Maryland

State symbols of Maryland

Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae
Gemstone	Patuxent River stone
Ship	Skipjack
Sport	Jousting Lacrosse
State route marker
State quarter
Released in 2000
Lists of United States state symbols

Maryland (US: /ˈmɛrɪlənd/ ^ⓘ MERR-il-ənd)^[b] is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.^[8][9] It borders Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to its east, and the national capital of Washington, D.C. to the southwest. With a total area of 12,407 square miles (32,130 km²), Maryland is the ninth-smallest state by land area,^[10] and its population of 6,177,224 ranks it the 19th-most populous state and the fifth-most densely populated. Maryland's capital is Annapolis, and the most populous city is Baltimore.^[11]

Maryland's coastline was first explored by Europeans in the 16th century. Prior to that, it was inhabited by several

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[update], Maryland had the

The western portion of the state contains stretches of the Appalachian Mountains, the central portion is primarily composed of the Piedmont, and the eastern side of the state makes up a significant portion of 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,^[19][11] 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.^[20] In a similar vein, Maryland's geography, culture, and history combine elements of the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, and Southern regions of the country.

What is now Maryland was originally inhabited by tribes such as the

The original capital of Maryland was St. Mary's City, on the north shore of the Potomac River, and the county surrounding it, the first erected/created in the province,^[24] was first called Augusta Carolina, after the King, and later named St. Mary's County.^[25]

Lord Baltimore's first settlers arrived in the new colony in March 1634, with his younger brother the Honorable

Maryland was founded to provide a haven for England's Roman Catholic minority.^[27] 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.^[28]

In 1642, a number of

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.^[28] 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

The royal charter granted Maryland the land north of the Potomac River up to the 40th parallel. A problem arose when Charles II granted a charter for Pennsylvania. The grant defined Pennsylvania's southern border as identical to Maryland's northern border, the 40th parallel. But the grant indicated that Charles II and William Penn assumed the 40th parallel would pass close to New Castle, Delaware when it falls north of Philadelphia, the site of which Penn had already selected for his colony'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.^[32] 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 Calvert family, which controlled Maryland, and the Penn family, which controlled Pennsylvania.^[32]

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.^[32]

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 a Transpeninsular Line and the Twelve-Mile Circle around New Castle.^[32]

Most of the English colonists arrived in Maryland as

Many of the free black families migrated to Delaware, where land was cheaper.[34] 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 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 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, sovereign and 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 for its creation. The land was provided along the north shore of the Potomac River from Montgomery and Prince George's counties, as well as from Fairfax County and 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.

Influenced by a changing economy, revolutionary ideals, and preaching by ministers, numerous planters in Maryland freed their slaves in the 20 years after the Revolutionary War. Across the Upper South the free black population increased from less than 1% before the war to 14% by 1810.^[35] Abolitionists Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass were born slaves during this time in Dorchester County and Talbot County, respectively.^[36][37]

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, was authorized in 1817 as the federal highway, and ran from Baltimore to St. Louis. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the first chartered railroad in the United States, opened its first section of track for regular operation in 1830 between Baltimore and Ellicott City,^[38] and in 1852 it became the first rail line to reach the Ohio River from the eastern seaboard.^[39]

The state remained in the Union during the

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 university, library system, music and dance conservatory, and art museum.

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.^[44]

The

The Progressive Era also brought reforms in working conditions for Maryland's labor force. In 1902, the state regulated conditions in

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 firefighters worked to bring the blaze under control.

With the nation's

After Georgia congressman William D. Upshaw criticized Maryland openly in 1923 for not passing 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.^[42][45]

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.^[46]

Passenger and freight steamboat service, once important throughout Chesapeake Bay and its many tributary rivers, ended in 1962.^[47]

Baltimore was a major war production center during World War II. The biggest operations were Bethlehem Steel's Fairfield Yard, which built Liberty ships; and 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

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, 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.

Maryland has an area of 12,406.68 square miles (32,133.2 km²) and is comparable in overall area with Belgium [11,787 square miles (30,530 km²)].^[49] It is the 42nd-largest and 9th-smallest state and is closest in size to the state of Hawaii [10,930.98 square miles (28,311.1 km²)], the next smallest state. The next largest state is Maryland's neighbor, West Virginia, which is nearly twice the size of Maryland [24,229.76 square miles (62,754.8 km²)].

Maryland possesses a variety of

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 and Prince George's counties and including 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.

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 (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 3,360 feet (1,020 m), is Hoye Crest on Backbone Mountain, in the southwest corner of 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, in western Maryland, about two-thirds of the way across the state, less than 2 miles (3.2 km) separates its borders,^[51] 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

Earthquakes in Maryland are infrequent and small due to the state's distance from seismic/earthquake zones.[53]^[54] The M5.8 Virginia earthquake in 2011 was felt moderately throughout Maryland. Buildings in the state are not well-designed for earthquakes and can suffer damage easily.^[55] As well as this, notably a M4.8 earthquake from Tewksbury in central New Jersey was felt slightly throughout Maryland.^[56]

Maryland has no natural lakes, mostly due to the lack of glacial history in the area.^[57] All lakes in the state today were constructed, mostly via dams.^[58] Buckel's Bog is believed by geologists to have been a remnant of a former natural lake.^[59]

Maryland has shale formations containing natural gas, where fracking is theoretically possible.^[60]

As is typical of states on the

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 black bears,^[67] bobcats,^[68] foxes, coyotes,^[69] raccoons, and otters.^[67]

There is a population of rare wild (feral) horses found on Assateague Island.^[70] They are believed to be descended from horses who escaped from Spanish galleon shipwrecks.^[70] 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.^[70] The ponies and their sale were popularized by the children's book, Misty of Chincoteague.

The purebred Chesapeake Bay Retriever dog was bred specifically for water sports, hunting and search and rescue in the Chesapeake area.^[71] In 1878, the Chesapeake Bay Retriever was the first individual retriever breed recognized by the American Kennel Club.^[71] and was later adopted by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County as their mascot.

Maryland's reptile and amphibian population includes the

The state insect is the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly, although it is not as common in Maryland as it is in the southern edge of its range.^[75]

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.^[76][77]

In 2007, Forbes.com rated Maryland as the fifth "Greenest" state in the country, behind three of the

In 2023, AES Corporation announced its intent to retire the 23-year-old 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.^[80]

Maryland has a wide array of climates, due to local variances in elevation, proximity to water, and protection from colder weather due to downslope winds. The eastern half of Maryland, which includes

The Piedmont region, which includes northern and western greater Baltimore, Westminster, Gaithersburg, Frederick, and Hagerstown, has average seasonal snowfall totals generally exceeding 20 inches (51 cm), and, as part of USDA Hardiness zones 7b and 7a,^[65] temperatures below 10 °F (−12 °C) 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 and Garrett counties, including the cities of Cumberland, Frostburg, and Oakland, display more characteristics of the humid continental zone, due in part to elevation. They fall under USDA Hardiness zones 6b and below.^[65]

Precipitation in the state is characteristic of the East Coast. Annual rainfall ranges from 35 to 45 inches (890 to 1,140 mm) with more in higher elevations. Nearly every part of Maryland receives 3.5–4.5 inches (89–114 mm) per month of rain. Average annual snowfall varies from 9 inches (23 cm) in the coastal areas to over 100 inches (250 cm) in the western mountains of the state.^[81]

Because of its location near the

Most of the population of Maryland lives in the central region of the state, in the

The Eastern Shore is less populous and more rural, as are the counties of western Maryland. The two westernmost counties of Maryland, Allegany and 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, Princess Anne, and Salisbury on the Eastern Shore and Cumberland, Frostburg, and 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, Prince Frederick, California, and Waldorf.^[93][94]

Largest cities or towns in Maryland 2020 U.S. Census populations
	Rank	Name	County	Pop.
Baltimore Columbia	1	Baltimore	Independent city	585,708	Germantown Waldorf
	2	Columbia	Howard	104,681
	3	Germantown	Montgomery	91,249
	4	Waldorf	Charles	81,410
	5	Silver Spring	Montgomery	81,015
	6	Frederick	Frederick	78,171
	7	Ellicott City	Howard	75,947
	8	Glen Burnie	Anne Arundel	72,891
	9	Gaithersburg	Montgomery	69,657
	10	Bethesda	Montgomery	68,056

In the

According to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 5,349 homeless people in Maryland.^[106][107]

As of 2011, 58.0 percent of Maryland's population younger than age 1 were minority background.^[108]

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.

Since 2016, data for births of White Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in one Hispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

Country of birth (2022)^[119][120]

Birthplace	Population
United States	4,999,873
El Salvador	105,778
India	60,535
China	43,499
Nigeria	39,185
Guatemala	38,222
Philippines	37,020
South Korea	34,091
Mexico	33,833
Ethiopia	28,554
Jamaica	26,068
Honduras	21,991
Cameroon	19,934
Vietnam	19,082
Peru	17,414
Pakistan	16,386
Ghana	14,722
Dominican Republic	13,880
Nepal	8,646-25,000[c]

As of 2016, the most spoken languages in Maryland other than English were Spanish (9%), Chinese (1.2%), West African languages (mostly Yoruba and Igbo, 1%), French (1%), Korean (0.7%), Afro-Asiatic languages (mostly Amharic, 0.6% and Arabic, 0.4%), and Tagalog (0.6%). Other languages with a large number of speakers in Maryland include Vietnamese (0.4%), Russian (0.4%), Hindi (0.3%), Urdu (0.3%), Persian (0.3%), Nepali (0.3%), Haitian Creole (0.2%), and Telugu (0.2%).^[122][123]

In 1970, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Maryland's population as 17.8 percent African-American and 80.4 percent non-Hispanic White.^[128]

In 2019, non-Hispanic white Americans were 49.8% of Maryland's population (White Americans, including White Hispanics, were 57.3%), which made Maryland a majority minority state.^[129] 50.2% of Maryland's population is non-white, or is Hispanic or Latino, the highest percentage of any state on the East Coast, and the highest percentage after the majority-minority states of Hawaii, New Mexico, Texas, California, Nevada, and Washington, D.C.^[130] By 2031, minorities are projected to become the majority of voting eligible residents of Maryland.^[131] 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.

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.[142]^[143]

Hispanic immigrants of the later 20th century have settled in

Attracting educated Asians and Africans to the professional jobs in the region, Maryland has the fifth-largest proportions of racial minorities in the country.[150]

In 2006, 645,744 were counted as foreign born, which represents mainly people from Latin America and Asia. About four percent are

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.[152]

Maryland has been historically prominent to

Per the Public Religion Research Institute in 2020, 61 percent of Maryland's population identified with Christianity.^[158] 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.

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. (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

In February 2010, Attorney General Doug Gansler issued an opinion stating that Maryland law should honor same-sex marriages from out of state. At the time, the state Supreme Court wrote a decision upholding marriage discrimination.^[152]

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.^[152] A January 2011 Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies poll showed 51% support for marriage in the state.^[160]

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.^[152] 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.^[152]

The

Maryland has large areas of fertile agricultural land in its coastal and

Maryland is home to defense contractor Emergent BioSolutions, which manufactures and provides an anthrax vaccine to U.S. government military personnel.^[179]

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

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%.^[181]

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.^[182] In 2014, it switched to a global budget revenue system, whereby hospitals receive a capitated payment to care for their population.^[182]

The Maryland Department of Transportation oversees most transportation in the state through its various administration-level agencies.^[183] The independent Maryland Transportation Authority maintains and operates the state's eight toll facilities.

Maryland's

Maryland's largest airport is

The Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. are also served by the other two airports in the region,

v t e Maryland passenger rail stations
Legend
Floridian to Chicago Cumberland Via West Virginia Brunswick Line to Martinsburg Northeast Corridor to Boston South Brunswick Perryville Point of Rocks Aberdeen Edgewood Frederick Martin Airport Monocacy Penn Station West Baltimore Dickerson Halethorpe Camden Station Barnesville BWI Airport Boyds St. Denis Dorsey Germantown Odenton Jessup Metropolitan Grove Savage Bowie State Gaithersburg Laurel Race Track Laurel Washington Grove Seabrook Muirkirk Rockville Greenbelt Garrett Park New Carrollton Kensington College Park Silver Spring Riverdale Brunswick Line to D.C. Floridian to Miami Washington, D.C. Penn Line and Amtrak to Washington, D.C.
Key Brunswick Line Camden Line Penn Line Amtrak

The MTA will also administer the Purple Line, an under-construction light rail line that will connect the Maryland branches of the Red, Green/Yellow, and Orange lines of the Washington Metro, as well as offer transfers to all three lines of the MARC commuter rail system.^[186][187]

The

The judicial branch of state government consists of one united District Court of Maryland that sits in every county and Baltimore City, as well as 24 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.^[190]

Maryland imposes five income tax brackets, ranging from 2 to 6.25 percent of personal income.^[191] 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.^[192]

Maryland's state sales tax is six percent.^[193] All real property in Maryland is subject to the property tax.^[194] 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.^[194] Property tax rates vary widely.^[194] 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.^[194]

Following the

In 1980, Maryland was one of six states to vote for Jimmy Carter. In 1992, Bill Clinton fared better in Maryland than any other state, except his home state of Arkansas. In 1996, Maryland was Clinton's sixth best; in 2000, Maryland ranked fourth for Gore; and in 2004, John Kerry showed his fifth-best performance in Maryland. In 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

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, 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.^[199]

From 2007 to 2011, U.S. Congressman

In 2010, Republicans won control of most counties. The Democratic Party remained in control of eight county governments, including that of Baltimore.^[201]

In 2022, Wes Moore became the first Democrat elected Governor of Maryland since 2010, replacing 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.^[202]

A well-known newspaper in Maryland is The Baltimore Sun.^[203] Many residents of the Washington metropolitan area receive The Washington Post.^{[citation needed]}

The most populous areas are served by either Baltimore or Washington, D.C. broadcast stations. The Eastern Shore is served primarily by broadcast media based around the Delmarva Peninsula; the northeastern section receives both Baltimore and Philadelphia stations. 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).^{[citation needed]}

Education Week ranked Maryland #1 in its nationwide 2009–2013 Quality Counts reports.

The budget for education was $5.5 billion in 2009, representing about 40 percent of the state's general fund.[206] 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.^[207]

Maryland has a broad range of private primary and secondary schools. Many of these are affiliated with various religious sects, including

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.^[208] 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.^[209]

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

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.[211]

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^[212] and one of the largest distance-learning institutions in the world.^[213]

St. John's College in Annapolis and Washington College in 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.

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^[214]

Many of the library systems have established formalized partnerships with other educational institutions in their counties and regions.^[215]

With two major metropolitan areas, Maryland has a number of major and minor professional sports franchises. Two

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'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, and Wes Unseld.^[216]

Other professional sports franchises in the state include three affiliated

Congressional Country Club has hosted three golf tournaments for the U.S. Open and a PGA Championship.

The official state sport of Maryland, since 1962, is

• Bong and Maryland Counties, in Liberia^[219]
• Jalisco, Mexico (1996)^[220]
• Cross River and Ondo States, Nigeria^[221][222]
• Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa^[223]
• Medan Marelan, Indonesia^[224]

• Index of Maryland-related articles
• Outline of Maryland
• List of people from Maryland
• USS Maryland, 4 ships