Maryland, My Maryland

The Balmer Sun admits Rising costs push thousands of Marylanders to other states

Maryland is facing a widening gap between what it costs to live here and what many residents — especially seniors and middle-class families — can afford. With the state short roughly 100,000 homes and needing hundreds of thousands more in the coming decades, limited supply is driving up prices. At the same time, rising taxes, utilities and everyday expenses are adding pressure. The result is a growing outflow of residents to other states, as Maryland continues to lose taxpayers it needs to sustain its economy.
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As housing, utilities and other expenses increase, more people are weighing whether they can afford to stay.

An October 2025 report from Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman described the situation as a “housing crisis,” finding the state is currently short about 100,000 housing units.
And the gap is expected to widen significantly. To keep up with projected population growth and demand, Maryland will need to build nearly 600,000 additional housing units by 2045. That means the state is not only behind but will need to add hundreds of thousands of homes in the coming decades just to keep pace.

Housing supply and demand play a key role in pricing, and a shortage can drive up costs for buyers and renters alike. As a result, some residents, particularly younger and middle-class families, are leaving in search of more affordable options. Maryland lost 127,000 residents to other states between 2021 and 2023. And more than 18,000 left Maryland from July 2023 to July 2024, according to the comptroller’s report. Popular destinations include Florida, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

We're not planning to move. We own our house outright. The taxes are high but doable, and in a pinkish county, it's not too onerous politically. However, we do know several families that have moved to the Carolinas or Florida, or even Virginia, and a least a couple that have moved to Costa Rica.