news
Baltimore Economy by the Numbers: Job Growth Trails Region and Food Insecurity Rises
Metro figures for January 2026 and 2025 show employment 13,000 jobs below early 2020 levels alongside 58 percent food insecurity among Black residents.
How we reported this
Metro Baltimore recorded the slowest job growth in the Baltimore-Washington-Richmond region over the last five years and remains 0.9 percent below its early 2020 employment level, down about 13,000 jobs.
The figures arrive as the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area reports a population of 2.83 million and private-sector output above $51.9 billion, while ranking in the top four U.S. metros for affordability and higher pay. January 2026 data placed Baltimore GDP growth at 0.2 percent, ranked 392 out of 411 metropolitan statistical areas, and job growth at 0.5 percent, ranked 242 out of 411.
Payroll and Sector Declines
Payrolls across Baltimore's industrial base fell from mid-2025 peaks, including a 2 percent drop in government employment and declines exceeding 3 percent in manufacturing and transportation and utilities. The Baltimore-Columbia-Towson MSA recorded a 4.3 percent unemployment rate in early 2026, with the unemployment level at 64,300 and the Consumer Price Index for All Items at 336.347. Baltimore City's economy grew 5.9 percent annually in 2022, ranking eighth among large U.S. economies with at least $50 billion GDP and outpacing the U.S. average of 1.9 percent and Maryland's 1.6 percent. Gross Regional Product for Baltimore County reached $65.8 billion, second in Maryland behind Montgomery County, with a 9 percent rise in private establishments between the third quarter of 2023 and 2024.
Food Insecurity Data
In 2025 nearly 58 percent of Black Baltimore-area residents experienced food insecurity, the sharpest increase among demographic groups, while over half of food-insecure residents were classified as very food insecure. Major investment deals in the Baltimore region totaled $4.19 billion in 2023 and were expected to generate 22,000 jobs, with the number of deals in Baltimore City doubling between 2022 and 2023.
Local economic reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and city budget offices track these indicators on a quarterly basis. Residents and businesses can review the latest releases from the Baltimore City Bureau of the Budget and Management Research and the Greater Washington Partnership for updates on output and employment counts.