh at Cardinal Cove on the [[Patuxent River]]]]
[[File:ChesapeakeTidalWetlands.jpg|thumb|Tidal wetlands of the [[Chesapeake Bay]], the largest [[estuary]] in the nation and the largest water feature in Maryland]]
Maryland possesses a variety of [[topography]] within its borders, contributing to its nickname ''America in Miniature''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kelly |first=John |date=June 26, 2021 |title=Maryland calls itself America in miniature |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/maryland-tourism-mountains-ocean/2021/06/26/9dc84ed2-d5f1-11eb-ae54-515e2f63d37d_story.html |access-date=September 26, 2023 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> It ranges from sandy [[dunes]] dotted with seagrass in the east, to low marshlands teeming with wildlife and large [[Taxodium|bald cypress]] near the Chesapeake Bay, to gently rolling hills of oak forests in the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont Region]], and [[pine]] groves in the [[List of mountains in Maryland|Maryland mountains]] to the west.

Maryland is bounded on its north by [[Pennsylvania]], on its north and east by [[Delaware]], on its east by the [[Atlantic Ocean]], and on its south and west, across the [[Potomac River]], by [[West Virginia]] and [[Virginia]]. The mid-portion of its border with Virginia is interrupted by [[Washington, D.C.]], which sits on land that was originally part of [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery]] and [[Prince George's County, Maryland|Prince George's]] counties and including [[Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)|Georgetown, Maryland]], which was ceded to the United States federal government in 1790 to form the Washington, D.C. [[Chesapeake Bay]] nearly bisects the state, and the counties east of the bay are known collectively as the [[Eastern Shore of Maryland|Eastern Shore]].

Most of the state's waterways are part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, with the exceptions of a tiny portion of extreme western [[Garrett County, Maryland|Garrett County]] (drained by the [[Youghiogheny River]] as part of the watershed of the [[Mississippi River]]), the eastern half of Worcester County (which drains into Maryland's Atlantic coastal bays), and a small portion of the state's northeast corner (which drains into the [[Delaware River]] watershed). So prominent is the Chesapeake in Maryland's geography and economic life that there has been periodic agitation to change the state's official nickname to the "Bay State", a nickname that has been used by [[Massachusetts]] for decades.

The highest point in Maryland, with an elevation of {{convert|3360|ft|m}}, is [[Backbone Mountain|Hoye Crest on Backbone Mountain]], in the southwest corner of [[Garrett County, Maryland|Garrett County]], near the border with West Virginia, and near the headwaters of the North Branch of the Potomac River. Close to the small town of [[Hancock, Maryland|Hancock]], in western Maryland, about two-thirds of the way across the state, less than {{convert|2|mi|km}} separates its borders,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.canaltrust.org/pyvtowns/hancock/|title=Hancock—C&O Canal Trust|publisher=[[Chesapeake and Ohio Canal]] Trust|access-date=October 22, 2020|archive-date=November 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125022533/https://www.canaltrust.org/pyvtowns/hancock/|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Mason–Dixon line]] to the north, and the northwards-arching [[Potomac River]] to the south.

Portions of Maryland are included in various official and unofficial geographic regions. For example, the [[Delmarva Peninsula]] is composed of the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland, the entire [[Delaware|state of Delaware]], and the two counties that make up the [[Eastern Shore of Virginia]], whereas the westernmost counties of Maryland are considered part of [[Appalachia]]. Much of the Baltimore–Washington corridor lies just south of the Piedmont in the Coastal Plain,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dnr.maryland.gov/waters/cbnerr/Documents/publications/CBNERRMD_SiteProfile_Dec2011.pdf |title=Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Maryland Site Profile |publisher=Maryland Department of Natural Resources |page=54 |first=Patricia |last=Delgado |access-date=May 21, 2017 |date=December 2011 |quote=Map showing{{spaces}}... Maryland physiographic provinces |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525202956/http://dnr.maryland.gov/waters/cbnerr/Documents/publications/CBNERRMD_SiteProfile_Dec2011.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> though it straddles the border between the two regions.

===Geology===
Earthquakes in Maryland are infrequent and small due to the state's distance from seismic/earthquake zones.<ref>{{cite web|title=M2.0—Maryland |url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/dyfi/events/ld/01015030/us/index.html |access-date=November 25, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117073422/https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/dyfi/events/ld/01015030/us/index.html |archive-date=January 17, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=M3.4—Maryland Potomac–Shenandoah Region |url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/dyfi/events/us/2010yua6/us/index.html |access-date=November 25, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102234322/https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/dyfi/events/us/2010yua6/us/index.html |archive-date=November 2, 2012 }}</ref> The [[Moment magnitude scale|M]]5.8 [[2011 Virginia earthquake|Virginia earthquake in 2011]] was felt moderately throughout Maryland. Buildings in the state are not well-designed for earthquakes and can suffer damage easily.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mgs.md.gov/geology/geohazards/earthquakes_and_maryland.html|title=Earthquakes and Maryland|website=Maryland Geological Survey|access-date=December 25, 2018|first=James P.|last=Reger|archive-date=October 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131026075134/http://www.mgs.md.gov/esic/brochures/earthquake.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As well as this, notably [[2024 New Jersey earthquake|a M4.8 earthquake]] from [[Tewksbury Township, New Jersey|Tewksbury]] in central New Jersey was felt slightly throughout Maryland.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 5, 2024 |title=Earthquake hits New Jersey, causing tremors in Maryland but no major damage |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/04/05/minor-earthquake-hits-new-jersey-causing-tremors-in-maryland/ |access-date=April 25, 2024 |website=Baltimore Sun |language=en-US |archive-date=April 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240425192319/https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/04/05/minor-earthquake-hits-new-jersey-causing-tremors-in-maryland/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Maryland has no natural lakes, mostly due to the lack of glacial history in the area.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.mgs.md.gov/esic/fs/fs15.html
|title=Maryland's Lakes and Reservoirs: FAQ
|publisher=Maryland Geological Survey
|date=January 24, 2007
|access-date=February 3, 2008
|archive-date=May 29, 2010
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529054449/http://www.mgs.md.gov/esic/fs/fs15.html
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> All lakes in the state today were constructed, mostly via dams.<ref>Maryland.gov, [https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/lakes.html "Maryland at a glance"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110190023/https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/lakes.html |date=January 10, 2019 }}. Accessed December 3, 2018.</ref> [[Buckel's Bog]] is believed by geologists to have been a remnant of a former natural lake.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rosenwald|first1=Michael S.|title=Fact: Maryland has no natural lakes|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/rosenwald-md/post/fact-maryland-has-no-natural-lakes/2012/07/30/gJQAbtgdKX_blog.html|access-date=June 10, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=July 30, 2012|archive-date=December 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205003627/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/rosenwald-md/post/fact-maryland-has-no-natural-lakes/2012/07/30/gJQAbtgdKX_blog.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Maryland has shale formations containing natural gas, where fracking is theoretically possible.<ref name="natgas">{{Cite news |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-fracking-ban-passes-20170327-story.html |title=Maryland General Assembly approves fracking ban |last=Pamela Wood |date=March 27, 2017 |work=The Baltimore Sun |access-date=April 1, 2017 |archive-date=April 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401232604/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-fracking-ban-passes-20170327-story.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Flora===
[[File:BESusan.JPG|thumb|[[Rudbeckia hirta|Black-eyed susans]], the state flower, grow throughout much of the state.<ref name="maag-flower">{{cite web |title=Maryland at a Glance: State Symbols, Maryland State Flower—Black-Eyed Susan |publisher=Maryland State Archives |website=Maryland Manual Online |url=http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/flower.html |access-date=May 20, 2014 |archive-date=August 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821150545/http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/flower.html |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
As is typical of states on the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]], Maryland's plant life is abundant and healthy. An adequate volume of annual precipitation helps to support many types of plants, including [[seagrass]] and various [[Phragmites|reeds]] at the smaller end of the spectrum to the gigantic [[Wye Oak]], a huge example of [[white oak]], the state tree, which can grow over {{convert|70|ft|m}} tall.

[[Middle Atlantic coastal forests]], typical of the southeastern [[Atlantic coastal plain]], grow around Chesapeake Bay and on the [[Delmarva Peninsula]]. Moving west, a mixture of [[Northeastern coastal forests]] and [[Southeastern mixed forests]] cover the central part of the state. The [[Appalachian Mountains]] of western Maryland are home to [[Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests]]. These give way to [[Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests]] near the West Virginia border.<ref name="ecoregions">{{cite journal|author1=Olson, D. M. |author2=Dinerstein, E. |title=Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Life on Earth |journal=[[BioScience]] |year=2001 |volume=51 |issue=11 |pages=933–938 |doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0933:TEOTWA]2.0.CO;2 |display-authors=etal |doi-access=free  | issn = 0006-3568 }}</ref>

Many foreign species are cultivated in the state, some as ornamentals, others as novelty species. Included among these are the [[Lagerstroemia|crape myrtle]], [[Italian cypress]], [[Magnolia grandiflora|southern magnolia]], [[live oak]] in the warmer parts of the state,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prairiefrontier.com/pages/hardiness/zone.html |title=Zone Hardiness Map through Prairie Frontier |publisher=Prairiefrontier.com |access-date=October 24, 2010 |archive-date=February 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207214803/http://prairiefrontier.com/pages/hardiness/zone.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and even [[hardy palms|hardy palm trees]] in the warmer central and eastern parts of the state.<ref>{{cite book|author=John Leeds Bozman|title=The history of Maryland: from its first settlement, in 1633, to the restoration, in 1660; with a copious introduction, and notes and illustrations|url=https://archive.org/details/historymaryland00bozmgoog|year=1837|publisher=J. Lucas & E.K. Deaver|page=[https://archive.org/details/historymaryland00bozmgoog/page/n34 24]}}</ref> USDA plant [[hardiness zone]]s in the state range from Zones 5{{spaces}}and{{spaces}}6 in the extreme western part of the state to Zone{{spaces}}7 in the central part, and Zone{{spaces}}8 around the southern part of the coast, the bay area, and parts of [[Baltimore Metropolitan Area|metropolitan Baltimore]].<ref name="Arbor Day Foundation" /> Invasive plant species, such as [[kudzu]], [[tree of heaven]], [[multiflora rose]], and [[Microstegium vimineum|Japanese stiltgrass]], stifle growth of endemic plant life.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mdinvasivesp.org/list_terrestrial_plants.html |title=Invasive Species of concern in Maryland |publisher=Mdinvasivesp.org |access-date=October 24, 2010 |archive-date=January 3, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103082840/http://www.mdinvasivesp.org/list_terrestrial_plants.html |url-status=usurped }}</ref> Maryland's state flower, the [[Rudbeckia hirta|black-eyed susan]], grows in abundance in wild flower groups throughout the state.

===Fauna===
[[File:Assateague Island horses August 2009 4.jpg|thumb|A feral [[Chincoteague Pony]] on Assateague Island on Maryland's Atlantic coastal islands]]
The state harbors a considerable number of [[white-tailed deer]], especially in the woody and mountainous west of the state, and overpopulation can become a problem. Mammals can be found ranging from the mountains in the west to the central areas and include [[American black bear|black bears]],<ref name="Maryland Wildlife">{{cite web|url=http://www.sailor.lib.md.us/MD_topics/res/env_ani.html |title=Maryland Animals |access-date=August 30, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070830021023/http://www.sailor.lib.md.us/MD_topics/res/env_ani.html |archive-date=August 30, 2007 }}</ref> [[bobcat]]s,<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Lions in our mountains? The mystery of cougars in Maryland
|url=http://www.dnr.state.md.us/naturalresource/fall2007/lions.pdf
|first=Glenn
|last=Therres
|date=Fall 2007
|website=Wildlife and Heritage
|publisher=Maryland Department of Natural Resources
|access-date=July 6, 2009
|quote=Historically bobcats were distributed statewide but during the post colonization period densities began to plummet. By the mid-1900s, populations had probably reached all-time lows, with remnant populations existing only in western Maryland. This prompted the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to classify them as a state-listed "Species of Special Concern." During the past quarter century, occupied range and densities have increased markedly. Results from the annual Bowhunter Survey and the Hunter Mail survey have identified bobcat sightings in 14 of Maryland's 23 counties. Currently, bobcats have dual legal classification in Maryland. In addition to the Species of Special Concern designation, they are also defined as a Game Animal / Furbearer with a closed harvest season.
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110419203123/http://www.dnr.state.md.us/naturalresource/fall2007/lions.pdf
|archive-date=April 19, 2011
}}</ref> foxes, [[coyote]]s,<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Coyotes in Maryland
|url=http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/Hunt_Trap/furbearers/coyote.asp
|publisher=Maryland Department of Natural Resources
|access-date=September 16, 2011
|quote=Coyotes were historically a western species with core populations found west of the Mississippi River. Alterations and/or elimination of competing predators during the post-European colonization period facilitated rapid range expansion into eastern North America during the 20th Century. Established populations now occur in every state and province in North America. Coyotes are a relatively new addition to local ecosystems, and were first documented in Maryland during 1972. Initial substantiated sightings occurred in Cecil, Frederick and Washington counties. Since that time population densities and occupied range have expanded incrementally and coyotes now occur statewide.
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815030808/http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/Hunt_Trap/furbearers/coyote.asp
|archive-date=August 15, 2011
}}</ref> raccoons, and otters.<ref name="Maryland Wildlife" />

There is a population of rare wild (feral) horses found on [[Assateague Island]].<ref name="horse">{{Cite web |url=http://www.assateagueisland.com/wildlife/pony.htm |title=Assateague Island National Seashore wild Ponies |publisher=Assateagueisland.com |access-date=October 24, 2010 |archive-date=March 4, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304232538/http://www.assateagueisland.com/wildlife/pony.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>  They are believed to be descended from horses that escaped from Spanish galleon shipwrecks.<ref name="horse" /> Every year during the last week of July, they are captured and swim across a shallow bay for sale at [[Chincoteague, Virginia]], a conservation technique which ensures the tiny island is not overrun by the horses.<ref name="horse" /> The ponies and their sale were popularized by the children's book, ''[[Misty of Chincoteague (novel)|Misty of Chincoteague]].''

The purebred [[Chesapeake Bay Retriever]] dog was bred specifically for water sports, hunting and search and rescue in the Chesapeake area.<ref name="Maryland1">{{cite web |url=http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/breeds/chessies.html |title=Chesapeake Bay Retriever History |publisher=K9web.com |access-date=October 24, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101024192224/http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/breeds/chessies.html |archive-date=October 24, 2010 }}</ref> In 1878, the Chesapeake Bay Retriever was the first individual retriever breed recognized by the [[American Kennel Club]].<ref name="Maryland1" /> and was later adopted by the [[University of Maryland, Baltimore County]] as their mascot.

Maryland's reptile and amphibian population includes the [[diamondback terrapin]] turtle, which was adopted as the mascot of [[University of Maryland, College Park]], as well as the threatened [[Eastern box turtle]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Eastern Box Turtle |url=https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/viewSpecies.php?species=865 |publisher=Maryland Biodiversity Project |access-date=July 8, 2018 |archive-date=July 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709010633/https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/viewSpecies.php?species=865 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The state is part of the territory of the [[Baltimore oriole]], which is the official state bird and mascot of the [[Major League Baseball|MLB]] team the [[Baltimore Orioles]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/bird.html |title=Maryland Government Website—Maryland State Bird |publisher=Msa.md.gov |date=June 7, 2010 |access-date=October 24, 2010 |archive-date=May 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527153052/http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/bird.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Aside from the oriole, [[List of Maryland birds|435 other species of birds]] have been reported from Maryland.<ref name="MRC2">{{cite web|url=http://www.mdbirds.org/mddcrc/pdf/mdlist.pdf|title=Official list of the birds of Maryland|website=Maryland/District of Columbia Records Committee|access-date=May 4, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709010629/http://www.mdbirds.org/mddcrc/pdf/mdlist.pdf|archive-date=July 9, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The state insect is the [[Baltimore checkerspot|Baltimore checkerspot butterfly]], although it is not as common in Maryland as it is in the southern edge of its range.<ref>[http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1753 Euphydryas phaeton (Drury, 1773)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906132330/http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1753|date=September 6, 2010}}, ''Butterflies and Moths of North America''</ref>

===Environment===

Maryland joined with neighboring states during the end of the 20th century to improve the health of the [[Chesapeake Bay]]. The bay's aquatic life and seafood industry have been threatened by development and by fertilizer and livestock waste entering the bay.<ref>{{cite news |title=An Unsavory Byproduct: Runoff and Pollution |first=Peter S. |last=Goodman |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/aug99/chicken1.htm |newspaper=Washington Post |date=August 1, 1999 |page=A1 |access-date=August 30, 2017 |archive-date=September 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908074733/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/aug99/chicken1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="hog">{{Cite news |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1999/01/01/hog-farms-waste-poses-a-threat/ |title=Hog farms' waste poses a threat |last=Horton |first=Tom |date=January 1, 1999 |work=Baltimore Sun |access-date=October 5, 2013 |archive-date=October 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012035323/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1999-01-01/news/9904280856_1_hog-farm-cafos-factory-hog |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2007, Forbes.com rated Maryland as the fifth "Greenest" state in the country, behind three of the [[Pacific States]] and Vermont. Maryland ranks 40th in total energy consumption nationwide, and it managed less toxic waste per capita than all but six states in 2005.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/2007/10/16/environment-energy-vermont-biz-beltway-cx_bw_mm_1017greenstates_2.html |title=America's Greenest States |magazine=Forbes.com |date=October 16, 2007 |access-date=October 24, 2010 |first1=Brian |last1=Wingfield |first2=Miriam |last2=Marcus |archive-date=November 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105222728/http://www.forbes.com/2007/10/16/environment-energy-vermont-biz-beltway-cx_bw_mm_1017greenstates_2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In April 2007, Maryland joined the [[Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative]] (RGGI) — a regional initiative, formed by all the Northeastern states, Washington, D.C., and three Canadian provinces, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rggi.org/program-overview-and-design/design-archive|title=Program Design Archive|website=RGGI, Inc|access-date=April 20, 2018|archive-date=March 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180302164201/https://www.rggi.org/program-overview-and-design/design-archive|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2017, Maryland became the first state with proven gas reserves to ban fracking by passing a law against it. Vermont has such a law, but no shale gas, and New York has such a ban, though it was made by executive order.<ref name="natgas" />

In 2023, [[AES Corporation]] announced its intent to retire the 23-year-old [[Warrior Run Generating Station|Warrior Run coal plant]] in June 2024. It was the state's last coal-fired power plant that did not already have plans to shut down.<ref>{{Cite press release |last=Caplan |first=Morgan |date=November 15, 2023 |title=Maryland On Track To Be Coal-Free by 2025 with Announced Retirement of Warrior Run Plant |url=https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2023/11/maryland-track-be-coal-free-2025-announced-retirement-warrior-run-plant |access-date=September 27, 2024 |website=[[Sierra_Club]] }}</ref>

===Climate===
{{further|Climate change in Maryland}}
[[File:Köppen Climate Types Maryland.png|thumb|[[Köppen climate classification|Köppen climate types]] of Maryland, using 1991–2020 [[Climatological normal|climate normals]]]]
[[File:Baltimore Snowpocalypse.jpg|thumb|Winter on Lancaster Street in [[Baltimore]]'s [[Fell's Point, Baltimore|Fells Point]]]]
Maryland has a wide array of climates, due to local variances in elevation, proximity to water, and protection from colder weather due to [[Katabatic wind|downslope winds]].
The eastern half of Maryland, which includes [[Ocean City, Maryland|Ocean City]], [[Salisbury, Maryland|Salisbury]], [[Annapolis]], and the southern and eastern suburbs of Washington, D.C., and [[Baltimore]], lies on the [[Atlantic Coastal Plain]], with flat topography and sandy or muddy soil. This region has a [[humid subtropical climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Cfa''), with hot, humid summers and cool to cold winters; it falls under USDA [[Hardiness zone]] 8a.<ref name="Arbor Day Foundation">{{cite web |url=http://www.arborday.org/media/zones.cfm |title=Hardiness Zones |publisher=Arbor Day Foundation |access-date=March 5, 2013 |archive-date=June 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629141838/https://www.arborday.org/media/zones.cfm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] region, which includes northern and western greater Baltimore, [[Westminster, Maryland|Westminster]], [[Gaithersburg, Maryland|Gaithersburg]], [[Frederick, Maryland|Frederick]], and [[Hagerstown, Maryland|Hagerstown]], has average seasonal snowfall totals generally exceeding {{convert|20|in|cm}}, and, as part of USDA Hardiness zones 7b and 7a,<ref name="Arbor Day Foundation" /> temperatures below {{convert|10|°F|0}} are less rare. From the [[Cumberland Valley]] on westward, the climate begins to transition to a [[humid continental climate]] (Köppen ''Dfa'').

In Western Maryland, the higher elevations of [[Allegany County, Maryland|Allegany]] and [[Garrett County, Maryland|Garrett]] counties, including the cities of [[Cumberland, Maryland|Cumberland]], [[Frostburg, Maryland|Frostburg]], and [[Oakland, Maryland|Oakland]], display more characteristics of the humid continental zone, due in part to elevation. They fall under USDA Hardiness zones 6b and below.<ref name="Arbor Day Foundation" />

Precipitation in the state is characteristic of the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]]. Annual rainfall ranges from {{convert|35|to|45|in|mm}} with more in higher elevations. Nearly every part of Maryland receives {{convert|3.5|–|4.5|in|mm}} per month of rain. Average annual snowfall varies from {{convert|9|in|cm}} in the coastal areas to over {{convert|100|in|cm}} in the western mountains of the state.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/lwx/Historic_Events/md-snow-avg.gif |title=Snowfall Map |access-date=October 24, 2010 |archive-date=May 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522020512/http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/lwx/Historic_Events/md-snow-avg.gif |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Because of its location near the [[East Coast of the United States|Atlantic Coast]], Maryland is somewhat vulnerable to [[tropical cyclones]], although the [[Delmarva Peninsula]] and the outer banks of [[North Carolina]] provide a large buffer, such that strikes from major hurricanes (category{{spaces}}3 or above) occur infrequently. More often, Maryland gets the remnants of a tropical system that has already come ashore and released most of its energy. Maryland averages around 30–40 days of thunderstorms a year, and averages around six tornado strikes annually.<ref name="Annual average number of tornadoes">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/tornado/small/avgt5304.gif |title=NOAA National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved on October 24, 2006. |access-date=October 25, 2006 |archive-date=October 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016174155/http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/tornado/small/avgt5304.gif |url-status=dead }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="vertical-align:top; background:silver;" |Monthly average high and low temperatures for various Maryland cities and landmarks <small>(covering breadth and width of the state)</small>
|-
!| City
!| Jan
!| Feb
!| Mar
!| Apr
!| May
!| Jun
!| Jul
!| Aug
!| Sep
!| Oct
!| Nov
!| Dec
|-
! | <small>[[Oakland, Maryland|Oakland]]</small>
| | <small>{{convert|34|°F}}<br />{{convert|16|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|38|°F}}<br />{{convert|17|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|48|°F}}<br />{{convert|25|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|59|°F}}<br />{{convert|34|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|68|°F}}<br />{{convert|45|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|75|°F}}<br />{{convert|53|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|79|°F}}<br />{{convert|58|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|78|°F}}<br />{{convert|56|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|71|°F}}<br />{{convert|49|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|62|°F}}<br />{{convert|37|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|50|°F}}<br />{{convert|28|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|39|°F}}<br />{{convert|21|°F}}</small>
|-
! | <small>[[Cumberland, Maryland|Cumberland]]</small>
| | <small>{{convert|41|°F}}<br />{{convert|22|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|46|°F}}<br />{{convert|24|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|56|°F}}<br />{{convert|32|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|68|°F}}<br />{{convert|41|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|77|°F}}<br />{{convert|51|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|85|°F}}<br />{{convert|60|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|89|°F}}<br />{{convert|65|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|87|°F}}<br />{{convert|63|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|80|°F}}<br />{{convert|55|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|69|°F}}<br />{{convert|43|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|57|°F}}<br />{{convert|34|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|45|°F}}<br />{{convert|26|°F}}</small>
|-
! | <small>[[Hagerstown, Maryland|Hagerstown]]</small>
| | <small>{{convert|39|°F}}<br />{{convert|22|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|42|°F}}<br />{{convert|23|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|52|°F}}<br />{{convert|30|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|63|°F}}<br />{{convert|39|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|72|°F}}<br />{{convert|50|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|81|°F}}<br />{{convert|59|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|85|°F}}<br />{{convert|64|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|83|°F}}<br />{{convert|62|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|76|°F}}<br />{{convert|54|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|65|°F}}<br />{{convert|43|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|54|°F}}<br />{{convert|34|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|43|°F}}<br />{{convert|26|°F}}</small>
|-
! | <small>[[Frederick, Maryland|Frederick]]</small>
| | <small>{{convert|42|°F}}<br />{{convert|26|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|47|°F}}<br />{{convert|28|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|56|°F}}<br />{{convert|35|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|68|°F}}<br />{{convert|45|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|77|°F}}<br />{{convert|54|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|85|°F}}<br />{{convert|63|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|89|°F}}<br />{{convert|68|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|87|°F}}<br />{{convert|66|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|80|°F}}<br />{{convert|59|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|68|°F}}<br />{{convert|47|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|56|°F}}<br />{{convert|38|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|45|°F}}<br />{{convert|30|°F}}</small>
|-
! | <small>[[Baltimore]]</small>
| | <small>{{convert|42|°F}}<br />{{convert|29|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|46|°F}}<br />{{convert|31|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|54|°F}}<br />{{convert|39|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|65|°F}}<br />{{convert|48|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|75|°F}}<br />{{convert|57|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|85|°F}}<br />{{convert|67|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|90|°F}}<br />{{convert|72|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|87|°F}}<br />{{convert|71|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|80|°F}}<br />{{convert|64|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|68|°F}}<br />{{convert|52|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|58|°F}}<br />{{convert|43|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|46|°F}}<br />{{convert|33|°F}}</small>
|-
! | <small>[[Elkton, Maryland|Elkton]]</small>
| | <small>{{convert|42|°F}}<br />{{convert|24|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|46|°F}}<br />{{convert|26|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|55|°F}}<br />{{convert|32|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|67|°F}}<br />{{convert|42|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|76|°F}}<br />{{convert|51|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|85|°F}}<br />{{convert|61|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|88|°F}}<br />{{convert|66|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|87|°F}}<br />{{convert|65|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|80|°F}}<br />{{convert|57|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|69|°F}}<br />{{convert|45|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|58|°F}}<br />{{convert|36|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|46|°F}}<br />{{convert|28|°F}}</small>
|-
! | <small>[[Ocean City, Maryland|Ocean City]]</small>
| | <small>{{convert|45|°F}}<br />{{convert|28|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|46|°F}}<br />{{convert|29|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|53|°F}}<br />{{convert|35|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|61|°F}}<br />{{convert|44|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|70|°F}}<br />{{convert|53|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|79|°F}}<br />{{convert|63|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|84|°F}}<br />{{convert|68|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|82|°F}}<br />{{convert|67|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|77|°F}}<br />{{convert|60|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|68|°F}}<br />{{convert|51|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|58|°F}}<br />{{convert|39|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|49|°F}}<br />{{convert|32|°F}}</small>
|-
! | <small>[[Waldorf, Maryland|Waldorf]]</small>
| | <small>{{convert|44|°F}}<br />{{convert|26|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|49|°F}}<br />{{convert|28|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|58|°F}}<br />{{convert|35|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|68|°F}}<br />{{convert|43|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|75|°F}}<br />{{convert|53|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|81|°F}}<br />{{convert|62|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|85|°F}}<br />{{convert|67|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|83|°F}}<br />{{convert|65|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|78|°F}}<br />{{convert|59|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|68|°F}}<br />{{convert|47|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|59|°F}}<br />{{convert|38|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|48|°F}}<br />{{convert|30|°F}}</small>
|-
! | <small>[[Point Lookout State Park]]</small>
| | <small>{{convert|47|°F}}<br />{{convert|29|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|51|°F}}<br />{{convert|31|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|60|°F}}<br />{{convert|38|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|70|°F}}<br />{{convert|46|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|78|°F}}<br />{{convert|55|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|86|°F}}<br />{{convert|64|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|89|°F}}<br />{{convert|69|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|87|°F}}<br />{{convert|67|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|81|°F}}<br />{{convert|60|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|71|°F}}<br />{{convert|49|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|61|°F}}<br />{{convert|41|°F}}</small>
| | <small>{{convert|50|°F}}<br />{{convert|32|°F}}</small>
|-
| colspan="13" style="text-align:center" |''<ref name="NOAA">{{cite web |url=https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=lwx |title=NowData—NOAA Online Weather Data |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |access-date=December 17, 2012 |archive-date=July 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724075300/http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=lwx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/USMD0294 |title=Monthly Averages for Oakland, MD |publisher=weather.com |access-date=September 28, 2013 |archive-date=September 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927112832/http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/USMD0294 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NOAA Cumberland">{{cite web |url=ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/1981-2010/products/station/USC00182282.normals.txt |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525202652/ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/1981-2010/products/station/USC00182282.normals.txt |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |url-status=dead |title=Station Name: MD Cumberland 2 |access-date=March 5, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/USMD0195 |title=Monthly Averages for Hagerstown, MD |publisher=weather.com |access-date=September 28, 2013 |archive-date=September 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927112834/http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/USMD0195 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NOAA Frederick">{{cite web |url=ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/1981-2010/products/station/USC00183348.normals.txt |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525202658/ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/1981-2010/products/station/USC00183348.normals.txt |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |url-status=dead |title=Station Name: MD Frederick Police Brks |access-date=March 5, 2013 }}</ref><ref name="NOAA Baltimore downtown">{{cite web |url=ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/1981-2010/products/station/USW00093784.normals.txt |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525202702/ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/1981-2010/products/station/USW00093784.normals.txt |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |url-status=dead |title=Station Name: MD MD Sci Ctr Baltimore |access-date=February 27, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Monthly Averages for Elkton, MD (21921) |publisher=The Weather Channel |url=http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/21921 |access-date=May 21, 2017 |archive-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106191004/https://weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/21921 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NOAA Ocean City">{{cite web |url=ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/1981-2010/products/station/USW00093786.normals.txt |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525202706/ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/1981-2010/products/station/USW00093786.normals.txt |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |url-status=dead |title=Station Name: MD Ocean City Muni Ap |access-date=March 5, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Monthly Averages for Waldorf, MD |publisher=The Weather Channel |url=http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USMD0414 |access-date=May 21, 2017 |archive-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106191134/https://weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USMD0414 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Monthly Averages for Point Lookout State Park [Scotland, MD] |publisher=The Weather Channel |url=https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/20687 |access-date=May 21, 2017 |archive-date=November 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110081756/https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/20687 |url-status=live }}</ref>''
|}

=== Cities and metro areas ===
{{See also|Maryland statistical areas}}
[[File:Maryland population density 2020.png|thumb|Maryland population distribution map; Maryland's population is concentrated mostly in the [[Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area]].]]
Most of the population of Maryland lives in the central region of the state, in the [[Baltimore metropolitan area]] and [[Washington metropolitan area]], both of which are part of the [[Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area]]. The majority of Maryland's population is concentrated in the cities and suburbs surrounding [[Washington, D.C.]], and in and around [[Baltimore]], Maryland's most populous city. Historically, these and many other Maryland cities developed along the [[Atlantic Seaboard fall line|Fall Line]], the line along which rivers, brooks, and streams are interrupted by rapids and waterfalls. Maryland's capital city, [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]], is one exception to this pattern since it lies along the banks of the [[Severn River (Maryland)|Severn River]], close to where it empties into the [[Chesapeake Bay]].

The Eastern Shore is less populous and more rural, as are the counties of western Maryland. The two westernmost counties of Maryland, [[Allegany County, Maryland|Allegany]] and [[Garrett County, Maryland|Garrett]], are mountainous and sparsely populated, resembling West Virginia and [[Appalachia]] more than they do the rest of the state. Both eastern and western Maryland are, however, dotted with cities of regional importance, such as [[Ocean City, Maryland|Ocean City]], [[Princess Anne, Maryland|Princess Anne]], and [[Salisbury, Maryland|Salisbury]] on the [[Eastern Shore of Maryland|Eastern Shore]] and [[Cumberland, Maryland|Cumberland]], [[Frostburg, Maryland|Frostburg]], and [[Hancock, Maryland|Hancock]] in [[Western Maryland]]. Southern Maryland is still somewhat rural, but suburbanization from Washington, D.C., has encroached significantly since the 1960s; important local population centers include [[Lexington Park, Maryland|Lexington Park]], [[Prince Frederick, Maryland|Prince Frederick]], [[California, Maryland|California]], and [[Waldorf, Maryland|Waldorf]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyNET.exe/P1000II5.TXT?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=EPA&Index=2000+Thru+2005&Docs=&Query=&Time=&EndTime=&SearchMethod=1&TocRestrict=n&Toc=&TocEntry=&QField=&QFieldYear=&QFieldMonth=&QFieldDay=&IntQFieldOp=0&ExtQFieldOp=0&XmlQuery=&File=D%3A%5Czyfiles%5CIndex%20Data%5C00thru05%5CTxt%5C00000014%5CP1000II5.txt&User=ANONYMOUS&Password=anonymous&SortMethod=h%7C-&MaximumDocuments=1&FuzzyDegree=0&ImageQuality=r75g8/r75g8/x150y150g16/i425&Display=hpfr&DefSeekPage=x&SearchBack=ZyActionL&Back=ZyActionS&BackDesc=Results%20page&MaximumPages=1&ZyEntry=1&SeekPage=x&ZyPURL |title=Calvert County, Maryland's Success in Controlling Sprawl |publisher=Environmental Protection Agency |access-date=September 3, 2016 |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913223055/https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyNET.exe/P1000II5.TXT?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=EPA&Index=2000+Thru+2005&Docs=&Query=&Time=&EndTime=&SearchMethod=1&TocRestrict=n&Toc=&TocEntry=&QField=&QFieldYear=&QFieldMonth=&QFieldDay=&IntQFieldOp=0&ExtQFieldOp=0&XmlQuery=&File=D%3A%5Czyfiles%5CIndex%20Data%5C00thru05%5CTxt%5C00000014%5CP1000II5.txt&User=ANONYMOUS&Password=anonymous&SortMethod=h%7C-&MaximumDocuments=1&FuzzyDegree=0&ImageQuality=r75g8/r75g8/x150y150g16/i425&Display=hpfr&DefSeekPage=x&SearchBack=ZyActionL&Back=ZyActionS&BackDesc=Results%20page&MaximumPages=1&ZyEntry=1&SeekPage=x&ZyPURL |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/library/growth/part1/southmd.htm |title=On Edge |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 16, 1997 |access-date=September 3, 2016 |author=Shields, Todd |archive-date=September 17, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917123821/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/library/growth/part1/southmd.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Largest cities
| name         = 
| country      = Maryland
| stat_ref     = [[2020 United States census|2020 U.S. census]] populations
| list_by_pop  = 
| div_name     = 
| div_link     = List of counties in Maryland{{!}}County

| city_1 = Baltimore{{!}}Baltimore
| div_1 = Independent city (United States){{!}}''Independent city''
| pop_1 = 585,708
| img_1 = Downtown_baltimore.jpg

| city_2 = Columbia, Maryland{{!}}Columbia
| div_2 = Howard County, Maryland{{!}}Howard
| pop_2 = 104,681
| img_2 = Aerial View of Columbia, MD.jpg

| city_3 = Germantown, Maryland{{!}}Germantown
| div_3 = Montgomery County, Maryland{{!}}Montgomery
| pop_3 = 91,249
| img_3 = Germantown Library, Germantown, Maryland LCCN2012630021.jpg

| city_4 = Waldorf, Maryland{{!}}Waldorf
| div_4 = Charles County, Maryland{{!}}Charles
| pop_4 = 81,410
| img_4 = Dr. Samuel Mudd House (21603494465).jpg

| city_5 = Silver Spring, Maryland{{!}}Silver Spring
| div_5 = Montgomery County, Maryland{{!}}Montgomery
| pop_5 = 81,015

| city_6 = Frederick, Maryland{{!}}Frederick
| div_6 = Frederick County, Maryland{{!}}Frederick
| pop_6 = 78,171

| city_7 = Ellicott City, Maryland{{!}}Ellicott City
| div_7 = Howard County, Maryland{{!}}Howard
| pop_7 = 75,947

| city_8 = Glen Burnie, Maryland{{!}}Glen Burnie
| div_8 = Anne Arundel County, Maryland{{!}}Anne Arundel
| pop_8 = 72,891

| city_9 = Gaithersburg, Maryland{{!}}Gaithersburg
| div_9 = Montgomery County, Maryland{{!}}Montgomery
| pop_9 = 69,657

| city_10 = Bethesda, Maryland{{!}}Bethesda
| div_10 = Montgomery County, Maryland{{!}}Montgomery
| pop_10 = 68,056

}}

== Demographics ==
{{See also|List of counties in Maryland|List of incorporated places in Maryland|List of census-designated places in Maryland}}
[[File:Map of maryland counties.jpg|thumb|[[List of counties in Maryland|Maryland's counties]]]]
{{US Census population
|1790= 319728
|1800= 341548
|1810= 380546
|1820= 407350
|1830= 447040
|1840= 470019
|1850= 583034
|1860= 687049
|1870= 780894
|1880= 934943
|1890= 1042390
|1900= 1188044
|1910= 1295346
|1920= 1449661
|1930= 1631526
|1940= 1821244
|1950= 2343001
|1960= 3100689
|1970= 3922399
|1980= 4216975
|1990= 4781468
|2000= 5296486
|2010= 5773552
|2020= 6177224
| estimate = 6263220
| estyear = 2024
| align-fn = center

|footnote=Source: 1910–2020<ref name="censusdata">{{cite web |title=Historical Population Change Data (1910–2020) |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/popchange-data-text.html |website=Census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=May 1, 2021 |archive-date=April 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429012609/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/popchange-data-text.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}

In the [[2020 United States census]], the [[United States Census Bureau]] found that population of Maryland was 6,185,278 people, a 7.1% increase from the [[2010 United States census]].<ref name="censusdata"/> The United States Census Bureau estimated that the population of Maryland was 6,045,680 on July 1, 2019, a 4.71% increase from the 2010 United States census and an increase of 2,962, from the prior year. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 269,166 (464,251 births minus 275,093 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 116,713 people into the state. [[Immigration to the United States|Immigration]] from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 129,730 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 13,017 people.<ref name="PopEstUS">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/md,US/PST045218|title=QuickFacts Maryland; United States|website=2018 Population Estimates|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]], Population Division|date=February 7, 2019|access-date=February 7, 2019|archive-date=February 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209123843/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/md,US/PST045218|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018, The top countries of origin for Maryland's immigrants were [[El Salvador]] (11%), [[India]] (6%), [[China]] (5%), [[Nigeria]] (5%), and the [[Philippines]] (4%).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/immigrants_in_maryland.pdf|title=Immigrants in Maryland|website=American Immigration Council|year=2020|access-date=August 12, 2023|archive-date=August 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811224047/https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/immigrants_in_maryland.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[center of population]] of Maryland is located on the county line between [[Anne Arundel County, Maryland|Anne Arundel County]] and [[Howard County, Maryland|Howard County]], in the [[Unincorporated area|unincorporated community]] of [[Jessup, Maryland|Jessup]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Population and Population Centers by State—2000 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=December 5, 2008 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011212170351/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 12, 2001 }}</ref>

Maryland's history as a [[border states (Civil War)|border state]] has led it to exhibit characteristics of both the [[Northern United States|Northern]] and the [[Southern United States|Southern]] regions of the United States. Generally, rural [[Western Maryland]] between the [[Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia|West Virginian Panhandle]] and [[Pennsylvania]] has an [[Appalachia]]n culture; the [[Southern Maryland|Southern]] and Eastern Shore regions of Maryland embody a [[Culture of the Southern United States|Southern culture]],<ref>{{cite web
|title = The South As It's{{Sic|nolink=y}} Own Nation
|publisher = League of the South
|year = 2004
|url = http://dixienet.org/New%20Site/thesouthasitsownnation.shtml
|access-date = May 23, 2008
|quote = On the other hand, areas beyond these thirteen States maintain their Southern culture to varying degrees. Much of Missouri remains basically Southern, as do parts of southern Maryland and Maryland's eastern shore.
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080605104450/http://dixienet.org/New%20Site/thesouthasitsownnation.shtml
|archive-date = June 5, 2008
|df = mdy-all
}}</ref> while densely populated Central Maryland – radiating outward from [[Baltimore]] and [[Washington, D.C.]] – has more in common with that of the [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Beck |first1=John |last2=Randall |first2=Aaron |last3=Frandsen |first3=Wendy |name-list-style=amp |title=Southern Culture: An Introduction |date=June 27, 2007 |location=Durham, North Carolina |publisher=Carolina Academic Press |pages=14–15 |url=http://www.cap-press.com/pdf/1517.pdf |access-date=May 23, 2008 |quote=Kentucky, Missouri, West Virginia, and Maryland – slaveholding states and regions before the Civil War that did not secede from the Union – are also often included as part of the South. As border states, these states always were crossroads of values and customs, and today parts of Maryland seem to have become part of the 'Northeast'. |archive-date=July 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708114653/http://www.cap-press.com/pdf/1517.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The U.S. Census Bureau designates Maryland as one of the [[South Atlantic States]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Census Regions and Divisions of the United States |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/maps/reference/us_regdiv.pdf |website=United States Census Bureau |access-date=February 25, 2025}}</ref> but it is commonly associated with the [[Mid-Atlantic States]] and [[Northeastern United States]] by other federal agencies, the media, and some residents.<ref name="LOC">{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/rrhtml/regdef.html|title=Regions of the United States|website=American Memory|publisher=The Library of Congress|access-date=August 11, 2009|archive-date=May 28, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528102347/http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/rrhtml/regdef.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="EPA">{{cite web|url=http://www.epa.gov/region03/index.htm|title=Region 3: The Mid-Atlantic States|publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency|access-date=August 11, 2009|archive-date=July 27, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100727035138/http://www.epa.gov/region03/index.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="FBI">{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm |title=Your Local FBI Office |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |access-date=August 11, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815093807/http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm |archive-date=August 15, 2009 }}</ref><ref name="amtrak">{{cite web|url=http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/Page/Browse_Routes_Page&c=Page&cid=1081256321410&ssid=134|title=Routes Serving the Northeast|publisher=National Railroad Passenger Corporation|access-date=August 11, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815025107/http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak%2FPage%2FBrowse_Routes_Page&c=Page&cid=1081256321410&ssid=134|archive-date=August 15, 2009}}</ref><ref name="princeton">{{cite web|url=http://www.princetonreview.com/best-regional-colleges.aspx|title=Best Regional Colleges|website=The Princeton Review|access-date=August 11, 2009|archive-date=February 6, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206170031/http://www.princetonreview.com/best-regional-colleges.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to [[United States Department of Housing and Urban Development|HUD]]'s 2022 [[Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress|Annual Homeless Assessment Report]], there were an estimated 5,349 [[Homelessness|homeless]] people in Maryland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2007-2022 PIT Counts by State |url=https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huduser.gov%2Fportal%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fxls%2F2007-2022-PIT-Counts-by-State.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK |access-date=March 11, 2023 |archive-date=March 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314020239/https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huduser.gov%2Fportal%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fxls%2F2007-2022-PIT-Counts-by-State.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress |url=https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-AHAR-Part-1.pdf |access-date=March 11, 2023 |archive-date=March 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311234217/https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-AHAR-Part-1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Birth data===
As of 2011, 58.0 percent of Maryland's population younger than age{{spaces}}1 were minority background.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2012/06/americas_under_age_1_populatio.html |title=Americans under age{{spaces}}1 now mostly minorities, but not in Ohio: Statistical Snapshot |newspaper=[[The Plain Dealer]] |date=June 3, 2012 |access-date=February 19, 2020 |first=Rich |last=Exner |archive-date=July 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160714084214/http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2012/06/americas_under_age_1_populatio.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

''Note: Births in the table do not add up because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.''
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
|+ Live births by single race/ethnicity of mother
|-
! [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|Race]]
! 2013<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_01.pdf#page=35 |journal=National Vital Statistics Reports |title=Births: Final Data for 2013 |date=January 15, 2015 |publisher=National Center for Health Statistics |volume=64 |number=1 |access-date=February 19, 2020 |pages=35–36 |archive-date=September 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911162514/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_01.pdf#page=35 |url-status=live }}</ref>
! 2014<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_12.pdf#page=35 |journal=National Vital Statistics Reports |title=Births: Final Data for 2014 |date=December 23, 2015 |publisher=National Center for Health Statistics |volume=64 |number=12 |access-date=February 19, 2020 |pages=35–36 |archive-date=February 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214040341/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_12.pdf#page=35 |url-status=live }}</ref>
! 2015<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr66/nvsr66_01.pdf#page=38 |journal=National Vital Statistics Reports |title=Births: Final Data for 2015 |date=January 5, 2017 |publisher=National Center for Health Statistics |volume=66 |number=1 |access-date=February 19, 2020 |pages=38, 40 |archive-date=August 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831155911/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr66/nvsr66_01.pdf#page=38 |url-status=live }}</ref>
! 2016<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_01.pdf#page=25 |journal=National Vital Statistics Reports |title=Births: Final Data for 2016 |date=January 31, 2018 |publisher=National Center for Health Statistics |volume=67 |number=1 |access-date=February 19, 2020 |page=25 |archive-date=June 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603002249/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_01.pdf#page=25 |url-status=live }}</ref>
! 2017<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_08-508.pdf#page=20 |journal=National Vital Statistics Reports |title=Births: Final Data for 2017 |date=November 7, 2018 |publisher=National Center for Health Statistics |volume=67 |number=8 |access-date=February 19, 2020 |page=20 |archive-date=February 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201210916/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_08-508.pdf#page=20 |url-status=live }}</ref>
! 2018<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_13-508.pdf#page=20 |journal=National Vital Statistics Reports |title=Births: Final Data for 2018 |date=November 27, 2019 |publisher=National Center for Health Statistics |volume=68 |number=13 |access-date=February 19, 2020 |page=20 |archive-date=November 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128161211/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_13-508.pdf#page=20 |url-status=live }}</ref>
! 2019<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/nvsr70-02-508.pdf |journal=National Vital Statistics Reports |title=Births: Final Data for 2019 |date=March 23, 2021 |volume=70 |issue=2 |first1=Joyce A. |last1=Martin |first2=Brady E. |last2=Hamilton |first3=Michelle J.K. |last3=Osterman |first4=Anne K. |last4=Driscoll |pages=1–51 |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |pmid=33814033 |access-date=March 30, 2021 |archive-date=June 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623200707/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/nvsr70-02-508.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
! 2020<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/nvsr70-17.pdf |title=Data |website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |access-date=February 20, 2022 |archive-date=February 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210175206/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/NVSR70-17.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
! 2021<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr72/nvsr72-01.pdf |title=Data |website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |access-date=February 3, 2022 |archive-date=February 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201003942/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr72/nvsr72-01.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
! 2022<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr73/nvsr73-02.pdf |title=Data |website=www.cdc.gov |access-date=April 5, 2024 |archive-date=April 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240404230758/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr73/nvsr73-02.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
! 2023<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr74/nvsr74-1.pdf |title=Data |website=www.cdc.gov |access-date=April 12, 2025 }}</ref>
|-
| [[Non-Hispanic whites|White]]
| 32,568 (45.2%)
| 33,178 (44.9%)
| 32,412 (44.0%)
| 31,278 (42.8%)
| 29,809 (41.6%)
| 29,585 (41.6%)
| 28,846 (41.1%)
| 28,060 (40.9%)
| 28,193 (41.3%)
| 27,333 (39.7%)
| 25,746 (39.3%)
|-
| [[African Americans|Black]]
| 24,764 (34.4%)
| 25,339 (34.3%)
| 25,017 (34.0%)
| 22,829 (31.2%)
| 22,327 (31.1%)
| 21,893 (30.8%)
| 21,494 (30.6%)
| 20,869 (30.4%)
| 20,449 (29.9%)
| 20,438 (29.7%)
| 18,939 (28.9%)
|-
| [[Asian Americans|Asian]]
| 5,415 (7.5%)
| 5,797 (7.8%)
| 5,849 (7.9%)
| 5,282 (7.2%)
| 5,276 (7.3%)
| 4,928 (6.9%)
| 4,928 (7.0%)
| 4,595 (6.7%)
| 4,431 (6.5%)
| 4,480 (6.5%)
| 4,262 (6.5%)
|-
| [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian]]
| 300 (0.4%)
| 260 (0.3%)
| 279 (0.4%)
| 104 (0.1%)
| 127 (0.2%)
| 114 (0.2%)
| 113 (0.2%)
| 79 (0.1%)
| 83 (0.1%)
| 77 (0.1%)
| 75 (0.1%)
|-
| ''[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic]]'' (any race)
| ''10,515'' (14.6%)
| ''10,974'' (14.8%)
| ''11,750'' (16.0%)
| ''11,872'' (16.2%)
| ''12,223'' (17.1%)
| ''12,470'' (17.5%)
| ''12,872'' (18.3%)
| ''13,034'' (19.0%)
| ''13,164'' (19.3%)
| ''14,398'' (20.9%)
| ''14,442'' (22.0%)
|-
| '''Total'''
| '''71,953''' (100%)
| '''73,921''' (100%)
| '''73,616''' (100%)
| '''73,136''' (100%)
| '''71,641''' (100%)
| '''71,080''' (100%)
| '''70,178''' (100%)
| '''68,554''' (100%)
| '''68,285''' (100%)
| '''68,782''' (100%)
| '''65,594''' (100%)
|}

Since 2016, data for births of [[White Hispanic and Latino Americans|White Hispanic]] origin are not collected, but included in one ''Hispanic'' group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+Country of birth (2022)<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 1, 2015 |title=Immigrants in Maryland |url=https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigrants-in-maryland |access-date=January 30, 2023 |website=American Immigration Council |language=en |archive-date=January 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130164429/https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigrants-in-maryland |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Biggest sources of immigrants to Maryland |url=https://stacker.com/maryland/biggest-sources-immigrants-maryland |access-date=January 30, 2023 |website=Stacker |language=en |archive-date=January 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130155933/https://stacker.com/maryland/biggest-sources-immigrants-maryland |url-status=live }}</ref>
! Birthplace !! Population
|-
| United States || 4,999,873
|-
| {{Flag|El Salvador}}|| 105,778
|-
| {{Flag|India}}|| 60,535
|-
| {{Flag|China}}|| 43,499
|-
| {{Flag|Nigeria}}|| 39,185
|-
| {{Flag|Guatemala}}|| 38,222
|-
| {{Flag|Philippines}}|| 37,020
|-
| {{Flag|South Korea}}|| 34,091
|-
| {{Flag|Mexico}}|| 33,833
|-
| {{Flag|Ethiopia}}|| 28,554
|-
| {{Flag|Jamaica}}|| 26,068
|-
| {{Flag|Honduras}}|| 21,991
|-
| {{Flag|Cameroon}}|| 19,934
|- 
| {{Flag|Vietnam}}|| 19,082
|-
|{{Flag|Peru}}
|17,414
|-
|{{Flag|Haiti}}
|17,000<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/08/11/haitian-immigrants-tps-maryland-perdue/ |title=Haitians found stability in Maryland's poultry plants. It's now in jeopardy. |date=August 11, 2025 |newspaper=The Washington Post |first=Paul |last=Kiefer |access-date=October 31, 2025 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
|-
|{{Flag|Pakistan}}
|16,386
|-
|{{Flag|Ghana}}
|14,722
|-
|{{Flag|Dominican Republic}}
|13,880
|-
|{{Flag|Nepal}}
|8,646-25,000{{Efn|As of 2022–2023, there were only 8,646 Nepali immigrants in Maryland; however, numerous sources cite the number of Nepali or Nepali-Bhutanese immigrants and refugees in Maryland as between 20,000 and 25,000, considering that the community has often been undercounted.}}
|}

===Language and ancestry===
{{Pie chart
 | caption= Racial makeup of Maryland excluding Hispanics from racial categories (2019)<ref name="ACSDT1Y2019">{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=B03002&g=0400000US24&tid=ACSDT1Y2019.B03002&hidePreview=true|title=B03002 Hispanic or Latino Origin by Race—Maryland—2019 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates|date=July 1, 2019|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|access-date=November 6, 2020|archive-date=March 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304223843/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=B03002&g=0400000US24&tid=ACSDT1Y2019.B03002&hidePreview=true|url-status=live}}</ref><br />
''NH = Non-Hispanic''
| label1 = White NH
| value1 = 49.82| color2=#36A
| label2 = Black NH
| value2 = 29.75 | color1=#6A5
| label3 = Asian NH
| value3 = 6.35 | color3=#1A9
| label4 = Native American NH
| value4 = 0.25 | color4=#928
| label5 = Pacific Islander NH
| value5 = 0.04| color5=#122
| label6 = Two or more races NH
| value6 = 2.85 | color6=#00FFFF
| label7 = Other NH
| value7 = 0.31 | color7=#E94196
| label8 = Hispanic Any Race
| value8 = 10.64 | color8=#9400D3
}}
As of 2016, the most spoken languages in Maryland other than English were [[Spanish language|Spanish]] (9%), [[Chinese language|Chinese]] (1.2%), West African languages (mostly [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]] and [[Igbo language|Igbo]], 1%), [[French language|French]] (1%), [[Korean language|Korean]] (0.7%), [[Afroasiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic languages]] (mostly [[Amharic]], 0.6% and [[Arabic]], 0.4%), and [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] (0.6%). Other languages with a large number of speakers in Maryland include [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] (0.4%), [[Russian language|Russian]] (0.4%), [[Hindi]] (0.3%), [[Urdu]] (0.3%), [[Persian language|Persian]] (0.3%), [[Nepali language|Nepali]] (0.3%), [[Haitian Creole]] (0.2%), and [[Telugu language|Telugu]] (0.2%).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Demographic Statistical Atlas of the United States - Statistical Atlas |url=https://statisticalatlas.com/state/Maryland/Languages |access-date=January 30, 2023 |website=statisticalatlas.com |archive-date=January 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130155521/https://statisticalatlas.com/state/Maryland/Languages |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=acutrans19 |date=September 28, 2022 |title=Top 10 Languages of Maryland |url=https://acutrans.com/top-10-languages-of-maryland/ |access-date=January 30, 2023 |website=Acutrans {{!}} Certified Translation Services |language=en-US |archive-date=January 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130155924/https://acutrans.com/top-10-languages-of-maryland/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="font-size: 90%;"
|+ Racial breakdown of population of Maryland
|-
! Racial composition !! 1970<ref name="census"/> !! 1990<ref name="census">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725044857/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 25, 2008 |title=Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For The United States, Regions, Divisions, and States |first1=Campbell |last1=Gibson |first2=Kay |last2=Jung}}</ref> !! 2000<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20231204035006/https://censusviewer.com/city/MD]}} </ref>!! 2010<ref>{{cite web|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/24000.html |title=Maryland QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau |access-date=January 14, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207070852/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/24000.html |archive-date=February 7, 2015 }}</ref>
!2020<ref name="census.gov">{{Cite web|title=QuickFacts: Maryland|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MD/PST045219|access-date=July 16, 2021|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|language=en|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726220420/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MD/PST045219|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[White Americans|White]] || 81.5% || 71.0% || 64.0% || 60.8%
|58.5%
|-
| [[African Americans|Black]] || 17.8% || 24.9% || 27.9% || 29.8%
|31.1%
|-
| [[Asian Americans|Asian]] || 0.5% || 2.9% || 4.0% || 5.5%
|6.7%
|-
| [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] || 0.1% || 0.3% || 0.3% || 0.3%
|0.6%
|-
| [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|Other race]] || 0.1% || 0.9% || 1.8% || 3.6%
|–
|-
| [[Multiracial Americans|Two or more races]] || – || – || 2.0% || 2.9%
|2.9%
|-
| [[Non-Hispanic whites]] || 80.4% || 69.6% || 62.1% || 54.7%
|50.0%
|}
[[File:Ethnic Origins in Maryland.png|thumb|Ethnic origins in Maryland]]
[[File:Maryland Counties by race (2020 census).svg|thumb|Map of counties in Maryland by racial plurality, according to [[2020 United States census|2020 U.S. census]] findings {{col-begin}}{{col-2}}
'''Non-Hispanic White'''

{{legend|#dd7e6b|40–50%}}

{{legend|#cc4125|50–60%}}

{{legend|#a61c00|60–70%}}

{{legend|#85200c|70–80%}}

{{legend|#5b0f00|80–90%}}

{{legend|#410b00|90%+}}

{{col-2}}

'''Black or African American'''

{{legend|#ffd966|50–60%}}

{{legend|#f1c232|60–70%}}

{{col-end}}|241x241px]]

In 1970, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Maryland's population as 17.8 percent African-American and 80.4 percent non-Hispanic White.<ref name="census"/>

In 2019, [[Non-Hispanic whites|non-Hispanic white Americans]] were 49.8% of Maryland's population ([[White Americans in Maryland|White Americans]], including [[White Hispanic and Latino Americans|White Hispanics]], were 57.3%), which made Maryland a [[majority minority]] state.<ref name="ACSDT1Y2019"/> 50.2% of Maryland's population is non-white, or is Hispanic or Latino, the highest percentage of any state on the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]], and the highest percentage after the majority-minority states of [[Hawaii]], [[New Mexico]], [[Texas]], [[California]], [[Nevada]], and [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Maryland Quick Facts |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/MD |access-date=July 25, 2017 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |archive-date=February 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203013602/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/MD |url-status=live }}</ref> By 2031, minorities are projected to become the majority of voting eligible residents of Maryland.<ref>{{cite web |title=States of Change: The Demographic Evolution of the American Electorate, 1974–2060 |url=https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/SOC-report1.pdf |access-date=July 25, 2016 |publisher=[[Center for American Progress]] |archive-date=April 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423220704/https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/SOC-report1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Maryland's multiculturalism and diversity can be explained by its historically large African American population, and immigration brought by the importance of the D.C. and Baltimore areas, especially from Central America, Africa, the Caribbean, and Asia.

[[African Americans in Maryland|African Americans]] form a sizable portion of the state's population, 31.1% as of 2020.<ref name="census.gov" /> Most are descendants of people transported to the area as slaves from West Africa. Concentrations of African Americans live in [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore City]], [[Prince George's County, Maryland|Prince George's County]], [[Charles County, Maryland|Charles County]], western parts of [[Baltimore County, Maryland|Baltimore County]], and the southern Eastern Shore. Charles County and Prince George's County are the two counties where African Americans are the most successful monetarily in the country, with average household incomes much higher than in the rest of the country. As a former slave state, Maryland has had a large African-American population for much of its history; African American populations have increased over time with the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]] to the D.C. and Baltimore areas, and in more recent times with the [[New Great Migration]] and with movement out from Washington D.C. into Montgomery, Prince George's, and Charles counties, as a result of gentrification and rising housing costs in D.C. causing many African Americans to leave. Prince George's County in particular has been a magnet for African Americans from D.C. to move to for decades; it is often referred to as "Ward 9" of D.C.

Maryland has by far the highest percentage of residents born in Africa out of any state; residents of African descent include 20th-century and later immigrants from [[Nigerian American|Nigeria]], particularly of the [[Igbo American|Igbo]] and [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] tribes; [[Ethiopia]], particularly [[Amhara people|Amharas]] with significant [[Oromo people|Oromo]] and [[Tigrayans|Tigrayan]] populations; [[Cameroon]], [[Ghana]], [[Sierra Leone]], and [[Kenya]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usefoundation.org/userdata/file/Research/Regions/maryland.pdf |title=Languages in Maryland |quote=Prince George's County has the highest percentage of Kru/Ibo/Yoruba speakers of any county in the nation. |publisher=U.S. English Foundation, Inc |access-date=May 22, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117073348/http://www.usefoundation.org/userdata/file/Research/Regions/maryland.pdf |archive-date=January 17, 2013 }}</ref> Maryland also hosts populations from other African and [[West Indian American|Caribbean]] nations. Maryland's African immigrant population is generally well-educated and is most concentrated in the inner suburbs of Baltimore and D.C. Nigerians are the fourth-largest immigrant group in Maryland, and are largely concentrated in the Baltimore area and surrounding suburbs, as well as Prince George's county. Many immigrants from the [[Horn of Africa]], especially [[Ethiopia]], have settled in Maryland, with large communities in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., particularly in Montgomery and Prince George's counties. The [[Washington metropolitan area]] has the world's largest population of [[Ethiopians in Washington, D.C.|Ethiopians]] outside of Ethiopia.<ref name="Westley">*Westley, Brian. [http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2005-10-17-little-ethiopia_x.htm Washington: "Nation's Largest Ethiopian Community Carves Niche"]. ( {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092450/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2005-10-17-little-ethiopia_x.htm |date=March 4, 2016 }}). ''[[USA Today]]''. [[Associated Press]]. October 17, 2005.
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1893&dat=20051023&id=QJ8fAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wNUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2838,7708640 "Washington: Nation's Largest Ethiopian Community Carves Niche"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220154904/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1893&dat=20051023&id=QJ8fAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wNUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2838%2C7708640 |date=February 20, 2021 }}. ''[[The Southeast Missourian]]''. ''Associated Press''. October 23, 2005. p. 7C. Retrieved August 25, 2018.</ref> The Ethiopian community of Greater D.C. was historically based in the [[Adams Morgan]] and [[Shaw, Washington, D.C.|Shaw]] neighborhoods of Washington, D.C., but as the community has grown, many Ethiopians have settled in [[Silver Spring, Maryland|Silver Spring]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Reed |url=https://ggwash.org/view/39188/dcs-little-ethiopia-has-moved-to-silver-spring-and-alexandria |title=DC's 'Little Ethiopia' has moved to Silver Spring and Alexandria |publisher=Greater Greater Washington |access-date=August 25, 2018 |archive-date=August 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821223146/https://ggwash.org/view/39188/dcs-little-ethiopia-has-moved-to-silver-spring-and-alexandria |url-status=live }}</ref> The Ethiopian American population in Maryland and the rest of the D.C. area is largely [[Amharic]]-speaking, but there are significant numbers of speakers of [[Oromo language|Oromo]] and [[Tigrinya language|Tigrinya]] speakers as well. The Washington metropolitan area is also home to a large [[Eritrean Americans|Eritrean]] community.

The top reported ancestries by Maryland residents are: [[German American|German]] (15%), [[Irish American|Irish]] (11%), [[English American|English]] (8%), [[Americans|American]] (7%), [[Italian American|Italian]] (6%), and [[Polish American|Polish]] (3%).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_12_5YR_DP02&prodType=table |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212211541/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_12_5YR_DP02&prodType=table |url-status=dead|archive-date=February 12, 2020|title=American FactFinder—Results|author=Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS)|access-date=January 14, 2015}}</ref>

[[Irish American]] populations can be found [[History of the Irish in Baltimore|throughout the Baltimore area]],<ref name="teaching.msa.maryland.gov">{{cite web |title=Irish Immigrants in Baltimore: Introduction, Teaching American History in Maryland |publisher=Maryland State Archives |url=http://teaching.msa.maryland.gov/000001/000000/000131/html/t131.html |access-date=May 21, 2017 |archive-date=May 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522031237/http://teaching.msa.maryland.gov/000001/000000/000131/html/t131.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and the Northern and Eastern suburbs of Washington, D.C., in Maryland, who were descendants of those who moved out to the suburbs<ref name=abcswamp>{{cite web |title=Swampoodle: The neighborhood behind the play |publisher=ABC Channel 7: TBD online magazine |first=Alia E. |last=Dastagir |date=May 23, 2011 |page=2 |url=http://www.tbd.com/articles/2011/05/swampoodle-the-neighborhood-behind-the-play-61186.html |access-date=June 11, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606034415/http://www.tbd.com/articles/2011/05/swampoodle-the-neighborhood-behind-the-play-61186.html |archive-date=June 6, 2013 }}</ref> of Washington, D.C.'s once predominantly Irish neighborhoods<ref name=abcswamp /><ref name=":4">{{cite web |title=Washington, DC Genealogy Research, Resources, and Records: Irish Neighborhoods in Old Washington |website=genweb.org |url=http://www.theusgenweb.org/dcgenweb/history/irish.shtml |access-date=May 21, 2017 |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525202952/http://www.theusgenweb.org/dcgenweb/history/irish.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>), as well as Western Maryland, where Irish immigrant laborers helped to build the B&O Railroad.<ref name="teaching.msa.maryland.gov"/> Smaller but much older Irish populations can be found in Southern Maryland, with some roots dating as far back as the early Maryland colony.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mulberry Tree: College News: Explore Maryland's History in Ireland |publisher=St. Mary's College of Maryland online magazine |date=Spring 2014 |url=http://www.smcm.edu/mulberrytree/archives/summer10/collegenews.html |access-date=June 11, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714140131/http://www.smcm.edu/mulberrytree/archives/summer10/collegenews.html |archive-date=July 14, 2014 }}</ref> This population, however, still remains culturally very active and yearly festivals are held.<ref>{{cite web |title=About the Celtic Society of Southern Maryland |website=CSSM.org |url=http://www.cssm.org/about-cssm/ |publisher=Celtic Society of Southern Maryland |access-date=May 21, 2017 |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525202958/https://www.cssm.org/about-cssm/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

More recent European immigrants of the late 19th and early 20th century settled first in Baltimore, attracted to its industrial jobs. These groups were largely of [[History of the Jews in Baltimore|Jewish]], [[History of the Italians in Baltimore|Italian]], [[History of the Greeks in Baltimore|Greek]], [[History of the Poles in Baltimore|Polish]], [[History of the Czechs in Baltimore|Czech]], [[History of the Lithuanians in Baltimore|Lithuanian]], [[History of Russians in Baltimore|Russian]] and [[History of the Ukrainians in Baltimore|Ukrainian]] descent. The Greek community includes a number of [[Greek Jews]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=KhK-GenGreece |url=http://www.yvelia.com/kolhakehila/archive/documents/usa/usa_baltimore_003.htm |access-date=February 11, 2023 |website=www.yvelia.com |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055458/http://www.yvelia.com/kolhakehila/archive/documents/usa/usa_baltimore_003.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> 

The shares of European immigrants born in Eastern Europe increased significantly between 1990 and 2010. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia, many immigrants from Eastern Europe came to the United States—12 percent of whom currently reside in Maryland.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/european-immigrants-united-states#1|title=European Immigrants in the United States|website=migrationpolicy.org|access-date=January 14, 2015|archive-date=February 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211081028/http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/european-immigrants-united-states#1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://zipatlas.com/us/md/city-comparison/percentage-russian-population.htm|title=Cities with the Highest Percentage of Russians in Maryland|access-date=January 14, 2015|archive-date=October 29, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029122246/http://zipatlas.com/us/md/city-comparison/percentage-russian-population.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Hispanic immigrants of the later 20th century have settled in [[Aspen Hill, Maryland|Aspen Hill]], [[Hyattsville, Maryland|Hyattsville]]/[[Langley Park, Maryland|Langley Park]], [[Glenmont, Maryland|Glenmont]]/[[Wheaton, Maryland|Wheaton]], [[Bladensburg, Maryland|Bladensburg]], [[Riverdale Park, Maryland|Riverdale Park]], [[Gaithersburg, Maryland|Gaithersburg]], as well as [[Highlandtown, Baltimore|Highlandtown]] and [[Greektown, Baltimore|Greektown]] in East Baltimore. Maryland has the highest percentage of residents of [[Central America]]n origin of any state.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} [[Salvadoran American|Salvadorans]] are the largest Hispanic group in Maryland, and Maryland has the largest percentage of Salvadoran residents of any state.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} The D.C. area also has the highest percentage of Salvadorans of any American metro area, who are particularly concentrated in Prince George's and Montgomery counties, and has the second-highest total number of Salvadorans after the [[Greater Los Angeles|Los Angeles area]]. Other Hispanic groups with significant populations in the state include [[Mexican American|Mexicans]], [[Guatemalans]], [[Honduran American|Hondurans]], [[People of the Dominican Republic|Dominicans]], [[Peruvians]], and [[Puerto Ricans]], along with growing populations of [[Brazilians]], [[Colombians]], [[Ecuadorians]], and [[Bolivians]]. Maryland's Hispanic population is especially concentrated in Montgomery County and Prince George's County, with other large populations in the Baltimore area and [[Frederick County, Maryland|Frederick County]]. Maryland has one of the most diverse Hispanic populations in the country, with significant populations from various [[Spanish Caribbean|Caribbean]] and [[Central America]]n nations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dls.state.md.us/data/polanasubare/polanasubare_intmatnpubadm/Overview-of-Hispanic-Community.pdf |title=Overview of Hispanic Community in Maryland |author=Department of Legislative Services |pages=6–7 |date=June 2008 |access-date=July 5, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117073348/http://dls.state.md.us/data/polanasubare/polanasubare_intmatnpubadm/Overview-of-Hispanic-Community.pdf |archive-date=January 17, 2013 }}</ref>

Caribbean Americans have a significant presence in Maryland, especially [[Jamaican Americans]], who make up 0.6% of the population and have had a significant presence and influence in Maryland's politics and culture; Maryland's current governor, [[Wes Moore]], is the son of a Jamaican immigrant mother. Other Caribbean American nationalities with a large population in Maryland include [[People of the Dominican Republic|Dominicans]], [[Haitians]], [[Trinidadians and Tobagonians]], and [[Guyanese people|Guyanese]]. Caribbean Americans are most concentrated in Prince George's County, the city of Baltimore, Baltimore County, and Montgomery County.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://iir.gmu.edu/immigrant-stories-dc-baltimore/the-caribbean |title=Caribbean Immigrants in the Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD Metro Areas |website=George Mason University Institute for Immigration Research |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title='Invisible' but essential: Baltimore's Black immigrants | date=December 23, 2024 | url=https://www.thebanner.com/economy/growth-development/black-immigrants-baltimore-population-SJXWREBPPJAGHHNNAJO635545Q/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Immigrants, led by Jamaicans, slow Baltimore population loss | date=November 14, 2019 | url=https://cnsmaryland.org/2019/11/14/immigrants-led-by-jamaicans-slow-baltimore-population-loss/ }}</ref> Maryland is home to nearly 17,000 Haitians, according to 2023 Census Bureau data. Roughly 4,200 live in [[Wicomico County, Maryland]], which includes [[Salisbury, Maryland|Salisbury]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kiefer |first1=Paul |title=Haitians found stability in Maryland’s poultry plants. It’s now in jeopardy. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/08/11/haitian-immigrants-tps-maryland-perdue/ |website=washingtonpost.com |publisher=Washington Post}}</ref> Trinidadians and Tobagonians are concentrated in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Prince George's County.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://zipatlas.com/us/city-comparison/largest-trinidadian-and-tobagonian-community.htm|title=Largest Trinidadian and Tobagonian Community in the United States by City in 2025 &#124; Zip Atlas|website=zipatlas.com}}</ref> There are growing Caribbean populations in [[Columbia, Maryland|Columbia]] and [[Waldorf, Maryland|Waldorf]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://zipatlas.com/us/city-comparison/largest-jamaican-community.htm|title=Largest Jamaican Community in the United States by City in 2025 &#124; Zip Atlas|website=zipatlas.com}}</ref>

Asian Americans are concentrated in the suburban counties surrounding Washington, D.C., and in Baltimore suburbs, especially [[Howard County, Maryland|Howard County]], with [[Chinese Americans|Chinese American]], [[Korean American]] and [[Taiwanese American]] communities in [[Rockville, Maryland|Rockville]], [[Gaithersburg, Maryland|Gaithersburg]], and [[Germantown, Maryland|Germantown]]. Chinese in particular form the second largest group of Asian Americans, and are the largest group in Montgomery County.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} Maryland also has a large Korean American population, especially in Howard County, where there is a [[Koreatown]] in [[Ellicott City, Maryland|Ellicott City]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Yau |first=Jennifer |year=2007 |title=The Foreign Born from Korea in the United States |url=http://www.migrationinformation.org/USfocus/display.cfm?id=273 |access-date=December 23, 2007 |publisher=Migration Policy Institute |archive-date=January 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110222219/http://www.migrationinformation.org/USfocus/display.cfm?ID=273 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. Census Bureau: Maryland |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MD# |access-date=June 16, 2021 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}}</ref>  [[Filipino American]]s, the largest group of Southeast Asians, form major communities in Montgomery, Prince George's, and Charles counties; other large groups of Southeast Asians include Vietnamese, who are concentrated in Montgomery County, and Burmese, who are concentrated in Frederick, Howard, and Baltimore Counties.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} Maryland has a very large and diverse [[South Asian Americans|South Asian American]] population that has had a major presence in the state since the 1970s. [[Indian Americans]] are the largest Asian group in Maryland, making up 1.7 percent of the population, and live throughout the state, especially in [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery]] and [[Howard County, Maryland|Howard]] counties, with large numbers in [[Baltimore County, Maryland|Baltimore]], [[Frederick County, Maryland|Frederick]], and [[Prince George's County, Maryland|Prince George's]] counties.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} The Indian American population is culturally and linguistically diverse, with the Indian languages spoken most being [[Hindi]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]], and [[Tamil language|Tamil]].{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} There are also large [[Pakistani Americans|Pakistani American]] populations throughout the D.C. and Baltimore areas, especially in Baltimore County and Howard County, and a large [[Bangladeshi Americans|Bangladeshi American]] community in the D.C. area.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} Maryland has one of the largest populations of [[Nepalese Americans|Nepali Americans]], including [[Bhutanese Americans]] of Nepali descent, in the U.S., many of whom are recent immigrants or refugees who sought asylum after [[Lhotshampa|expulsion from Bhutan]] or the [[April 2015 Nepal earthquake|2015 Nepal earthquake]]; there are an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 Nepalis in Maryland, concentrated in the Baltimore area with significant populations in the D.C. area.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} The first Nepali American elected to a state legislature, [[Harry Bhandari]], was elected in Maryland, representing part of Baltimore County.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2020 Regular Session - Bond Bill Fact Sheet for Baltimore Association of Nepalese in America |url=https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2020RS/bond_initiatives/Baltimore_Association_of_Nepalese_in_America.pdf |access-date=February 5, 2023 |archive-date=February 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205143205/https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2020RS/bond_initiatives/Baltimore_Association_of_Nepalese_in_America.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|author-first1=Scott|author-last1=Dance|title=Maryland's Nepali community mourns Brindra Giri, a recent immigrant killed in Rite Aid warehouse shooting |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/bs-md-brindra-giri-funeral-20180923-story.html |access-date=February 5, 2023 |website=Baltimore Sun |date=September 23, 2018 |archive-date=February 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205143204/https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/bs-md-brindra-giri-funeral-20180923-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> There are three [[State-recognized tribes in the United States|state-recognized tribes]], and in 2020, 31,845 identified as being Native American alone, and 96,805 did in combination with one or more other races.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html|title=Race and Ethnicity in the United States: 2010 Census and 2020 Census|publisher=US Census Bureau|website=Census.gov}}</ref>

Attracting educated Asians and Africans to the professional jobs in the region, Maryland has the fifth-largest proportions of racial minorities in the country.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna8902484 |title=Minority population surging in Texas |date=August 18, 2005 |work=NBC News |agency=Associated Press |access-date=December 7, 2009 |archive-date=December 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231232030/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8902484/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2006, 645,744 were counted as foreign born, which represents mainly people from Latin America and Asia. About four percent are [[undocumented immigrants]].<ref>Turner Brinton, [http://journalism.umd.edu/cns/wire/2006-editions/04-April-editions/060405-Wednesday/ImmigrateDebate_CNS-UMCP.html "Immigration Bill Could Impact Maryland"]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221134342/http://journalism.umd.edu/cns/wire/2006-editions/04-April-editions/060405-Wednesday/ImmigrateDebate_CNS-UMCP.html |date=December 21, 2013 }}. Capital News Service, April 5, 2006. Retrieved July 22, 2007.</ref>

According to The Williams Institute's analysis of the 2010 U.S. census, 12,538 same-sex couples are living in Maryland, representing 5.8 same-sex couples per 1,000 households.<ref name="freedomtomarry.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.freedomtomarry.org/states/entry/c/maryland |title=Maryland |publisher=Freedom to Marry |access-date=September 28, 2013 |archive-date=October 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003043140/http://www.freedomtomarry.org/states/entry/c/maryland |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Romani people]] are present in Maryland.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mdhistory.org/the-gypsy-queen-of-baltimore/#:~:text=Habersham%20is%20only%20the%20most,the%20neighborhood%20of%20Cherry%20Hill|title=The Gypsy Queen of Baltimore* – Maryland Center for History and Culture|work=Maryland Center for History and Culture|date=April 18, 2013|author1=Mdhslibrarydept}}</ref>

===Religion===
[[File:BasilicaExterior.jpg|thumb|[[Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary|Baltimore Basilica]], the first [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[cathedral]] built in the U.S.]]
{{Bar box
|title = Religion in Maryland (2014)<ref name="Pew Religion and Politics">{{cite web
| title = Religious composition of adults in Maryland
| website = Religious Landscape Study
| publisher = The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life
| year = 2017
| url = http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/maryland/
| access-date = October 5, 2017
| archive-date = October 10, 2017
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171010134619/http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/maryland/
| url-status = live
}}</ref>
|titlebar=#ddd
|width =
|barwidth=
|left1=Religion
|right1=Percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{Bar percent|[[Protestant]]|purple|52}}
{{Bar percent|[[Irreligion|None]]|black|23}}
{{Bar percent|[[Catholic]]|Dodgerblue|15}}
{{Bar percent|[[Judaism|Jewish]]|blue|3}}
{{Bar percent|Other faiths|gray|2}}
{{Bar percent|[[Buddhism|Buddhist]]|yellow|1}}
{{Bar percent|[[Hinduism|Hindu]]|orange|1}}
{{Bar percent|[[Islam]]|green|1}}
{{Bar percent|[[Mormonism|Mormon]]|red|1}}
{{Bar percent|[[Eastern Orthodoxy|Orthodox Christian]]|cyan|1}}
}}

Maryland has been historically prominent to [[Catholic Church in the United States|American Catholic tradition]] because the English [[colony of Maryland]] was intended by [[George Calvert]] as a haven for English Catholics. Baltimore was the seat of the first Catholic bishop in the U.S. (1789), and [[Emmitsburg]] was the home and burial place of the first American-born citizen to be [[canonized]], [[St. Elizabeth Ann Seton]]. [[Georgetown University]], the first Catholic University, was founded in 1789 in what was then part of Maryland; it became a part of the District of Columbia when it was created in the 1790s. The [[Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary]] in Baltimore was the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in the United States, and the [[Archbishop of Baltimore]] is, albeit without formal primacy, the United States' quasi-[[primate (bishop)|primate]],{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} and often a cardinal. Among the immigrants of the 19th and 20th centuries from eastern and southern Europe were many Catholics.

Despite its historic relevance to the Catholic Church in the United States, the percentage of Catholics in the state of Maryland is below the national average of 20%. Demographically, both Protestants and those identifying with no religion are more numerous than Catholics.

According to the [[Pew Research Center]] in 2014, 69 percent of Maryland's population identifies themselves as [[Christians|Christian]]. Nearly 52% of the adult population are [[Protestants]].{{efn|Including [[Evangelical Protestants]] (18%), [[Mainline Protestants]] (18%), and Historically{{explain|reason=in what sense "historically"? This is a contemporary statistic|date=May 2022}} [[Black Protestant]]s (16%)<ref name="Pew Religion and Politics" />}} Following Protestantism, [[Catholicism]] is the second largest religious affiliation, comprising 15% percent of the population.<ref name="Pew Religion and Politics" /><ref name="www.thearda.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/24/rcms2010_24_state_adh_2010.asp |publisher=The Association of Religion Data Archives |title=State Membership Report |website=www.thearda.com |access-date=November 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202230739/http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/24/rcms2010_24_state_adh_2010.asp |archive-date=December 2, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Amish]]/[[Mennonite]] communities are found in [[St. Mary's County, Maryland|St. Mary's]], [[Garrett County, Maryland|Garrett]], and [[Cecil County, Maryland|Cecil]] counties.<ref name=amishamerica>{{cite web |title=Maryland Amish |date=March 2011 |publisher=Amish America |url=http://amishamerica.com/maryland-amish/ |access-date=October 6, 2017 |archive-date=December 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231054348/http://amishamerica.com/maryland-amish |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Judaism]] is the largest non-Christian religion in Maryland, with 241,000 adherents, or four percent of the total population.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2010/tables/10s0077.xls |title=Table 77. Christian Church Adherents and Jewish Population States: 2008 |access-date=October 24, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327063838/http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2010/tables/10s0077.xls |archive-date=March 27, 2010 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |format=Excel |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[American Jews|Jews]] are numerous throughout [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery County]] and in [[Pikesville, Maryland|Pikesville]] and [[Owings Mills]] northwest of Baltimore. An estimated 81,500 Jewish Americans live in Montgomery County, constituting approximately 10% of the total population.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.shalomdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/DCJewishCommTechApp.pdf |title=2017 Greater Washington Jewish Community Demographic Study |publisher=[[Jewish Federations of North America|Jewish Federation of Greater Washington]] |access-date=February 28, 2019 |archive-date=February 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228192016/https://www.shalomdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/DCJewishCommTechApp.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]]'s world headquarters and [[Ahmadiyya]] Muslims' national headquarters are located in [[Silver Spring, Maryland|Silver Spring]], just outside [[Washington, D.C.]]

Per the [[Public Religion Research Institute]] in 2020, 61 percent of Maryland's population identified with Christianity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PRRI – American Values Atlas |url=https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2020/States/religion/m/US-MD |access-date=September 17, 2022 |website=ava.prri.org |archive-date=April 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404161714/https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2020/States/religion/m/US-MD |url-status=live }}</ref> Protestantism and Roman Catholicism continued to dominate the Christian landscape, and the Jewish community remained at 3% of the total religious population. Of the unaffiliated, the PRRI study determined their increase to 28% of the population.

=== LGBT population ===
{{Main|LGBT rights in Maryland}}
Maryland has one of the highest percentages of LGBT people in its populace out of any state; 5.7% of Marylanders identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer, the highest of any state.{{Citation needed|reason=According to whom? Movement Advancement Project cites Washington as higher.|date=October 2025}} (Washington, D.C. ranks higher with a LGBT population of 8.6%.) Maryland ranks as one of the best states in the nation for rights of the LGBT community, with protections against discrimination enacted since 2001 for sexuality and 2014 for gender, same-sex marriage legalization in 2013, bans on conversion therapy enacted in 2018, abolition of the gay panic defense in 2021, and issuance in 2023 of an executive order protecting the rights of transgender individuals. In 2020, Montgomery County unanimously passed an ordinance implementing an LGBTIQ+ bill of rights.

The first person known to describe himself as a [[drag queen]] was [[William Dorsey Swann]], born enslaved in Hancock, Maryland. Swann was the first American on record who pursued legal and political action to defend the [[LGBTQ community]]'s [[right to assemble]].<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Joseph |first=Channing Gerard |date=January 31, 2020 |title=The First Drag Queen Was a Former Slave |journal=The Nation |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/society/drag-queen-slave-ball/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202152031/https://www.thenation.com/article/society/drag-queen-slave-ball/ |archive-date=February 2, 2021 |issn=0027-8378}}</ref>

In February 2010, Attorney General [[Doug Gansler]] issued an opinion stating that Maryland law should honor [[same-sex marriage]]s from out of state. At the time, the state Supreme Court wrote a decision upholding marriage discrimination.<ref name="freedomtomarry.org" />

On March 1, 2012, Maryland Governor [[Martin O'Malley]] signed the freedom to marry bill into law after it passed in the state legislature. Opponents of same-sex marriage began collecting signatures to overturn the law, which faced a referendum, as Question 6, in the November 2012 election.<ref name="freedomtomarry.org" /> A January 2011 Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies poll showed 51% support for marriage in the state.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 24, 2012 |title=Maryland Polling Memo |url=http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2012/05/maryland-polling-memo.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803202911/http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2012/05/maryland-polling-memo.html |archive-date=August 3, 2017 |access-date=August 16, 2013 |publisher=Public Policy Polling}}</ref>

In May 2012, Maryland's Court of Appeals ruled that the state will recognize marriages of same-sex couples who married out-of-state, no matter the outcome of the November election.<ref name="freedomtomarry.org" />  Voters upheld the bill, passing Question 6 with 52% to 48% on November 6, 2012. Same-sex couples began marrying in Maryland on January 1, 2013.<ref name="freedomtomarry.org" />

==Economy==
{{See also|Business in Maryland|List of federal installations in Maryland|List of shopping malls in Maryland|Maryland locations by per capita income}}
[[File:Geo Map of Median Income by Location in Maryland.png|thumb|A map showing Maryland's median income by county. Data is sourced from the 2014 [[American Community Survey|ACS]] five-year estimate report, published by the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]]]]
The [[Bureau of Economic Analysis]] estimates that Maryland's gross state product in 2016 was $382.4{{spaces}}billion.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?reqid=70&step=10&isuri=1&7003=200&7035=-1&7004=sic&7005=1&7006=xx&7036=-1&7001=1200&7002=1&7090=70&7007=-1&7093=levels#reqid=70&step=10&isuri=1&7003=200&7035=-1&7004=naics&7005=1&7006=xx&7036=-1&7001=1200&7002=1&7090=70&7007=-1&7093=levels |title=Regional Data |access-date=March 14, 2018 |archive-date=August 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831043848/https://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?reqid=70&step=10&isuri=1&7003=200&7035=-1&7004=sic&7005=1&7006=xx&7036=-1&7001=1200&7002=1&7090=70&7007=-1&7093=levels#reqid=70&step=10&isuri=1&7003=200&7035=-1&7004=naics&7005=1&7006=xx&7036=-1&7001=1200&7002=1&7090=70&7007=-1&7093=levels |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, Maryland has been using [[Genuine Progress Indicator]], an indicator of well-being, to guide the state's development, rather than relying only on growth indicators like GDP.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dolan|first=Karen|title=A better way of measuring progress in Maryland|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-measuring-progress-20120130,0,7700054.story|newspaper=Baltimore Sun|date=January 30, 2012|access-date=November 11, 2012|archive-date=January 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120112329/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-measuring-progress-20120130,0,7700054.story|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/1070 Measuring Prosperity: Maryland's Genuine Progress Indicator {{!}} Solutions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005165902/http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/1070 |date=October 5, 2012 }}. Thesolutionsjournal.com. Retrieved on July 12, 2013.</ref> According to the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]], Maryland households are currently the wealthiest in the country, with a 2013 median household income of $72,483,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_07_1YR_GCT1901.US13PR&prodType=table|title=American FactFinder MedImmune Results|access-date=July 16, 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212212931/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_07_1YR_GCT1901.US13PR&prodType=table|archive-date=February 12, 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref> which puts it ahead of [[New Jersey]] and [[Connecticut]], which are second and third respectively. Two of Maryland's counties, Howard and Montgomery, are the second and eleventh [[Highest-income counties in the United States|wealthiest counties in the nation]] respectively. Maryland has the most millionaires per capita in 2013, with a ratio of 7.7 percent.<ref>{{cite web|last=Frank|first=Robert|title=Top states for millionaires per capita|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2014/01/15/top-states-for-millionaires-per-capita.html|publisher=CNBC|access-date=January 21, 2014|date=January 15, 2014|archive-date=January 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122061516/https://www.cnbc.com/id/101338309|url-status=live}}</ref> Also, the state's poverty rate of 7.8 percent is the lowest in the country.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/28/AR2007082800779.html?nav%3Drss_nation&sub=AR U.S. Poverty Rate Drops; Ranks of Uninsured Grow] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707222430/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/28/AR2007082800779.html?nav%3Drss_nation&sub=AR |date=July 7, 2017 }} washingtonpost.com.</ref><ref>[http://www.baltimoresun.com/bal-richest0829-story.html#page=1 Maryland is ranked as richest state] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215145830/http://www.baltimoresun.com/bal-richest0829-story.html#page=1 |date=December 15, 2014 }} baltimoresun.com.</ref><ref>[http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/9425406.html US Poverty Rate Declines Significantly] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215144744/http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/9425406.html |date=December 15, 2014 }} wibw.com.</ref> [[Per capita personal income in the United States|Per capita personal income]] in 2006 was $43,500, fifth in the nation. As of March 2022, the state's unemployment rate was 4.6 percent.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mwejobs.maryland.gov/admin/gsipub/htmlarea/uploads/MonthlyLaborReview03_Mar22.pdf|title=Monthly Labor Review—February 2018|date=April 5, 2018|website=Maryland Department of Labor, License, and Governing|access-date=April 20, 2018|archive-date=May 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515182858/https://mwejobs.maryland.gov/admin/gsipub/htmlarea/uploads/MonthlyLaborReview03_Mar22.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Maryland's economy benefits from the state's proximity to the federal government in [[Washington, D.C.]], with an emphasis on technical and administrative tasks for the defense/aerospace industry and bio-research laboratories, as well as staffing of satellite government headquarters in the suburban or exurban Baltimore/Washington area. Ft. Meade serves as the headquarters of the [[Defense Information Systems Agency]], [[United States Cyber Command]], and the [[National Security Agency]]/[[Central Security Service]]. In addition, a number of educational and medical research institutions are located in the state. The various components of The [[Johns Hopkins University]] and its medical research facilities are now the largest single employer in the Baltimore area.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Manufacturing, while large in dollar value, is highly diversified with no sub-sector contributing over 20 percent of the total. Typical forms of manufacturing include electronics, computer equipment, and chemicals. The once-mighty primary metals sub-sector, which once included what was then the largest steel factory in the world at [[Sparrows Point]], still exists, but is pressed with foreign competition, [[Bankruptcy|bankruptcies]], and [[Mergers and acquisitions|merger]]s.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} During World War II, the Glenn Martin Company (now part of [[Lockheed Martin]]) airplane factory employed some 40,000 people.

Mining other than construction materials is virtually limited to coal, which is located in the mountainous western part of the state. The brownstone quarries in the east, which gave Baltimore and Washington much of their characteristic architecture in the mid-19th century, were once a predominant natural resource. Historically, there used to be small gold-mining operations in Maryland, some near Washington, but these no longer exist.

In 2022, the top private employers by number of employees were [[BYK Additives & Instruments|BYK Gardner]], [[Clean Harbors]], [[Holy Cross Hospital (Silver Spring)|Holy Cross Hospital]], [[Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center]], [[Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory]], [[Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine]], [[University of Maryland|Maryland Neuroimaging Center]], [[Northrop Grumman]], [[University System of Maryland|University of Maryland]], and [[University of Maryland Medical Center]].<ref>"[https://marylandtaxes.gov/forms/CAFR/ACFR2022.pdf 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report]." ''Comptroller of Maryland''. April 2023. p. 164. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420183956/https://marylandtaxes.gov/forms/CAFR/ACFR2022.pdf|date=April 20, 2023}}.</ref>

===Port of Baltimore===
One major service activity is transportation, centered on the [[Port of Baltimore]] and its related [[railroad|rail]] and trucking access. The port ranked 17th in the U.S. by tonnage in 2008.<ref>U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center. New Orleans, LA. [http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/ndc/wcsc/portname08.htm "Tonnage for Selected U.S. Ports in 2008."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731081240/http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/ndc/wcsc/portname08.htm |date=July 31, 2010 }} Revised February 17, 2010.</ref> Although the port handles a wide variety of products, the most typical imports are raw materials and bulk commodities, such as [[iron ore]], [[petroleum]], [[sugar]], and [[fertilizer]]s, often distributed to the relatively close manufacturing centers of the inland [[Midwest]] via good overland transportation. The port also receives several brands of imported motor vehicles and is the number one auto port in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://automotivelogistics.media/buyers-guide/port-of-baltimore-5 |title=Port of Baltimore |website=Automotive Logistics Buyers' Guide |access-date=May 22, 2017 |publisher=Ultima Media |quote=The Port of Baltimore handles more autos than any other US port. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525202955/http://automotivelogistics.media/buyers-guide/port-of-baltimore-5 |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Baltimore City is among the top 15 largest ports in the nation,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bts.gov/content/tonnage-top-50-us-water-ports-ranked-total-tons |title=Tonnage of Top 50 U.S. Water Ports, Ranked by Total Tons |website=Bureau of Transportation Statistics |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation |access-date=November 2, 2020 |archive-date=October 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016175533/https://www.bts.gov/content/tonnage-top-50-us-water-ports-ranked-total-tons |url-status=live }}</ref> and was one of six major U.S. ports that were part of the February 2006 [[Dubai Ports World controversy|controversy]] over the [[Dubai Ports World]] deal.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2006-03-11-0603110235-story.html |title=Bush fears terror setback |date=March 11, 2006 |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |first1=Julie Hirschfeld |last1=Davis |first2=Gwyneth K. |last2=Shaw |access-date=November 2, 2020 |archive-date=October 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001020846/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2006-03-11-0603110235-story.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The state as a whole is heavily industrialized, with a prosperous economy and influential technology centers. Its computer industries are some of the most sophisticated in the United States, and the federal government has invested heavily in the area. Maryland is home to several large military bases and scores of high-level government jobs.

The [[Chesapeake and Delaware Canal]] is a {{convert|14|mi|km}} [[canal]] on the Eastern Shore that connects the waters of the Delaware River with those of the Chesapeake Bay, and in particular with the Port of Baltimore, carrying 40 percent of the port's ship traffic.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |place=Philadelphia, PA |url=https://www.nap.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Chesapeake-Delaware-Canal/ |title=Chesapeake and Delaware Canal |access-date=September 28, 2013 |archive-date=September 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928124813/http://www.nap.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/ChesapeakeDelawareCanal.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Fishing===
Maryland has a large food-production sector. A large component of this is commercial [[List of freshwater fishes of Maryland|fishing]], centered in the Chesapeake Bay, but also including activity off the short Atlantic seacoast. The largest catches by species are the [[Callinectes sapidus|blue crab]], [[oysters]], [[striped bass]], and [[menhaden]]. The Bay also has overwintering waterfowl in its wildlife refuges. The waterfowl support a [[birdwatching|tourism sector of sportsmen]].

===Agriculture===
{{main|Agriculture in Maryland}}
[[File:CarrollCountyMD.jpg|thumb|Agriculture is an important part of Maryland's economy.]]
Maryland has large areas of fertile agricultural land in its coastal and [[Piedmont Plateau|Piedmont]] zones, though this land use is being encroached upon by urbanization. Agriculture is oriented to dairy farming (especially in foothill and piedmont areas) for nearby large city milksheads, plus specialty perishable horticulture crops, such as [[cucumber]]s, [[watermelon]]s, [[sweet corn]], [[tomato]]es, [[Cucumis melo|melons]], [[Squash (fruit)|squash]], and [[peas]] (Source:USDA Crop Profiles). The southern counties of the western shoreline of Chesapeake Bay are warm enough to support a [[tobacco]] [[cash crop]] zone, which has existed since early Colonial times, but declined greatly after a state government buy-out in the 1990s. There is also a large automated [[chicken]]-farming sector in the state's southeastern part; [[Salisbury, Maryland|Salisbury]] is home to [[Perdue Farms]]. Maryland's food-processing plants are the most significant type of manufacturing by value in the state. Farming suffers from weeds as anywhere else, including an unusual [[multiple herbicide resistance|multiply resistant]] ragweed (''[[Ambrosia artemisiifolia]]'') found by Rousonelos ''et al.'', 2012 with both [[ALS resistance|ALS-]] and [[PPO resistance|PPO]]-resistances<ref name="Rousonelos-et-al-2012">{{cite journal |last1=Rousonelos |first1=Stephanie L. |last2=Lee |first2=Ryan M. |last3=Moreira |first3=Murilo S. |last4=VanGessel |first4=Mark J. |last5=Tranel |first5=Patrick J. |title=Characterization of a Common Ragweed (''Ambrosia artemisiifolia'') Population Resistant to ALS- and PPO-Inhibiting Herbicides |journal=[[Weed Science (journal)|Weed Science]] |publisher=[[Weed Science Society of America]] (WSSA) ([[Cambridge University Press|CUP]]) |volume=60 |issue=3 |year=2012 |issn=0043-1745 |doi=10.1614/ws-d-11-00152.1 |pages=335–344|bibcode=2012WeedS..60..335R | s2cid=86234767 }}</ref> and which by 2016 had developed a third, [[EPSP resistance]].<ref name="Heap-2022">{{cite web |last=Heap |first=Ian |title=Multiple resistant ''Ambrosia artemisiifolia'' from United States, Maryland |website=The International Survey of Herbicide Resistant Weeds |date=May 7, 2022 |url=http://www.weedscience.org/details/Case.aspx?ResistID=17109 |access-date=May 7, 2022 |archive-date=May 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517232813/https://www.weedscience.org/Details/Case.aspx?ResistID=17109 |url-status=live }}</ref> This ragweed population is a drag on [[soybean]] cultivation and, {{as of|2022|05|07|lc=yes|df=US}}, is the worst multiresistant weed problem in the state.<ref name="Heap-2022" />

===Biotechnology===
Maryland is a major center for [[life sciences]] research and development. With more than 400 biotechnology companies located there, Maryland is the fourth largest nexus in this field in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://marylandbiocenter.org/Bioscience%20of%20Maryland/Pages/factsandfigures.aspx |title=Maryland's Bioscience Environment: 2009 |access-date=August 19, 2011 |publisher=The Maryland Biotechnology Center |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820175129/http://marylandbiocenter.org/Bioscience%20of%20Maryland/Pages/factsandfigures.aspx |archive-date=August 20, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Institutions and government agencies with an interest in research and development located in Maryland include the [[Johns Hopkins University]], the [[Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory]], more than one campus of the [[University System of Maryland]], [[Goddard Space Flight Center]], the [[United States Census Bureau]], the [[National Institutes of Health]], the [[National Institute of Standards and Technology]], the [[National Institute of Mental Health]], the [[Walter Reed National Military Medical Center]], the federal [[Food and Drug Administration]], the [[Howard Hughes Medical Institute]], the [[Celera Genomics]] company, the [[J. Craig Venter Institute]], and [[AstraZeneca]] (formerly [[MedImmune]]).

Maryland is home to defense contractor [[Emergent BioSolutions]], which manufactures and provides an [[anthrax vaccine]] to U.S. government military personnel.<ref>{{cite news|title=Emergent BioSolutions Receives Orphan Drug Designation for BioThrax for Post-Exposure Prophylaxis of Anthrax Disease|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/emergent-biosolutions-receives-orphan-drug-designation-for-biothrax-for-post-exposure-prophylaxis-of-anthrax-disease-2014-04-21|access-date=August 29, 2016|work=Marketwatch.com|publisher=Dow Jones & Company|date=April 21, 2014|archive-date=September 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918193256/http://www.marketwatch.com/story/emergent-biosolutions-receives-orphan-drug-designation-for-biothrax-for-post-exposure-prophylaxis-of-anthrax-disease-2014-04-21|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Tourism===
{{See also|List of National Historic Landmarks in Maryland}}
[[File:Ocean City MD beach looking north at 25th Street.jpeg|thumb|[[Ocean City, Maryland|Ocean City]], a beach resort along the [[Atlantic Ocean]] and a popular tourist destination in Maryland]]
Tourism is popular in Maryland. Many tourists visit Baltimore, the beaches of the Eastern Shore, and the nature of western Maryland. Attractions in Baltimore include the [[Harborplace]], the [[Baltimore Aquarium]], [[Fort McHenry]], as well as the [[Camden Yards]] baseball stadium. [[Ocean City, Maryland|Ocean City]] on the Atlantic Coast has been a popular beach destination in summer, particularly since the [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge]] was built in 1952 connecting the Eastern Shore to the more populated Maryland cities.<ref name="baybridge.com-history"/> The state capital of [[Annapolis]] offers sites such as the [[Maryland State House|state capitol building]], the [[Colonial Annapolis Historic District|historic district]], and the waterfront. Maryland also has several sites of interest to military history, given Maryland's role in the [[Maryland in the American Civil War|American Civil War]] and in the [[Battle of Baltimore|War of 1812]]. Other attractions include the historic and picturesque towns along the [[Chesapeake Bay]], such as [[St. Mary's City, Maryland|Saint Mary's]], Maryland's first colonial settlement and original capital.<ref name="darkroom.baltimoresun.com">{{cite news |first=Kenneth K. |last=Lam |title=Unearthing early American life in St. Mary's City: St. Mary's City is an archaeological jewel on Maryland's Western Shore |newspaper=Baltimore Sun |date=August 30, 2013 |url=http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/2013/08/unearthing-early-american-life-in-st-marys-city/#1 |access-date=February 18, 2020 |archive-date=February 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217230409/http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/2013/08/unearthing-early-american-life-in-st-marys-city/#1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Healthcare===
{{Main|List of hospitals in Maryland|Maryland hospital payment system}}

As of 2017, the top two health insurers including all types of insurance were [[CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield]] with 47% market share followed by [[UnitedHealth Group]] at 15%.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/competition-health-insurance-research|title=Competition in health insurance research|website=American Medical Association|access-date=June 15, 2019|archive-date=June 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618001323/https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/competition-health-insurance-research|url-status=live}}</ref>

Maryland has experimented with healthcare payment reforms, notably beginning in the 1970s with an [[all-payer rate setting]] program regulated by the Health Services Cost Review Commission.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |url=https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/forefront.20171214.96251/full/ |title=The Challenging Transformation Of Health Care Under Maryland's Global Budgets |journal=Health Affairs Forefront |year=2017 |doi=10.1377/forefront.20171214.96251 |last1=Galarraga |first1=Jessica |last2=Pines |first2=Jesse M. |access-date=March 29, 2022 |archive-date=May 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527115837/https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/forefront.20171214.96251/full/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> In 2014, it switched to a global budget revenue system, whereby hospitals receive a [[Capitation (healthcare)|capitated]] payment to care for their population.<ref name=":3" />

==Transportation==
The [[Maryland Department of Transportation]] oversees most transportation in the state through its various administration-level agencies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mdot.state.md.us/Contact+Us/TSO+Executive+Staff+List_2 |title=MDOT Departments |access-date=June 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525000636/http://www.mdot.state.md.us/Contact%20Us/TSO%20Executive%20Staff%20List_2 |archive-date=May 25, 2009 |url-status=dead }} ''[[Maryland Department of Transportation]]''. Retrieved on March 23, 2009.</ref> The independent [[Maryland Transportation Authority]] maintains and operates the state's eight toll facilities.

===Roads===
{{See also|List of Interstate Highways in Maryland|List of Maryland state highways|List of minor Maryland state highways|List of former Maryland state highways}}
[[File:Chesapeake Bay Bridge viewed from Sandy Point State Park.jpg|thumb|The [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge]], which connects Maryland's [[Eastern Shore of Maryland|Eastern]] and Western Shores]]
Maryland's [[Interstate Highway System|Interstate highways]] include {{convert|110|mi|km}} of [[Interstate 95 in Maryland|I-95]], which enters the northeast portion of the state, travels through [[Baltimore]], and becomes part of the eastern section of the [[Capital Beltway]] to the [[Woodrow Wilson Bridge]]. [[Interstate 68#Maryland|I-68]] travels {{convert|81|mi|km}}, connecting the western portions of the state to [[Interstate 70 in Maryland|I-70]] in the small town of Hancock. I-70 enters from Pennsylvania north of Hancock and continues east for {{convert|93|mi|km}} to Baltimore, connecting [[Hagerstown, Maryland|Hagerstown]] and [[Frederick, Maryland|Frederick]] along the way.

[[Interstate 83#Maryland|I-83]] has {{convert|34|mi|km}} in Maryland and connects Baltimore to southern central Pennsylvania ([[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|Harrisburg]] and [[York, Pennsylvania]]). Maryland also has an {{convert|11|mi|km|adj=on}} portion of [[Interstate 81 in Maryland|I-81]] that travels through the state near Hagerstown. [[Interstate 97|I-97]], fully contained within Anne Arundel County and the shortest ({{convert|17.6|mi|km}}) one- or two-digit interstate highway in the contiguous US, connects the Baltimore area to the Annapolis area.

There are also several [[List of auxiliary Interstate Highways|auxiliary Interstate highways]] in Maryland. Among them are two beltways encircling the major cities of the region: [[Interstate 695 (Maryland)|I-695]], the McKeldin (Baltimore) Beltway, which encircles Baltimore; and a portion of [[Capital Beltway|I-495]], the Capital Beltway, which encircles [[Washington, D.C.]] [[Interstate 270 (Maryland)|I-270]], which connects the Frederick area with [[Northern Virginia]] and Washington, D.C. through major suburbs to the northwest of Washington, is a major commuter route and is as wide as fourteen lanes at points. [[Interstate 895|I-895]], also known as the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel Thruway, provides an alternate route to I-95 across [[Baltimore Harbor]].

Both I-270 and the Capital Beltway were extremely [[Traffic congestion|congested]]; however, the [[Maryland Route 200|Intercounty Connector]] has alleviated some congestion over time. Construction of the ICC was a major part of the campaign platform of former Governor [[Robert Ehrlich]], who was in office from 2003 until 2007, and of Governor [[Martin O'Malley]], who succeeded him. [[U.S. Route 50 in Maryland|I-595]], which is an [[unsigned highway]] concurrent with [[U.S. Route 50 in Maryland|US{{spaces}}50]]/[[U.S. Route 301 in Maryland|US{{spaces}}301]], is the longest unsigned interstate in the country and connects [[Prince George's County, Maryland|Prince George's County]] and Washington, D.C. with [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]] and the [[Eastern Shore of Maryland|Eastern Shore]] via the [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge]].

Maryland also has a [[state highway]] system that contains routes numbered from 2{{spaces}}through 999, however most of the higher-numbered routes are either unsigned or are relatively short. Major state highways include Routes [[Maryland Route 2|2]] (Governor Ritchie Highway/Solomons Island Road/Southern Maryland Blvd.), [[Maryland Route 4|4]] ([[Pennsylvania Avenue (Washington, D.C.)|Pennsylvania Avenue]]/Southern Maryland Blvd./Patuxent Beach Road/St. Andrew's Church Road), [[Maryland Route 5|5]] (Branch Avenue/Leonardtown Road/Point Lookout Road), [[Maryland Route 32|32]], [[Maryland Route 45|45]] (York Road), [[Maryland Route 97|97]] (Georgia Avenue), [[Maryland Route 100|100]] (Paul T. Pitcher Memorial Highway), [[Maryland Route 210|210]] (Indian Head Highway), [[Maryland Route 235|235]] (Three Notch Road), [[Maryland Route 295|295]] (Baltimore-Washington Parkway), [[Maryland Route 355|355]] (Wisconsin Avenue/Rockville Pike/Frederick Road), [[Maryland Route 404|404]] (Queen Anne Highway/ Shore Highway), and [[Maryland Route 650|650]] (New Hampshire Avenue).

===Airports===
{{See also|Aviation in Maryland|List of airports in Maryland}}
Maryland's largest airport is [[Baltimore/Washington International Airport|Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport]], more commonly referred to as BWI. The airport is named for the Baltimore-born [[Thurgood Marshall]], the first African-American [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court justice]]. The only other airports with commercial service are at [[Hagerstown Regional Airport|Hagerstown]] and [[Wicomico Regional Airport|Salisbury]].

The Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. are also served by the other two airports in the region, [[Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport]] and [[Dulles International Airport]], both in [[Northern Virginia]]. The [[College Park Airport]] is the nation's oldest, founded in 1909, and is still used. [[Wilbur Wright]] trained military aviators at this location.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collegeparkaviationmuseum.com/home.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090727010523/http://www.collegeparkaviationmuseum.com/Home.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 27, 2009 |title=College Park Aviation Museum Home |publisher=Collegeparkaviationmuseum.com |date=September 12, 2013 |access-date=September 28, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/articles/humphrey.htm |title=Frederick E. Humphreys: First Military Pilot |publisher=New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs: Military History |date=December 9, 2008 |access-date=November 23, 2010 |archive-date=July 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719090253/http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/articles/humphrey.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Rail===
{{See also|List of Maryland railroads}}
{{Maryland rail network|collapse=y}}
[[File:Ellicott City Station 1970.jpg|thumb|[[Ellicott City Station]], on the original [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] line, the oldest remaining passenger station in the nation. The rail line is still used by [[CSX Transportation]] for freight trains, and the station is now a museum.]]
[[Amtrak]] trains, including the high-speed [[Acela Express]] serve [[Pennsylvania Station (Baltimore)|Penn Station]] in [[Baltimore]], [[BWI Rail Station|BWI Airport]], [[New Carrollton (Washington Metro)|New Carrollton]], and [[Aberdeen (Amtrak station)|Aberdeen]] along the [[Washington, D.C.]] to [[Boston]] [[Northeast Corridor]]. Train service is provided to [[Rockville, Maryland|Rockville]] and [[Cumberland, Maryland|Cumberland]] by [[Amtrak]]'s Washington, D.C., to [[Chicago]] [[Capitol Limited (Amtrak)|Capitol Limited]].

The [[WMATA]]'s [[Washington Metro|Metrorail]] [[rapid transit]] and [[Metrobus (Washington, D.C.)|Metrobus]] local bus systems (the [[List of United States rapid transit systems by ridership|2nd]] and [[List of United States local bus agencies by ridership|6th]] busiest in the nation of their respective modes) provide service in Montgomery and Prince George's counties and connect them to Washington D.C.. The [[Maryland Transit Administration]] (often abbreviated as "MTA Maryland"), a state agency part of the [[Maryland Department of Transportation]] also provides transit services within the state. Headquartered in Baltimore, MTA's transit services are largely focused on central Maryland, as well as some portions of the Eastern Shore and Southern MD. Baltimore's [[Baltimore Light RailLink|Light RailLink]] and [[Baltimore Metro SubwayLink|Metro SubwayLink]] systems serve its densely populated inner-city and the surrounding suburbs. The MTA also serves the city and its suburbs with its [[MTA Maryland bus service|local bus]] service (the [[List of United States local bus agencies by ridership|9th largest system]] in the nation). The MTA's [[Maryland Transit Administration#Commuter bus|Commuter Bus]] system provides express coach service on longer routes connecting Washington, D.C. and Baltimore to parts of Central and Southern MD as well as the Eastern Shore. The commuter rail service, known as [[Maryland Area Rail Commuter|MARC]], operates three lines which all terminate at [[Washington Union Station]] and provide service to Baltimore's [[Baltimore Penn Station|Penn]] and [[Camden Station|Camden]] stations, [[Perryville, Maryland|Perryville]], [[Frederick, Maryland|Frederick]], and [[Martinsburg, West Virginia]]. In addition, many suburban counties operate local bus systems which connect to and complement the larger MTA and WMATA/Metro services.

The MTA will also administer the [[Purple Line (Maryland)|Purple Line]], an under-construction light rail line that will connect the Maryland branches of the [[Red Line (Washington Metro)|Red]], [[Green Line (Washington Metro)|Green]]/[[Yellow Line (Washington Metro)|Yellow]], and [[Orange Line (Washington Metro)|Orange]] lines of the Washington Metro, as well as offer transfers to all three lines of the MARC commuter rail system.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Purple Line|url=https://www.purplelinemd.com/|access-date=January 12, 2021|website=MDOT MTA Purple Line|archive-date=January 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114234508/https://www.purplelinemd.com/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Shaver|first=Katherine|date=December 16, 2020|title=Maryland board approves $250 million legal deal to complete Purple Line construction|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/maryland-purple-line/2020/12/16/5a370bb8-3fb0-11eb-8bc0-ae155bee4aff_story.html|access-date=January 12, 2021|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=January 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114090513/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/maryland-purple-line/2020/12/16/5a370bb8-3fb0-11eb-8bc0-ae155bee4aff_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Freight rail transport]] is handled principally by two [[Class I railroad]]s, as well as several smaller regional and local carriers. [[CSX Transportation]] has more extensive [[rail tracks|trackage]] throughout the state, with {{convert|560|mi|km}},<ref name="CSXT">CSX Transportation. Jacksonville, FL (2010). [http://www.csx.com/index.cfm/about-csx/company-overview/state-fact-sheets/maryland/ "CSX and Maryland."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111021040014/http://www.csx.com/index.cfm/about-csx/company-overview/state-fact-sheets/maryland/ |date=October 21, 2011 }}</ref> followed by [[Norfolk Southern Railway]]. Major [[rail yard]]s are located in Baltimore and Cumberland,<ref name="CSXT" /> with an [[Intermodal freight transport|intermodal]] terminal (rail, truck and marine) in Baltimore.<ref>Maryland Port Administration. Baltimore, MD. [http://mpa.maryland.gov/content/seagirt-marine-terminal.php "Seagirt Marine Terminal."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106031338/http://mpa.maryland.gov/content/seagirt-marine-terminal.php |date=January 6, 2012 }} Retrieved October 31, 2011.</ref>

==Law and government==
{{Main|Government of Maryland}}
{{See also|List of Governors of Maryland|Maryland Army National Guard|Maryland Air National Guard}}
[[File:Annapolis2.jpg|thumb|The [[Maryland State House]] in [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]] dates to 1772, and houses the Maryland General Assembly and offices of the [[Governor of Maryland|governor]].]]
[[File:Maryland state coat of arms (illustrated, 1876).jpg|thumb|The [[Historical coats of arms of the U.S. states|historical coat of arms]] of Maryland in 1876]]
The [[government of Maryland]] is conducted according to the [[Maryland Constitution|state constitution]]. The government of Maryland, like the other 49 [[Politics of the United States#Local government|state governments]], has exclusive authority over matters that lie entirely within the state's borders, except as limited by the [[Constitution of the United States]].

Power in Maryland is divided among three branches of government: [[executive branch|executive]], [[legislative branch|legislative]], and [[judicial branch|judicial]]. The [[Maryland General Assembly]] is composed of the [[Maryland House of Delegates]] and the [[Maryland Senate]]. [[Governor of Maryland|Maryland's governor]] is unique in the United States as the office is vested with significant authority in budgeting. Unlike many other states, significant autonomy is granted to many of Maryland's [[County (United States)|counties]].

Most of the business of government is conducted in [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]], the state [[Capital (political)|capital]]; however some cabinet departments and state officials have their offices in [[Baltimore]]. Elections for governor and most statewide offices, as well as most county elections, are held in [[United States midterm election|midterm-election years]] (even-numbered years not divisible by four).

The judicial branch of state government consists of one united [[Maryland District Court|District Court of Maryland]] that sits in every county and Baltimore City, as well as 24 [[Maryland Circuit Courts|Circuit Courts]] sitting in each County and Baltimore City, the latter being courts of general jurisdiction for all civil disputes over $30,000, all equitable jurisdiction and major criminal proceedings. The intermediate appellate court is known as the [[Appellate Court of Maryland]] and the [[state supreme court]] is the [[Supreme Court of Maryland]]. The appearance of the justices of the Supreme Court of Maryland is unique; Maryland is the only state whose justices wear red robes.<ref>Lamy, Rudolf B. (2006). [http://www.lawlib.state.md.us/aboutus/history/judgesrobes.pdf "A Study of Scarlet: Red Robes and the Maryland Court of Appeals."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425124651/http://www.lawlib.state.md.us/aboutus/history/judgesrobes.pdf |date=April 25, 2012 }} Monograph. (Annapolis, MD: Maryland State Law Library.)</ref>

===Taxation===

Maryland imposes five [[income tax]] brackets, ranging from 2{{spaces}}to 6.25 percent of personal income.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.bankrate.com/brm/itax/edit/state/profiles/state_tax_Md.asp
|title=Maryland State taxes
|publisher=BankRate.com
|access-date=April 9, 2008
|archive-date=August 13, 2009
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813191003/http://www.bankrate.com/brm/itax/edit/state/profiles/state_tax_Md.asp
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> The city of Baltimore and Maryland's 23 counties levy local "piggyback" income taxes at rates between 1.25 and 3.2 percent of Maryland taxable income. Local officials set the rates and the revenue is returned to the local governments quarterly. The top income tax bracket of 9.45 percent is the fifth highest combined state and local income tax rates in the country, behind New York City's 11.35 percent, California's 10.3 percent, Rhode Island's 9.9 percent, and Vermont's 9.5 percent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://individuals.marylandtaxes.com/incometax/localtax.asp |title=Maryland Income Tax Information—Local Tax Rates |publisher=Individuals.marylandtaxes.com |access-date=September 22, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920134243/http://individuals.marylandtaxes.com/incometax/localtax.asp |archive-date=September 20, 2008 }}</ref>

Maryland's state [[sales tax]] is six percent.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://taxes.marylandtaxes.gov/Individual_Taxes/Individual_Tax_Types/Sales_and_Use_Tax/ |title=Sales and Use Tax |access-date=July 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707203153/https://taxes.marylandtaxes.gov/Individual_Taxes/Individual_Tax_Types/Sales_and_Use_Tax/ |archive-date=July 7, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> All real property in Maryland is subject to the [[property tax]].<ref name="dat.maryland.gov">{{cite web |url=https://dat.maryland.gov/realproperty/pages/HomeOwners-Guide.aspx |title=A Homeowner's Guide to Property Taxes and Assessments |access-date=July 7, 2019 |archive-date=July 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707203518/https://dat.maryland.gov/realproperty/pages/HomeOwners-Guide.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> Generally, properties that are owned and used by religious, charitable, or educational organizations or property owned by the federal, state or local governments are exempt.<ref name="dat.maryland.gov"/> Property tax rates vary widely.<ref name="dat.maryland.gov"/> No restrictions or limitations on property taxes are imposed by the state, meaning cities and counties can set tax rates at the level they deem necessary to fund governmental services.<ref name="dat.maryland.gov"/>

===Elections===
{{Main|Elections in Maryland}}
{{Further|Political party strength in Maryland}}
[[File:Spiro Agnew.jpg|thumb|[[Spiro Agnew]], the 39th [[Vice President of the United States]] during the [[Presidency of Richard Nixon|Nixon administration]], the highest-ranking political leader from Maryland since the nation's founding]]
Following the [[American Civil War]], Maryland's elections have [[Political party strength in Maryland|largely been controlled]] by the [[U.S. Democratic Party|Democratic Party]], which accounted for 54.9% of the state's registered voters as of May 2017.<ref name="Maryland State Board of Elections">{{cite web|url=http://www.elections.state.md.us/voter_registration/stats.html|title=Voter Registration Statistics|author=Maryland State Board of Elections|access-date=February 24, 2016|archive-date=February 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160225170208/http://www.elections.state.md.us/voter_registration/stats.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

State elections are dominated by [[Baltimore]] and four populous suburban counties bordering [[Washington, D.C.]], and Baltimore: [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery]], [[Prince George's County, Maryland|Prince George's]], [[Anne Arundel County, Maryland|Anne Arundel]], and [[Baltimore County|Baltimore counties]]. As of July 2017,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/PEP/2017/PEPANNRES/0400000US24.05000 |title=American FactFinder—Results |access-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213191656/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/PEP/2017/PEPANNRES/0400000US24.05000 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 66 percent of the state's population resides in these six jurisdictions, most of which contain large, traditionally Democratic [[voting bloc]]s: [[African Americans]] in Baltimore City and Prince George's; [[Federal government of the United States|federal]] employees in Prince George's, Anne Arundel, and Montgomery; and [[Postgraduate education|post-graduates]] in Montgomery. The remainder of the state, particularly [[Western Maryland]] and the [[Eastern Shore of Maryland|Eastern Shore]], is more supportive of [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]].{{citation needed|date=April 2017}} One of Maryland's best known political figures is a Republican – former governor [[Spiro Agnew]], who pled [[nolo contendere|no contest]] to tax evasion and resigned in 1973.<ref>{{cite book |last=Feerick |first=John D.|author-link=John Feerick|title=The Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Its Complete History and Application|edition=Third|orig-year=1976 |publisher=Fordham University Press |year=2014 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8232-5200-8 |pages=132–133}}</ref>

In [[1980 United States presidential election|1980]], Maryland was one of six states to vote for [[Jimmy Carter]]. In [[1992 United States presidential election|1992]], [[Bill Clinton]] fared better in Maryland than any other state, except his home state of [[Arkansas]]. In [[1996 United States presidential election|1996]], Maryland was Clinton's sixth best; in [[2000 United States presidential election|2000]], Maryland ranked fourth for Gore; and in [[2004 United States presidential election|2004]], [[John Kerry]] showed his fifth-best performance in Maryland. In [[2008 United States presidential election|2008]], [[Barack Obama]] won the state's 10 electoral votes with 61.9 percent of the vote, to [[John McCain]]'s 36.5 percent.

In 2002, former Governor [[Robert Ehrlich]] was the first Republican to be elected to that office in four decades, and after one term, he lost his seat to [[Baltimore Mayor]] and Democrat [[Martin O'Malley]]. Ehrlich ran again for governor in 2010, losing again to O'Malley.

{| class=wikitable
|+ Voter registration and party enrollment in Maryland<br>as of August 2025<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--not stated--> |date= |title=Voter Registration Statistics |url=https://elections.maryland.gov/voter_registration/stats.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202023651/https://elections.maryland.gov/voter_registration/stats.html |archive-date=February 2, 2023 |access-date=June 21, 2024 |publisher=Maryland State Board of Elections}}</ref>
|-
! colspan=2 | Party
! Total
! Percentage
|-
| {{party color cell|Democratic Party (United States)}}
| [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 2,232,476
| style="text-align:center;" | 51.67%
|-
| {{party color cell|Republican Party (United States)}}
| [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| style="text-align:center;" | 1,030,610
| style="text-align:center;" |23.86%
|-
| {{party color cell|Independent Party (United States)}}
| Independents / unaffiliated
| style="text-align:center;" | 976,110
| style="text-align:center;" |22.59%
|-
| {{party color cell|Green Party (United States)}}
| Green
| style="text-align:center;" | 5,624
| style="text-align:center;" |0.13%
|-
| {{party color cell|Working Class Party}}
| Working Class
| style="text-align:center;" | 3,384
| style="text-align:center;" |0.08%
|-
| {{party color cell|Independent Party (United States)}}
| Other parties
| style="text-align:center;" | 72,047
| style="text-align:center;" |1.67%
|-
! colspan=2 | Total
! style="text-align:center;" | 4,320,278
! style="text-align:center;" | 100.00%
|}

The 2006 election brought no change in the pattern of Democratic dominance. After Democratic Senator [[Paul Sarbanes]] announced that he was retiring, Democratic Congressman [[Benjamin Cardin]] defeated Republican Lieutenant Governor [[Michael S. Steele]], with 55 percent of the vote, against Steele's 44 percent.

While Republicans typically win more counties in statewide elections by piling up large margins in the west and east, they are usually overcome by the densely populated and solidly Democratic Baltimore–Washington axis. In [[2008 United States presidential election in Maryland|2008]], for instance, McCain won 17 counties to Obama's six (plus Baltimore City). While McCain won most of the western and eastern counties by margins of 2-to-1 or more, he was almost completely shut out in the larger counties surrounding Baltimore and Washington; every large county except Anne Arundel went for Obama, who won by 25 points statewide.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/individual/#mapPMD Local and National Election Results—Election Center 2008—Elections & Politics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081107105721/http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/individual/#mapPMD |date=November 7, 2008 }}. CNN.com. Retrieved on July 12, 2013.</ref>

From 2007 to 2011, U.S. Congressman [[Steny Hoyer]] ([[Maryland's 5th congressional district|MD-5]]), a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], was elected as [[Majority Leader]] for the [[110th United States Congress|110th Congress]] and [[111th United States Congress|111th Congress]] of the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]], serving in that post again from 2019 to 2023. In addition, Hoyer served as House Minority Whip from 2003 to 2006 and 2012 to 2018. His district covers parts of [[Anne Arundel County, Maryland|Anne Arundel]] and [[Prince George's County, Maryland|Prince George's]] counties, in addition to all of [[Charles County, Maryland|Charles]], [[Calvert County, Maryland|Calvert]], and [[Saint Mary's County, Maryland|St. Mary's]] counties in [[southern Maryland]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Steny Hoyer |title=Congressman Steny Hoyer |access-date=February 19, 2020 |url=https://hoyer.house.gov |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160907002807/https://hoyer.house.gov/ |archive-date=September 7, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2010, Republicans won control of most counties. The Democratic Party remained in control of eight county governments, including that of [[Baltimore]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Official Gubernatorial General Election results for Maryland|url=http://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2010/results/Primary/index.html|website=The State Board of Elections|publisher=State of Maryland|access-date=September 29, 2016|archive-date=October 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018073309/http://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2010/results/Primary/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In [[2022 Maryland gubernatorial election|2022]], [[Wes Moore]] replaced Republican [[Larry Hogan]], who did not run for re-election due to term limits. Moore is the first African-American elected Governor of Maryland, and the fifth African-American governor in American history.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Daniels |first=Cheyanne M. |date=January 18, 2023 |title=Fast-rising Dem star Wes Moore to be inaugurated Wednesday |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3816805-fast-rising-dem-star-wes-moore-to-be-inaugurated-wednesday/ |access-date=January 18, 2023 |website=The Hill |language=en-US |archive-date=January 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118134414/https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3816805-fast-rising-dem-star-wes-moore-to-be-inaugurated-wednesday/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Media==
A well-known newspaper in Maryland is ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0714.html|title=Bluesheets: (Baltimore) The Sun|publisher=Thomson Reuters|access-date=May 28, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710122729/http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0714.html|archive-date=July 10, 2011|date=September 1, 2005|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Many residents of the [[Washington metropolitan area]] receive ''[[The Washington Post]].''<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Washington Post |url=https://ballotpedia.org/The_Washington_Post |access-date=March 5, 2025 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}</ref>

The most populous areas are served by either [[Baltimore]] or [[Washington, D.C.]] broadcast stations. The Eastern Shore is served primarily by [[broadcasting|broadcast media]] based around the [[Delmarva Peninsula]]; the northeastern section receives both Baltimore and [[Philadelphia]] stations. [[Garrett County, Maryland|Garrett County]], which is mountainous, is served by stations from [[Pittsburgh]], and requires cable or satellite for reception. Maryland is served by statewide [[PBS]] member station [[Maryland Public Television]] (MPT).<ref>{{cite web |title=About MPT |url=https://www.mpt.org/about/#:~:text=Maryland%20Public%20Television%3A%20MPT&text=MPT%20is%20Maryland's%20only%20statewide,TV%20programs%20and%20digital%20content. |website=Maryland Public Television |access-date=January 23, 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

==Education==
===Primary and secondary education===
{{See also|List of school districts in Maryland|List of high schools in Maryland|Arts and culture of Maryland}}
[[File:Memorial Chapel at UMCP, front view off-center, August 21, 2006.jpg|thumb|Memorial Chapel at the [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]], Maryland's flagship university]]
[[File:UMBC Commons and Quad.jpg|thumb|[[University of Maryland, Baltimore County]]]]
''Education Week'' ranked Maryland #1 in its nationwide 2009–2013 Quality Counts reports.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://epe.brightspotcdn.com/8b/1f/c6947656463c895d5a67a45b83ca/16shr.md.h32.pdf#page=4 |year=2013 |journal=Education Week |title=Quality Counts – Maryland – State Highlights 2013 |page=4 |access-date=September 15, 2023 |archive-date=December 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225061056/https://epe.brightspotcdn.com/8b/1f/c6947656463c895d5a67a45b83ca/16shr.md.h32.pdf#page=4 |url-status=live }}</ref> Primary and secondary education in Maryland is overseen by the [[Maryland State Department of Education]], which is headquartered in [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]].<ref>{{usurped|1=[http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/aboutmsde/department_info.htm "About MSDE"]}}. ''[[Maryland State Department of Education]]''. Retrieved on March 22, 2009.</ref> The highest educational official in the state is the [[Superintendent (education)|State Superintendent of Schools]], who is appointed by the [[Board of education|State Board of Education]] to a four-year term of office. The Maryland General Assembly has given the Superintendent and State Board autonomy to make educationally related decisions, limiting its influence on the day-to-day functions of public education. Each county and county-equivalent in Maryland has a [[List of school districts in Maryland|local Board of Education]] charged with running the public schools in that particular jurisdiction.

The budget for education was $5.5{{spaces}}billion in 2009, representing about 40 percent of the state's general fund.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/10302009/poliedi181547_32521.shtml |title=Slicing education? |access-date=November 12, 2009 |date=October 30, 2009 |website=gazette.net |publisher=The Gazette |page=A-9 |quote=As it stands, the $5.5 billion Maryland spends on education makes up about 40 percent of the general fund budget. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904001117/http://www.gazette.net/stories/10302009/poliedi181547_32521.shtml |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Data from the 2017 census shows that, among large school districts, four Maryland districts are in the top six for per-pupil annual spending, exceeded only by the Boston and New York City districts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2019/comm/largest-school-districts.html|title=Top 10 Largest School Districts by Enrollment and Per Pupil Current Spending|date=January 31, 2022|website=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 31, 2022|archive-date=January 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127021133/https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2019/comm/largest-school-districts.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Maryland has a broad range of private primary and secondary schools. Many of these are affiliated with various religious sects, including [[parochial schools]] of the [[Catholic Church]], [[Quaker]] schools, [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventist]] schools, and [[Judaism|Jewish]] schools. In 2003, Maryland law was changed to allow for the creation of publicly funded charter schools, although the charter schools must be approved by their local Board of Education and are not exempt from state laws on education, including collective bargaining laws.

In 2008, the state led the entire country in the percentage of students passing [[Advanced Placement]] examinations. 23.4 percent of students earned passing grades on the AP tests given in May 2008. This marks the first year that Maryland earned this honor.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/04/AR2009020401459.html|title=Md. Leads U.S. in Passing Rates on AP Exams|last=de Vise|first=Daniel|date=February 5, 2009|newspaper=Washington Post|pages=B1|access-date=February 18, 2009|archive-date=November 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113095209/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/04/AR2009020401459.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Three Maryland high schools (in Montgomery County) were ranked among the top 100 in the country by US News in 2009, based in large part on AP test scores.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2008/12/04/best-high-schools-gold-medal-list.html?PageNr=1 |title=Best High Schools: Gold Medal List |website=usnews.com |publisher=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |access-date=November 7, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506130950/http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2008/12/04/best-high-schools-gold-medal-list.html?PageNr=1 |archive-date=May 6, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Colleges and universities===

{{See also|List of colleges and universities in Maryland}}

Maryland has several historic and renowned private colleges and universities, the most prominent of which is [[Johns Hopkins University]], founded in 1876 with a grant from Baltimore entrepreneur [[Johns Hopkins]].

The first public university in the state is the [[University of Maryland, Baltimore]], which was founded in 1807 and contains the University of Maryland's only public academic [[University of Maryland School of Medicine|health]], human services, and one of two [[University of Maryland School of Law|law centers]] (the other being the [[University of Baltimore School of Law]]). Seven professional and graduate schools train the majority of the state's physicians, nurses, dentists, lawyers, social workers, and pharmacists.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.umaryland.edu/about-umb/umb-fast-facts/ |publisher=University of Maryland, Baltimore |title=UMB Fast Facts |access-date=May 21, 2017 |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525202958/http://www.umaryland.edu/about-umb/umb-fast-facts/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The flagship university and largest undergraduate institution in Maryland is the [[University of Maryland, College Park]] which was founded as the Maryland Agricultural College in 1856 and became a public [[land grant college]] in 1864. [[Towson University]], founded in 1866, is the state's second largest university.

In 1974, Maryland, along with seven other states, mainly in the South, submitted plans to desegregate its state universities; Maryland's plans were approved by the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.<ref>[https://www.jbhe.com/chronology/ "JBHE Chronology of Major Landmarks in the Progress of African Americans in Higher Education"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401010424/https://www.jbhe.com/chronology/ |date=April 1, 2019 }}, JBHE.</ref>

Baltimore is home to the [[University of Maryland, Baltimore County]] and the [[Maryland Institute College of Art]]. The majority of public universities in the state (Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Frostburg State University, Salisbury University and the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore) are affiliated with the [[University System of Maryland]]. Two state-funded institutions, [[Morgan State University]] and [[St. Mary's College of Maryland]], as well as two federally funded institutions, the [[Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences]] and the [[United States Naval Academy]], are not affiliated with the University System of Maryland. The [[University of Maryland Global Campus]] is the largest public university in Maryland<ref>{{Cite web|title=Education Viewpoint: This pandemic puts online education in the spotlight|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2020/04/08/viewpoint-this-pandemic-puts-online-education-in.html|last=Miyares|first=Javier|date=April 8, 2020|website=Baltimore Business Journal|access-date=May 16, 2020|archive-date=February 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220153957/https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2020/04/08/viewpoint-this-pandemic-puts-online-education-in.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and one of the largest distance-learning institutions in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Coronavirus accelerates higher education's trend toward distance learning|url=https://hechingerreport.org/coronavirus-accelerates-higher-educations-trend-toward-distance-learning/|last=D'Amato|first=Pete|date=May 1, 2020|website=The Hechinger Report|access-date=May 16, 2020|archive-date=May 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516215547/https://hechingerreport.org/coronavirus-accelerates-higher-educations-trend-toward-distance-learning/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe)|St. John's College]] in [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]] and [[Washington College]] in [[Chestertown, Maryland|Chestertown]], both private institutions, are the oldest colleges in the state and among the oldest in the country. Other private institutions include [[Mount St. Mary's University]], [[McDaniel College]] (formerly known as Western Maryland College), [[Hood College]], [[Stevenson University]] (formerly known as Villa Julie College), [[Loyola University Maryland]], and [[Goucher College]], among others.

=== Education assessments and impact ===
There are several state-level assessments which are used to characterize schools and changes in their educational efficacy.  The annual Maryland School Report Card which scores districts and individual schools based on graduation rates, attendance information and academic achievement among other factors.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Frances |first=Esther |date=November 5, 2025 |title=FCPS sees increase in academic achievement, third grade literacy |work=[[The Frederick News-Post]] |pages=A3 |type=Paper copy |volume=143 |issue=19}}</ref>  The Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) is an assessment of individual students in English and math, beginning in the 3rd grade.<ref name=":5" />  As of 2027, the MCAP will begin to be used to determine whether 3rd grade students would need to repeat the grade level or could proceed to the 4th grade.<ref name=":5" />

===Public libraries===

Maryland's 24 public library systems deliver public education for everyone in the state of Maryland through a curriculum that comprises three pillars: Self-Directed Education (books and materials in all formats, e-resources), Research Assistance & Instruction (individualized research assistance, classes for students of all ages), and Instructive & Enlightening Experiences (e.g., Summer Reading Clubs, author events).

Maryland's library systems include, in part:
* [[Anne Arundel County Public Library]]
* [[Baltimore County Public Library]]
* [[Cecil County Public Library]]
* [[Enoch Pratt Free Library]]
* Frederick County Public Library
* [[Harford County Public Library]]
* [[Howard County Public Library]]
* [[Montgomery County Public Libraries]]
* [[Prince George's County Memorial Library System]]
* St. Mary's County Public Library<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cosmos.somd.lib.md.us/|title=Home|access-date=November 14, 2016|archive-date=November 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115131855/https://cosmos.somd.lib.md.us/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Many of the library systems have established formalized partnerships with other educational institutions in their counties and regions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imls.gov/grants/grants-state/state-profiles/maryland|title=Institute of Museum and Library Services—Maryland State Profile|website=IMLS|access-date=February 26, 2019|archive-date=February 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227060812/https://www.imls.gov/grants/grants-state/state-profiles/maryland|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Sports==
{{See also|Sports in Maryland|List of people from Maryland#Athletes}}
[[File:CamdenYards 2005-05-08.jpg|thumb|[[Oriole Park at Camden Yards]], home of the [[Baltimore Orioles]]]]
[[File:M&T Bank Stadium DoD.jpg|thumb|[[M&T Bank Stadium]], home of the [[Baltimore Ravens]]]]
With two major metropolitan areas, Maryland has a number of major and minor professional sports franchises. Two [[National Football League]] teams play in Maryland, the [[Baltimore Ravens]] in [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]] and the [[Washington Commanders]] in [[Landover, Maryland|Landover]]. The [[History of the Baltimore Colts|Baltimore Colts]] represented the NFL in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983 before moving to [[Indianapolis]].

The [[Baltimore Orioles]] are the state's [[Major League Baseball]] franchise. The [[National Hockey League]]'s [[Washington Capitals]] and the [[National Basketball Association]]'s [[Washington Wizards]] formerly played in Maryland, until the construction of an arena in Washington, D.C. in 1997 (now known as [[Capital One Arena]]). [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]]'s team is the [[Maryland Terrapins]].

Maryland enjoys considerable historical repute for the talented sports players of its past, including [[Cal Ripken Jr.]] and [[Babe Ruth]]. In 2012, ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'' published a list of Maryland's top ten athletes in the state's history. The list includes Babe Ruth, Cal Ripken Jr, [[Johnny Unitas]], [[Brooks Robinson]], [[Frank Robinson]], [[Ray Lewis]], [[Michael Phelps]], [[Jimmie Foxx]], [[Jim Parker (American football)|Jim Parker]], and [[Wes Unseld]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Top 10 Maryland athletes in The Sun's 175-year history|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-top-175-top-10-story-gallery,0,2436595.storygallery|newspaper=Baltimore Sun|date=May 16, 2012|access-date=March 16, 2013|archive-date=January 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120112259/http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-top-175-top-10-story-gallery,0,2436595.storygallery|url-status=deviated}}</ref>

Other professional sports franchises in the state include three affiliated [[minor league baseball]] teams, one [[independent league baseball]] team, the [[Baltimore Blast (current)|Baltimore Blast]] indoor soccer team, two indoor football teams and three low-level outdoor soccer teams. Maryland is also home to one of the three races in horse racing's annual Triple Crown, the [[Preakness Stakes]], which is run every spring at [[Pimlico Race Course]] in Baltimore. [[Baltimore Stallions|The Baltimore Stallions]] were a Canadian Football Team in the [[Canadian Football League|CFL]] that played the 1994–95 season.

[[Congressional Country Club]] has hosted three golf tournaments for the [[U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Open]] and a [[PGA Championship]].

The official state sport of Maryland, since 1962, is [[jousting]]; the official team sport since 2004 is [[lacrosse]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/sport.html |title=State Symbols |access-date=December 6, 2007 |publisher=Maryland State Archives |archive-date=May 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527151933/http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/sport.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[National Lacrosse Hall of Fame]] is located in [[Sparks, Maryland]] at the [[US Lacrosse|USA Lacrosse]] headquarters. In 2008, intending to promote physical fitness for all ages, [[Walking#Leisure activity|walking]] became the official state exercise. Maryland is the first state with an official state exercise.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.journalism.umd.edu/cns/wire/2008-editions/09-September-editions/080930-Tuesday/WalkingState_CNS-UMCP.html |title=State Symbols: Marylanders take a walk, and eat cake too |publisher=Journalism.umd.edu |date=September 30, 2008 |access-date=September 28, 2013 |archive-date=September 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130928143050/http://www.journalism.umd.edu/cns/wire/2008-editions/09-September-editions/080930-Tuesday/WalkingState_CNS-UMCP.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Friendship partners ==
Maryland  has relationships with many provinces, states, and other administrative divisions worldwide.

* {{flagicon|Liberia}} [[Bong County|Bong]] and [[Maryland County|Maryland Counties]], in [[Liberia]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.marylandsisterstates.org/about-bong-county-maryland-county-liberia/ |title=Bong County & Maryland County, Liberia |website=Maryland Sister States |access-date=September 4, 2021 |archive-date=September 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904145146/https://www.marylandsisterstates.org/about-bong-county-maryland-county-liberia/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* {{flagicon|Mexico}} [[Jalisco]], [[Mexico]] (1996)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.marylandsisterstates.org/about-state-of-jalisco-mexico |title=State of Jalisco, Mexico |website=Maryland Sister States |access-date=September 4, 2021 |archive-date=September 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903140450/https://www.marylandsisterstates.org/about-state-of-jalisco-mexico/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* {{flagicon|Nigeria}} [[Cross River State|Cross River]] and [[Ondo State]]s, [[Nigeria]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.marylandsisterstates.org/about-cross-river-state-nigeria/ |title=Cross River State, Nigeria |website=Maryland Sister States |access-date=September 4, 2021 |archive-date=September 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918045936/https://www.marylandsisterstates.org/about-cross-river-state-nigeria/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.marylandsisterstates.org/about-ondo-state-nigeria/ |title=Ondo State, Nigeria |website=Maryland Sister States |access-date=September 4, 2021 |archive-date=September 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918043006/https://www.marylandsisterstates.org/about-ondo-state-nigeria/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* {{flagicon|South Africa}} [[KwaZulu-Natal]], [[South Africa]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.marylandsisterstates.org/kwazulu-natal-south-africa/ |title=Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa |website=Maryland Sister States |access-date=September 4, 2021 |archive-date=September 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904145139/https://www.marylandsisterstates.org/kwazulu-natal-south-africa/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* {{flagicon|Indonesia}} [[Medan Marelan]], [[Indonesia]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://net24jam.id/ternyata-ini-asal-usul-marelan-salah-satu-kecamatan-di-kota-medan/ |title=It turns out that this is the origin of Marelan, one of the sub-districts in Medan City |website=Net24jam.id |access-date=October 10, 2022 |archive-date=October 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022213147/https://net24jam.id/ternyata-ini-asal-usul-marelan-salah-satu-kecamatan-di-kota-medan/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Maryland|United States}}
* [[Index of Maryland-related articles]]
* [[Outline of Maryland]]
* [[List of people from Maryland]]
* [[USS Maryland|USS ''Maryland'']], 4 ships

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book|title=Maryland, A Middle Temperament: 1634–1980 |last=Brugger |first=Robert J. |year=1988 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore |isbn=978-0-8018-5465-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fNspu2FxwUwC&pg=PP1}}
* {{Cite book|title=Maryland: A History of its People |last=Chappelle |first=Susan Ellery Green|year=1986 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore |isbn=978-0-8018-3005-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zw87C-gF8GgC&pg=PP1|display-authors=etal}}
* Davis, William Wilkins. ''Religion and Politics in Maryland on the Eve of the Civil War: The Letters of W. Wilkins Davis''. Foreword by Charles W. Mitchell. 1988; rev. ed., Eugene, Ore.: Wipf & Stock, 2009.
* {{Cite book|title=A Southern Star for Maryland |last=Denton |first=Lawrence M.|year=1995 |publisher=Publishing Concepts |location=Baltimore |isbn=978-0-9635159-3-3 }}
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QEALLg_Yo0wC&pg=PA5 |page=5 |title=My First Pocket Guide About Maryland |first=Carole |last=Marsh |publisher=Gallopade International |year=2011 |isbn=9780635086280 }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|voy=Maryland}}

* {{Official website|1=https://www.maryland.gov/Pages/default.aspx?jse=0}}
* [http://www.visitmaryland.org/ Maryland Office of Tourism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105205944/http://visitmaryland.org/ |date=January 5, 2009 }}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20101229213555/http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=MD Energy Data & Statistics for Maryland]}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070219020312/http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=MD USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Maryland]}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120111154525/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/24000.html U.S. Census Bureau]}}
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09755b.htm Catholic Encyclopedia article] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612165717/http://newadvent.org/cathen/09755b.htm |date=June 12, 2010 }}
* [http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=24&StateName=Maryland#.U8A5S_ldUeo Maryland State Facts from USDA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160824212759/http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=24&StateName=Maryland#.U8A5S_ldUeo |date=August 24, 2016 }}
* {{OSM relation|162112}}
* [http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/maps/carto/html/carto_h.html Maryland State Archives: Special Collections, Map Collections] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110160015/https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/maps/carto/html/carto_h.html |date=November 10, 2018 }}
* [http://www.mdhs.org/library/research-resources/county-maps Maryland Historical Society: County Maps] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719235924/https://www.mdhs.org/library/research-resources/county-maps |date=July 19, 2020 }}
* [http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/1399/carto/html/hopkins.html The Huntingfield Map Collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630123831/https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/1399/carto/html/hopkins.html |date=June 30, 2020 }}
* [https://guides.loc.gov/maryland-state-guide Maryland: State Resource Guide, from the Library of Congress] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419133131/https://guides.loc.gov/maryland-state-guide |date=April 19, 2023 }}

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{{s-ttl|title=[[List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union]]|years=Ratified [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] on April 28, 1788 (7th)}}
{{s-aft|after=[[South Carolina]]}}
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{{Maryland|expanded}}
{{Northeast US}}
{{Southern United States}}
{{Thirteen Colonies}}
{{United States political divisions}}
{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Maryland| ]]
[[Category:1788 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Contiguous United States]]
[[Category:Mid-Atlantic states]]
[[Category:Northeastern United States]]
[[Category:Southern United States]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1788]]
[[Category:States of the East Coast of the United States]]
[[Category:States of the United States]]