CNBC’s latest ranking of state economies delivers a blunt national verdict on Maryland: we are the second-worst economy in the United States for 2026. Only Rhode Island ranks lower. Maryland received an F grade and a score of 143 out of 415 points in the Economy category of CNBC’s 20th annual America’s Top States for Business study.
Economic and job growth “nearly flatlined.” Real GDP growth in 2025 was a meager 0.7 percent. The Maryland Chamber of Commerce pointed to high costs, unpredictable taxes, and growing regulatory burdens. Governor Wes Moore himself highlighted the state’s deep dependence on the federal government, noting that roughly 25,000 federal jobs in Maryland were eliminated in the past year—the largest such cut of any state.
This is not an abstract national score. It is the measurable result of years of policy choices made in Annapolis under one-party Democratic control.
The Numbers Tell the Story
CNBC’s Economy ranking weighs job growth, overall economic growth, headquarters of major companies, fiscal health, housing market conditions, exposure to tariffs and federal budget shifts, and small-business survival. Maryland failed across the board on the growth metrics that matter most to working families and employers. The state has also layered on billions in new taxes and fees in recent years while pursuing an aggressive green energy agenda that has driven electricity costs sharply higher. Thirty percent of a typical electric bill now consists of taxes and surcharges.
Maryland Freedom Caucus Chair, Delegate Matt Morgan put it plainly:
CNBC just ranked Maryland the 2nd-worst economy in America for 2026.
The central-planning socialism of Moore and the Annapolis Democrats is a failure.
Billions in new taxes and fees, a green agenda that drove electric bills through the roof, and this is the result. Families and businesses are voting with their feet while one-party rule keeps raising costs and driving opportunity away.
This is what happens when politicians care more about expanding government and special interests than the kitchen-table reality facing Marylanders.
If you want a more balanced state government with actual diversity of thought and real economic growth, that starts with electing more Republicans this November.
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Vice Chair Delegate Kathy Szeliga sounded a similar alarm:
CNBC ranks Maryland’s economy second-worst in America, and Annapolis should be sounding the alarm.
Instead, Gov. Wes Moore is campaigning out of state while planning a special session to amend Maryland’s Constitution.
This is a Titanic moment. We are headed for an iceberg, and Wes Moore and the liberal leaders in Annapolis are busy conducting an orchestra instead of steering the ship away from danger.
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Energy Costs and Taxes Are Not Abstract
Maryland families and small businesses are living the ranking every month. Delegate Mark Fisher has repeatedly highlighted a basic fact that the governor refuses to address: roughly 30 percent of electricity bills are taxes. When the governor claims to be fighting high energy costs, Fisher’s response is direct:
30% of electricity bills are taxes. Why haven’t you eliminated them?
— @fisher4maryland
Voting With Their Feet
People and capital are leaving. Families cite taxes, fees, car registration costs, burdensome regulations, and a declining quality of life. Businesses face an unpredictable tax and regulatory environment. The CNBC ranking simply quantifies what many Marylanders already experience: opportunity is shrinking under the current policy mix of higher spending, higher taxes, heavier regulation, and an energy policy that prioritizes ideology over affordability and reliability.
Maryland’s overall ranking in CNBC’s broader Top States for Business study is 36th. The Economy category is where the damage is most severe—49th in the nation. That is not a media narrative. It is a national publication’s data-driven assessment.
A Clear Choice
The Maryland Freedom Caucus has consistently warned that endless tax-and-spend policies, regulatory expansion, and energy mandates would produce exactly this outcome. We have offered alternatives: real tax relief for working families, suspension of energy taxes and green surcharges that inflate utility bills, regulatory restraint, and a focus on growth rather than government expansion.
National rankings do not lie. Maryland’s economy is not struggling because of external forces alone. It is struggling because of deliberate policy choices made in Annapolis. The question now is whether voters will accept second-worst as the new normal, or demand a change of course.
The data is public. The consequences are being felt at kitchen tables across the state. The solution begins with electing leaders who treat economic growth as a priority rather than an afterthought.