Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think what this post really demonstrates is that many Americans have very little understanding when it comes to the economic reality of Greater Baltimore. And the people who post on this website - we're talking about Americans who are supposedly more informed when it comes to cities/metro areas than the average bloke.
People see the median income for Greater Baltimore and lazily say, "oh, it HAS to be the trickle down effect from neighboring DC".
Rarely will you see someone from outside of the immediate region mention economic realities outside of DC that make Greater Baltimore one the of the most economically vibrant Metropolitan Areas in the United States - that would actually require a little bit of research.
Port of Baltimore
This one is pretty obvious - one of the nation's largest seaports alone generates over 100,000 direct/indirect jobs.
Johns Hopkins
The medical campus has historically and consistently been considered one the world's most innovative hospitals and is largely responsible for the Baltimore Metro Area receiving almost double the amount of NIH funding as the DC Metro Area. The University is arguable the most prestigious in the Baltimore/Washington CSA.
Financial Sector
Not nearly as prominent as it was in its heyday when Redwood Street was considered the "Wall Street of The South" - mergers bought out the city's largest banks. Despite this Baltimore is headquarters to some of nation's largest and most well respected financial services firms, namely Legg Mason & T. Rowe Price.
Private Sector Academia
Laureate Education's headquarters is based in Baltimore. There's speculation that the company will go public within a year or so.
Under Armour
Nike - we're coming for you. Also, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank is pushing the largest development project on the east coast - outside of Hudson Yards in Manhattan - in Port Covington at roughly 13,000,000 to 15,000,000 square feet. Port Covington will include a new world headquarters for Under Armour and roughly 14,000 new residential units.
Hunt Valley
Northern suburb of Baltimore home to McCormick & Company's world headquarters - one of the largest spice companies in the world. Also home to a large concentration of tech/computer companies, including Firaxis games who have developed the widely respected Civilization & XCOM computer game series.
Location of various North American Headquarters
Baltimore City serves as the North American Headquarters for international firms such as Pandora Jewelry & Transamerica.
"If Baltimore wasn't next to DC...blah blah blah"
If people are willing to use the "if Baltimore weren't next to DC" logic then I think it's fair game to say "if DC wasn't the nation's capital". Let's be honest, if DC weren't the nation's capital then it would still be swampland. With or without DC Baltimore still cracks the median income top ten guaranteed.
I think what this post really demonstrates is that many Americans have very little understanding when it comes to the economic reality of Greater Baltimore. And the people who post on this website - we're talking about Americans who are supposedly more informed when it comes to cities/metro areas than the average bloke.
People see the median income for Greater Baltimore and lazily say, "oh, it HAS to be the trickle down effect from neighboring DC".
Rarely will you see someone from outside of the immediate region mention economic realities outside of DC that make Greater Baltimore one the of the most economically vibrant Metropolitan Areas in the United States - that would actually require a little bit of research.
Port of Baltimore
This one is pretty obvious - one of the nation's largest seaports alone generates over 100,000 direct/indirect jobs.
Johns Hopkins
The medical campus has historically and consistently been considered one the world's most innovative hospitals and is largely responsible for the Baltimore Metro Area receiving almost double the amount of NIH funding as the DC Metro Area. The University is arguable the most prestigious in the Baltimore/Washington CSA.
Financial Sector
Not nearly as prominent as it was in its heyday when Redwood Street was considered the "Wall Street of The South" - mergers bought out the city's largest banks. Despite this Baltimore is headquarters to some of nation's largest and most well respected financial services firms, namely Legg Mason & T. Rowe Price.
Private Sector Academia
Laureate Education's headquarters is based in Baltimore. There's speculation that the company will go public within a year or so.
Under Armour
Nike - we're coming for you. Also, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank is pushing the largest development project on the east coast - outside of Hudson Yards in Manhattan - in Port Covington at roughly 13,000,000 to 15,000,000 square feet. Port Covington will include a new world headquarters for Under Armour and roughly 14,000 new residential units.
Hunt Valley
Northern suburb of Baltimore home to McCormick & Company's world headquarters - one of the largest spice companies in the world. Also home to a large concentration of tech/computer companies, including Firaxis games who have developed the widely respected Civilization & XCOM computer game series.
Location of various North American Headquarters
Baltimore City serves as the North American Headquarters for international firms such as Pandora Jewelry & Transamerica.
"If Baltimore wasn't next to DC...blah blah blah"
If people are willing to use the "if Baltimore weren't next to DC" logic then I think it's fair game to say "if DC wasn't the nation's capital". Let's be honest, if DC weren't the nation's capital then it would still be swampland. With or without DC Baltimore still cracks the median income top ten guaranteed.
*drops mic
Baltimore would be a solid performing without economic spillover from DC, but I contend that it wouldn't rank as high as it does without it. It is what it is, and it's really a good thing.
Florida cities are low because, in a macro sense, they are focused on low-end service industries and have a quite awful educational infrastructure. Basically, nothing nice is made or serviced in Florida, unless you count hotel poolboys, retail clerks, condo-brokers or DJs a things that add value. Cost of living is pretty much irrelevant.
Baltimore's MSA includes places which for all intensive purposes include DC suburbs. Case in point, Howard County. There is a bit of a halo effect in the southern suburban communities, as a result of DC, where in shares suburbs. So it is more or less an illusion. Baltimore itself is not that great.
About 101,370 federal employees in Maryland commute to Washington, according to 2010 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. And around 17,465 of them live in Baltimore and the surrounding counties exclusive of DC Metro area.
Here are Commuting Patterns of Maryland Residents and Workers by Workforce Region for Howard and Carroll Counties referred as "Mid-Maryland" in this Mid-Maryland WIA Report. It has commuting patterns for every MD county and include commuting patterns to/from DC and the MD counties of DC Metro. Data used to develop the Labor and Commuter Shed reports was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau LEHD Origin-Destination Employment statistics (LODES) database, and extracted through the Census Bureau's OnTheMap (OTM) application
Updated June 4, 2015
What I get from the data is that a good number of people that live in Howard and Carroll counties work in their respective counties while a good majority of them work in the Baltimore Metro Baltimore County, Baltimore City, including Howard and Carroll counties. While the DC Metro county of Montgomery employ more "mid-Maryland" residents there then the district itself.
That's because Montgomery County is a little easier to get to than DC so makes sense. Going from Columbia to Silver Spring or Rockville is MUCH easier than Columbia to DC.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
