The 10 Poorest Cities In Maryland For 2024


The poorest places in Maryland are Frostburg and Cambridge for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Like all states, Maryland has certain places that are going on hard times. These Maryland places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.

Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in Maryland.

To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 43 cities in Maryland with more than 5,000 people.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


Poorest Places In Maryland Map

What’s the poorest city in Maryland? According to the facts, Frostburg is the poorest place in Maryland for 2024.

This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.

For more Maryland reading, check out:

The 10 Poorest Cities In Maryland For 2024

1. Frostburg

Frostburg, MD

Source: Wikipedia User Lee Cannon from Bayville aka West Fenwick, DE, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 7,118
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Income: $44,658 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 28.9% (highest)
People In Poverty: 2,056
More on Frostburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Frostburg, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Maryland thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.

The city of 7,118 people averages the 3rd lowest median household income in Maryland and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.

2. Cambridge

Cambridge, MD

Source: Wikipedia User FlickreviewR | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 13,058
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Income: $44,114 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 22.2% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,905
More on Cambridge: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

The second poorest city in Maryland is Cambridge.

The city ranks as having the 5th highest incidence of poverty and 2nd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 10th highest in the Old Line State.

3. Salisbury

Salisbury, MD

Source: Wikipedia User Eric Fischer | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 32,960
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Income: $53,309 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 23.5% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 7,755
More on Salisbury: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Placing as the third poorest city, Salisbury’s median income ranks as the 6th lowest.

And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 23.53% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.

But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Old Line State.

4. Hagerstown

Hagerstown, MD

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 43,374
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 3)
Median Income: $48,481 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 22.9% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 9,915
More on Hagerstown: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Hagerstown ranks as the fourth poorest place in Maryland.

The town ranks as having the 5th lowest median household income and the 4th highest incidence of poverty in the state.

That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.

5. Cumberland

Cumberland, MD

Source: Wikipedia User 0915426A | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 19,041
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Median Income: $45,915 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.8% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 4,150
More on Cumberland: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

The fifth poorest city in Maryland is Cumberland.

The city ranks as having the 4th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 6th highest in Maryland.

Still not the best news for Cumberland.

6. Cheste

Source: Public Domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 5,522
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Median Income: $43,980 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 16.2% (10th highest)
People In Poverty: 896
More on Cheste: Data

Cheste ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Old Line State.

It ranks as having the 10th highest incidence of poverty and the 30th highest unemployment rate.

7. Baltimore

Baltimore, MD

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 584,548
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $58,349 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 19.6% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 114,396
More on Baltimore: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Baltimore places as the seventh poorest city in Maryland.

The city of over 584,548 ranks as having the 7th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.

8. Elkton

Elkton, MD

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 15,830
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Median Income: $58,593 (8th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 16.6% (9th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,619
More on Elkton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Elkton ranks as the eighth poorest city in Maryland.

The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.

9. College Park

College Park, MD

Source: Wikipedia User User:Tomf688 | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 34,416
Rank Last Year: 9 (No Change)
Median Income: $76,973 (18th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 27.8% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 9,567
More on College Park: Data | Cost Of Living

College Park couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Maryland; it ranks number 9.

While the median income is the 18th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, College Park ranks as having the 2nd most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Maryland.

10. Bel Air

Bel Air, MD

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 10,630
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 1)
Median Income: $66,950 (13th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 17.9% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,899
More on Bel Air: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Maryland is Bel Air.

The city of 10,630 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Old Line State.

Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Maryland for 2024

The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.

However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2018-2022 American Community Survey:

  • Poverty Level
  • Median Household Income

After we collected the data for all 43 places with more than 5,000 people in Maryland, we ranked each place from 1 to 43 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.

We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Frostburg, crowned the “Poorest Place In Maryland For 2024”.

This report has been updated for 2024, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in Maryland.

Summary: The Poorest Cities In Maryland For 2024

Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Maryland, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Maryland.

When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.

If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Maryland, according to data:

    Richest: Poolesville
    2nd Richest: Walkersville
    3rd Richest: Mount Airy

For more Maryland reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Maryland

Rank City Population Poverty Rate Median Income People In Poverty
1 Frostburg 7,118 28.9% $44,658 2,056
2 Cambridge 13,058 22.2% $44,114 2,905
3 Salisbury 32,960 23.5% $53,309 7,755
4 Hagerstown 43,374 22.9% $48,481 9,915
5 Cumberland 19,041 21.8% $45,915 4,150
6 Cheste 5,522 16.2% $43,980 896
7 Baltimore 584,548 19.6% $58,349 114,396
8 Elkton 15,830 16.6% $58,593 2,619
9 College Park 34,416 27.8% $76,973 9,567
10 Bel Air 10,630 17.9% $66,950 1,899
11 Fruitland 5,603 14.0% $61,205 784
12 Westminster 20,099 12.2% $71,286 2,460
13 Aberdeen 16,422 13.1% $74,555 2,146
14 Easton 17,118 11.5% $75,198 1,971
15 District Heights 5,905 16.1% $84,929 947
16 Greenbelt 24,646 14.5% $82,019 3,583
17 Taneytown 7,234 10.7% $78,333 771
18 Ocean City 6,879 8.8% $62,401 604
19 Bladensburg 9,574 7.6% $58,619 725
20 Mount Rainier 8,262 7.2% $64,170 591
21 Berlin 5,056 9.3% $80,465 470
22 Frederick 78,390 9.8% $89,981 7,690
23 Laurel 29,581 10.6% $92,035 3,132
24 Riverdale Park 7,284 13.7% $105,250 997
25 Thurmont 6,313 9.1% $88,243 573
26 Annapolis 40,719 10.6% $97,219 4,324
27 Havre de Grace 14,743 10.2% $95,025 1,502
28 New Carrollton 13,580 6.3% $76,386 862
29 Hyattsville 20,851 8.5% $90,329 1,766
30 Takoma Park 17,542 9.0% $95,316 1,575
31 Hampstead 6,278 6.6% $87,454 416
32 Gaithersburg 69,016 9.7% $104,544 6,666
33 Glenarden 6,335 6.2% $100,179 395
34 Manchester 5,403 6.3% $103,629 340
35 Rockville 67,142 8.3% $122,470 5,566
36 Brunswick 7,781 6.2% $104,700 480
37 La Plata 10,283 3.7% $117,065 383
38 Cheverly 6,132 5.4% $119,625 332
39 Chesapeake Beach 6,358 3.2% $130,175 200
40 Bowie 57,922 3.5% $138,797 1,998
41 Mount Airy 9,667 3.7% $148,779 354
42 Walkersville 6,239 1.1% $138,190 71
43 Poolesville 5,686 3.1% $215,025 177
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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