More Maryland residents are moving to Delaware for lower costs, tax relief<\/a><\/p>\nFor the Carey\u2019s, the decision came through utility increases and a series of bills that made them feel as though each year in Maryland required more money just to maintain the same life.<\/p>\n
Their move is part of a broader Spotlight on Maryland series examining why residents are leaving the state \u2013 and what Maryland stands to lose as middle-income families search elsewhere for affordability, space and financial breathing room.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had talked about it for months and months,\u201d Jasmine Carey said of moving to Florida. \u201cIt was a now or never type thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
At first glance, the Careys do not fit the image of a family being pushed out. Both have stable jobs. Their four children, ages 3 to 9, were born in Maryland. Both sets of grandparents live nearby.<\/p>\n
They built a life here.<\/p>\n
Since starting their family, the couple has purchased and renovated homes in Baltimore County, Glen Burnie, Pasadena and Linthicum, where they have spent the past six years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re sort of pros, I would say,\u201d Pat Carey said of moving.<\/p>\n
But over the last several years, Jasmine said the costs of everyday life have become increasingly difficult to manage.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery month or every year, cost of living is just going up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Conversations about leaving became increasingly common among friends and neighbors who share the same concerns.<\/p>\n
Their Baltimore Gas and Electric bills, once around $250 to $270 a month when they moved into the home six years ago, now regularly top $500.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not going down, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d Jasmine said.<\/p>\n
The housing market changed, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we bought this house six years ago, you could get in here for under $400,000,\u201d Pat said. \u201cNow it appears to be anywhere from $500,000 or more.\u201d<\/p>\n
A nearby home recently listed for roughly $600,000, he said. The Careys are preparing to sell theirs for about $500,000.<\/p>\n
Asked what Florida offers that Maryland does not, Jasmine answered quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSunshine. Better quality of life. The cost of living is just more affordable. Better school systems,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Why Florida made sense<\/p>\n
After comparing home prices and monthly expenses, the family concluded they could stretch their money significantly further in Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just feel like we\u2019re so tied down here with the cost of living in Maryland,\u201d Jasmine said. \u201cWe just will have more financial freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their new Florida home will have nearly 3,000 square feet, five bedrooms, three bathrooms and a pool. They purchased it for about $490,000.<\/p>\n
Their current Maryland home has roughly 2,200 square feet, four bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms \u2013 and no pool.<\/p>\n
Pat said the monthly Florida mortgage will be about $100 more per month than what they currently pay in Maryland– approximately $2,900 monthly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we can buy here in Maryland for X price and what we can buy in Florida is just night and day,\u201d Jasmine said.<\/p>\n
Asked whether they could afford a similar home in Maryland, she responded: \u201cDefinitely not. It would be maybe double the price.\u201d<\/p>\n
The move also comes with a salary increase for Pat and the financial advantage of Florida having no state income tax. Jasmine will continue working remotely.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just makes total sense for us to move to Florida,\u201d Pat said.<\/p>\n
Economist weighs in<\/p>\n
Still, an economist cautioned that affordability calculations can shift depending on the state.<\/p>\n
Daraius Irani, chief economist at Towson University, said families considering Florida should account for higher homeowners\u2019 insurance premiums driven by hurricane risk, along with more expensive auto insurance costs.<\/p>\n
According to Bankrate, Florida homeowners pay an average of $5,838 annually, compared with $1,751 in Maryland. Full-coverage auto insurance averages $3,884 in Florida versus $3,039 in Maryland.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore people on the roads, higher probability of accidents,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Pat said he is still working through what those costs will mean for his family.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do know they need to be accounted for,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Even so, the family believes the overall financial picture still favors leaving Maryland.<\/p>\n
Pat will earn more in his new position. Jasmine will keep her current job and work remotely. And the family will no longer pay state income tax.<\/p>\n
For them, more income and lower taxes make the move a financial win.<\/p>\n
What Maryland stands to lose<\/p>\n
The Carey family\u2019s move reflects a larger demographic challenge facing the state.<\/p>\n
Maryland has a shortage of roughly 100,000 homes, according to a 2025 report from the state comptroller\u2019s office, and high housing costs have contributed to the steady loss of residents to other states. They have often left for Florida, Delaware, Pennsylvania, the Carolinas and other states.<\/p>\n
More than 127,000 residents left Maryland between 2021 and 2023. Another 18,000 moved away between July 2023 and July 2024.<\/p>\n
While new residents continue arriving, Maryland has still experienced a net domestic outmigration loss. The comptroller reported the state \u201clost a total of 2.3 million residents to other states and gained an estimated 2 million residents from other states\u201d between 2010 and 2023.<\/p>\n
Maryland’s population growth has also been boosted by international migration.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut they might not be bringing is as much cash,\u201d Irani said.<\/p>\n
He said Maryland\u2019s challenge is not simply attracting residents \u2013 it is convincing people to stay.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe real struggle is to actually keep people here and grow,\u201d Irani said.<\/p>\n
From 2021 through 2024, Irani estimates Maryland lost roughly $385 million in tax revenue because of outmigration.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Maryland, the average household pays about $8,000 in state taxes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Irani said the amount may appear relatively small within Maryland\u2019s $70 billion budget, but those are discretionary dollars the state no longer has available for infrastructure projects, tax incentives and state park renovations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe state\u2019s ability to react to solve particular problems, to attract, to provide tax credits is being diminished by those households leaving,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In a few days, the Careys will move south.<\/p>\n
When they arrive in Florida, their real estate agent will hand them the keys to a new home with more bedrooms, more space and a backyard pool.<\/p>\n
What they are leaving behind is harder to measure: grandparents a short drive away, familiar neighborhoods, the state where they grew up and the place where all four of their children were born.<\/p>\n
But for the Careys, Maryland had begun to feel like a place where comfort increasingly came at a price they could no longer justify paying.<\/p>\n
Spotlight on Maryland is a collaboration between FOX45 News, WJLA in Washington, D.C., and The Baltimore Sun. Have a story tip? Email spotlightonmaryland@sbgtv.com or call 410-467-4670. Investigative reporter Tessa Bentulan can be reached at tbentulan@sbgtv.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MARYLAND (WBFF) \u2014 As movers carried mattresses, tables and taped cardboard boxes into a trailer parked outside his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270534,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-270533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}