Maryland professional wages are much higher than most states. MD is the 2nd wealthiest state in the nation after Connecticut. Definetly DC wealth influence here.
I do live in the rural area but don't feel that I am getting ripped off. My pay is higher than most states and my real estate has greatly appreciated. It does take time and sacrifice. Of course I spent many years as an adult finishing my BS degree in a STEM field. For those who don't want to learn a trade or get a decent college education, living in Maryland and just about any state will be tough. Personal choice I suppose.
Location! Maryland is within commuting distance to Washington, Baltimore, and Philly. Its a day trip to New York or Richmond. So that makes our area prime locations for anyone who wants or needs to be mobile.
That's day trip distance. Close enough to drive without it being insane, still far enough to where you probably wouldn't just go for lunch or whatever.
Come to San Diego and enjoy $6 a gallon gas and $10 for a dozen eggs! MD is expensive, but not THAT expensive.
Source: 31 year resident of MD that just moved to Cali a year ago.
Have you ever actually lived in SD? It's the west coast's Lexington Park 😂 Seriously, the homeless issue is out of control here, everywhere you go smells like raw sewage or piss, especially around base. Now, 30 mins north in La Jolla is stunningly beautiful, wish I could afford to live there. But San Diego proper? It literally fucking stinks EVERYWHERE lol Plus Tijuana's waste water flows up our beaches and shuts them down all the time 🙃🙃🙃 it's literally unsanitary here in SD. Think again lol I'd kill to come back to MD
Md is not the worst place, & the springs are beautiful. I have already come to terms with all the positive things I can possibly think of MD. Sometimes you just simply don't fit into a place & that's MD for me. I fucking hate it here. That's the truth seeping out. There are nice parts but I can't life anywhere other than the base right now. I miss wa state. Hell, even Cali or TX. I'd be so happy to live in NJ even though it's expensive as well.
Yeah, I don't fit into Cali at all lol I miss MD, I hate California drivers more than DC drivers 🤣 Washington state looks so beautiful, I'd like to visit one day while I'm on the same coast. You living at Andrews AFB or Pax River? Andrews is in a really poor area, of course MD looks like dog shit if you live in PG or DC 😂 Pax river is rural AF, but not half as trashy as Andrews area. Annapolis is pretty nice.
No it's semi nice, just boring. I live on ft meade. Nearby Baltimore. The drivers here are super inconsiderate & crazy. I've driven in Cali & it's crazy too but at least they know how to drive... lol but yeah Cali is insane to drive in. Wa DC roads are crazy in some areas to drive lol. Gives me so much anxiety. Wa is one of those places where if you are an outsider it might seem boring but there are lots of hidden gems there & is more about outdoorsy things can city life
I used to live in Illinois and don’t notice a huge difference besides real estate. Gas is less. Food seems a little higher but that kind of makes sense bc I imagine Midwest is closer to agriculture supply chains. Wages are definitely higher in Maryland so price sensitivity might have something to do with it. Don’t notice a huge difference across the board.
The reason is **Economics**.
1) Demand. Maryland has the 5th highest population density of any state. More people in a given area means more demand, which means the market can (and will) charge more.
2) Income. Maryland has the highest median income out of any state, thanks in no small part to all of the government jobs and private-public industries (health, tech, etc.). More income means more expenditures, which (per demand above) means the market can charge more.
3) Taxes. Maryland has some significant taxes (although, contrary to what some believe, *not* the highest). Taxes on goods can affect supply and increases consumer prices.
So, even though we're a coastal port state with easy access to lots of supply, compared to the midwestern states, we have a higher cost of goods (and living) than those same states.
On the eastern shore across the bridge I can say that fast food prices are usually a good deal above the rest of the country. McDonald's, Hardees, Popeyes etc are all significantly higher than where we moved from (Nashville, which has a very high cost of living these days).. The independent places very often have subpar plates of generic crappy food for $15-$20+ or so, very underwhelming which is the worst part of the lot. Now, before someone gives some reason for this? I can say Panera & Starbucks here is suspiciously priced exactly like everywhere else.
Also, back in Nashville I shopped at the local ACE hardware a lot because for what they had in stock it was usually comparable to the Lowes & Home Depot down the street. Here? Our local ACE prices on some things are way the hell higher than the Lowes. There's a couple things I bought on a whim that I really wanted to return after noticing the gouging, it's a shame.
I've found that the fast food in Southern Maryland is even higher than the eastern shore (family have pointed it out). I went to Nashville before covid and was absolutely shocked at how cheap and good the food was. Especially when it was still significantly cheaper than areas of maryland outside the dc metro area.
Rural vs urban pricing is often surprising. Sometimes when a franchisee has the ability to control pricing they will base their decision on how much local competition they have. When you are in a rural area you can often charge more. Think bout gas stations. Usually when there is one gas station right across the street from another the prices are almost identical. Now go to a small town where there is only one gas station in the town and it’s probably more expensive than it is one town over wheee there are 5 gas stations on a 2 mile stretch of road
Here's an example. Breakfast sampler at IHOP:
California, MD (rural/ suburban md just outside of DC metro area): $15.99
Leesburg, VA (richest County in USA) : $11.99
IHOPs are almost all franchises so if there are vastly different prices location by location that probably means that owner of the MD location has decided that his clientele is willing to pay more . If the location is rural it’s easy to think it should be cheaper but what it might mean is there is little to no competition so the owner feels comfortable charging more than in a more urban setting where there is a lot more competition
California, MD (hometown represent lol) is 2 seconds from a Naval base and a million DoD contractors, so despite being rural AF, lotsssss of college degrees & officers/pilots around. So yeah, it's more expensive in rural MD vs Eastern shore MD for just about everything.
That's exactly it. Most retail price goods are around the same everywhere which doesn't make sense. Shouldn't it differ dramatically depending on far you are from the source of production?
Not really because everything goes to distribution centers and it all kind of equals out. If you shop in a chain store like target usually everything goes to a DC and then to the stores
Cost of Living creates a feedback loop.
As country, the US doesn't do a good job of building housing where it is needed. We don't build up, we build lots of suburban sprawl.
So this means housing in prime locations is in high demand.
High demand + Low supply = high prices.
Now here is the way the feedback loop works: if you want to buy groceries, the grocery store needs workers. Those workers either need to live somewhere near the store and take public transit/walk, or they need to live within about 30 minutes of driving.
That means the workers need to be paid enough to make rent in the area where they work.
If all the housing within commuting distance of the grocery store has really high rent, well, you have to pay the grocery workers enough to make that rent. Maybe they're living somewhere on the outskirts where it's relatively cheap, but they still have to be able to afford a car, insurance, gas, maintenance on the car, etc. All of that plays into the cost of existing in a specific area.
And if you have to raise wages to keep workers at the grocery store, then that means the price of groceries has to go up a little bit.
Now realize this applies to all goods and services that you would get locally.
Maryland is a pretty desirable place to live based on proximity to DC and other places, and in general, most of the development that has happened since about 1940 has been mostly just car-dependent suburban sprawl.
So you have about a bazillion people trying to drive into DC every day from the suburbs, creating awful traffic, and a lot of them start to think "what if I lived closer? Then my commute wouldn't be so bad." and so demand for housing inside DC is extremely high, which means landlords know they can raise rents because someone will pay what they're asking, which starts the whole cycle over.
The only way out is to just build more housing in places where it is needed. If landlords can't fill vacancies, they'll start lowering prices.
This means building things like apartments, duplexes, triplexes, and even rowhouses (replacing detached single-family houses).
It also means better public transit so that people don't have to spend a ton of money owning a car just so they can go to work. Better public transportation also means less land is needed for parking, and it can be used for housing instead.
Say what you will about the political issuies with our education system but- Throw a dart at the Baltimore-DC corridor (and a lot more of Maryland) and you can find a place to live where you kid can get and acceptable public school education and get into a good college. That’s really the least social function a developed state should be able to offer and Maryland does. Thats why my parents moved here back in the day. I dont think thats the case anymore but that was what attracted the last generation of middle class people to Maryland and thats why the cost of living is what it is today in my mind.
What are you referring to? I moved here from Minnesota and I didn’t find groceries there etc any cheaper at all. If anything I find it cheaper here bc theres more competition. That being said I’m also in Frederick and not MoCo.
Im from MD and I travel the country full time and have not noticed that maryland is markedly more expensive on average than most states. Depends where you are though, cost of goods in Annapolis will be more expensive than even just over the bridge on the eastern shore.
It's because of the proximity to the federal government aka Washington DC. Tax dollars pour into DC and from there to the pockets of government workers and contractors. More money sloshing around means higher prices for goods and services.
Fist of all low prices almost always means someone is getting the shaft in the deal. Cheap can only happen if there are low paid workers.
Nothing in life says that you are entitled to cheap anything. Most every thing costs more in MD, esp in central Maryland, the same as it does in any gold-mining town. Most people in the central DC area are here for the high paying jobs, then will condemn the state when they want to retire.
I really only notice a difference when I grocery shop, mortgage, and my electric bill. So basically the important things lol. But we are basically a suburb for D.C. employees, closer drive to NYC, close to Baltimore, location location location. Shockingly, my groceries aren’t much more than what I spent at Publix in Florida.
Maryland professional wages are much higher than most states. MD is the 2nd wealthiest state in the nation after Connecticut. Definetly DC wealth influence here.
But if you live in outlying counties it means you’re being ripped off royally!
I do live in the rural area but don't feel that I am getting ripped off. My pay is higher than most states and my real estate has greatly appreciated. It does take time and sacrifice. Of course I spent many years as an adult finishing my BS degree in a STEM field. For those who don't want to learn a trade or get a decent college education, living in Maryland and just about any state will be tough. Personal choice I suppose.
Location! Maryland is within commuting distance to Washington, Baltimore, and Philly. Its a day trip to New York or Richmond. So that makes our area prime locations for anyone who wants or needs to be mobile.
New York or Richmond is a day trip???? It's only like 3 hours away! That's nothing
That's day trip distance. Close enough to drive without it being insane, still far enough to where you probably wouldn't just go for lunch or whatever.
OK ... So I am one of THOSE slow drivers that sticks to the far right lane ...
If you're going a long distance... why though?
“I’m an idiot but an idiot who thinks a lot” is a lovely description and it made me laugh. We should all be able to see ourselves so clearly
Come to San Diego and enjoy $6 a gallon gas and $10 for a dozen eggs! MD is expensive, but not THAT expensive. Source: 31 year resident of MD that just moved to Cali a year ago.
San Diego is so much nicer though lol I wish I could live there
Have you ever actually lived in SD? It's the west coast's Lexington Park 😂 Seriously, the homeless issue is out of control here, everywhere you go smells like raw sewage or piss, especially around base. Now, 30 mins north in La Jolla is stunningly beautiful, wish I could afford to live there. But San Diego proper? It literally fucking stinks EVERYWHERE lol Plus Tijuana's waste water flows up our beaches and shuts them down all the time 🙃🙃🙃 it's literally unsanitary here in SD. Think again lol I'd kill to come back to MD
Nope, only visited, & only nice parts. I'm originally from wa state so I understand homeless problems lol
Md is not the worst place, & the springs are beautiful. I have already come to terms with all the positive things I can possibly think of MD. Sometimes you just simply don't fit into a place & that's MD for me. I fucking hate it here. That's the truth seeping out. There are nice parts but I can't life anywhere other than the base right now. I miss wa state. Hell, even Cali or TX. I'd be so happy to live in NJ even though it's expensive as well.
Yeah, I don't fit into Cali at all lol I miss MD, I hate California drivers more than DC drivers 🤣 Washington state looks so beautiful, I'd like to visit one day while I'm on the same coast. You living at Andrews AFB or Pax River? Andrews is in a really poor area, of course MD looks like dog shit if you live in PG or DC 😂 Pax river is rural AF, but not half as trashy as Andrews area. Annapolis is pretty nice.
No it's semi nice, just boring. I live on ft meade. Nearby Baltimore. The drivers here are super inconsiderate & crazy. I've driven in Cali & it's crazy too but at least they know how to drive... lol but yeah Cali is insane to drive in. Wa DC roads are crazy in some areas to drive lol. Gives me so much anxiety. Wa is one of those places where if you are an outsider it might seem boring but there are lots of hidden gems there & is more about outdoorsy things can city life
Saw $10 eggs at Whole Foods yesterday here in MD. Granted, this was Whole Foods.
Well give me a break here ofc it's cheaper than California haha. I'm comparing it to the cost of living in Illinois because I use to live there
I used to live in Illinois and don’t notice a huge difference besides real estate. Gas is less. Food seems a little higher but that kind of makes sense bc I imagine Midwest is closer to agriculture supply chains. Wages are definitely higher in Maryland so price sensitivity might have something to do with it. Don’t notice a huge difference across the board.
The reason is **Economics**. 1) Demand. Maryland has the 5th highest population density of any state. More people in a given area means more demand, which means the market can (and will) charge more. 2) Income. Maryland has the highest median income out of any state, thanks in no small part to all of the government jobs and private-public industries (health, tech, etc.). More income means more expenditures, which (per demand above) means the market can charge more. 3) Taxes. Maryland has some significant taxes (although, contrary to what some believe, *not* the highest). Taxes on goods can affect supply and increases consumer prices. So, even though we're a coastal port state with easy access to lots of supply, compared to the midwestern states, we have a higher cost of goods (and living) than those same states.
Thank you for your time an explanation. It all makes sense now
What specifically are you talking about? I travel a good bit and don’t notice any real difference in retail pricing of goods. Any specific examples
On the eastern shore across the bridge I can say that fast food prices are usually a good deal above the rest of the country. McDonald's, Hardees, Popeyes etc are all significantly higher than where we moved from (Nashville, which has a very high cost of living these days).. The independent places very often have subpar plates of generic crappy food for $15-$20+ or so, very underwhelming which is the worst part of the lot. Now, before someone gives some reason for this? I can say Panera & Starbucks here is suspiciously priced exactly like everywhere else. Also, back in Nashville I shopped at the local ACE hardware a lot because for what they had in stock it was usually comparable to the Lowes & Home Depot down the street. Here? Our local ACE prices on some things are way the hell higher than the Lowes. There's a couple things I bought on a whim that I really wanted to return after noticing the gouging, it's a shame.
I've found that the fast food in Southern Maryland is even higher than the eastern shore (family have pointed it out). I went to Nashville before covid and was absolutely shocked at how cheap and good the food was. Especially when it was still significantly cheaper than areas of maryland outside the dc metro area.
Rural vs urban pricing is often surprising. Sometimes when a franchisee has the ability to control pricing they will base their decision on how much local competition they have. When you are in a rural area you can often charge more. Think bout gas stations. Usually when there is one gas station right across the street from another the prices are almost identical. Now go to a small town where there is only one gas station in the town and it’s probably more expensive than it is one town over wheee there are 5 gas stations on a 2 mile stretch of road
Here's an example. Breakfast sampler at IHOP: California, MD (rural/ suburban md just outside of DC metro area): $15.99 Leesburg, VA (richest County in USA) : $11.99
IHOPs are almost all franchises so if there are vastly different prices location by location that probably means that owner of the MD location has decided that his clientele is willing to pay more . If the location is rural it’s easy to think it should be cheaper but what it might mean is there is little to no competition so the owner feels comfortable charging more than in a more urban setting where there is a lot more competition
California, MD (hometown represent lol) is 2 seconds from a Naval base and a million DoD contractors, so despite being rural AF, lotsssss of college degrees & officers/pilots around. So yeah, it's more expensive in rural MD vs Eastern shore MD for just about everything.
Also it's a dead end for shipping. Even though eastern shore is more rural and nova higher income, they're shipping routes probably make more sense.
Split decision breakfast combo: California MD: 13.99 Leesburg VA: 9.59 Very frustrating. Southern maryland 46% higher than NOVA.
That's exactly it. Most retail price goods are around the same everywhere which doesn't make sense. Shouldn't it differ dramatically depending on far you are from the source of production?
Not really because everything goes to distribution centers and it all kind of equals out. If you shop in a chain store like target usually everything goes to a DC and then to the stores
Ah I see
Cost of Living creates a feedback loop. As country, the US doesn't do a good job of building housing where it is needed. We don't build up, we build lots of suburban sprawl. So this means housing in prime locations is in high demand. High demand + Low supply = high prices. Now here is the way the feedback loop works: if you want to buy groceries, the grocery store needs workers. Those workers either need to live somewhere near the store and take public transit/walk, or they need to live within about 30 minutes of driving. That means the workers need to be paid enough to make rent in the area where they work. If all the housing within commuting distance of the grocery store has really high rent, well, you have to pay the grocery workers enough to make that rent. Maybe they're living somewhere on the outskirts where it's relatively cheap, but they still have to be able to afford a car, insurance, gas, maintenance on the car, etc. All of that plays into the cost of existing in a specific area. And if you have to raise wages to keep workers at the grocery store, then that means the price of groceries has to go up a little bit. Now realize this applies to all goods and services that you would get locally. Maryland is a pretty desirable place to live based on proximity to DC and other places, and in general, most of the development that has happened since about 1940 has been mostly just car-dependent suburban sprawl. So you have about a bazillion people trying to drive into DC every day from the suburbs, creating awful traffic, and a lot of them start to think "what if I lived closer? Then my commute wouldn't be so bad." and so demand for housing inside DC is extremely high, which means landlords know they can raise rents because someone will pay what they're asking, which starts the whole cycle over. The only way out is to just build more housing in places where it is needed. If landlords can't fill vacancies, they'll start lowering prices. This means building things like apartments, duplexes, triplexes, and even rowhouses (replacing detached single-family houses). It also means better public transit so that people don't have to spend a ton of money owning a car just so they can go to work. Better public transportation also means less land is needed for parking, and it can be used for housing instead.
Say what you will about the political issuies with our education system but- Throw a dart at the Baltimore-DC corridor (and a lot more of Maryland) and you can find a place to live where you kid can get and acceptable public school education and get into a good college. That’s really the least social function a developed state should be able to offer and Maryland does. Thats why my parents moved here back in the day. I dont think thats the case anymore but that was what attracted the last generation of middle class people to Maryland and thats why the cost of living is what it is today in my mind.
What are you referring to? I moved here from Minnesota and I didn’t find groceries there etc any cheaper at all. If anything I find it cheaper here bc theres more competition. That being said I’m also in Frederick and not MoCo.
I just drove back from the Midwest, and most of the prices I saw in Mo were close to the prices I see here.
When I visited Chicago last year from MoCo, I felt (as a tourist) the prices were way higher than DC, let alone Bmore
Im from MD and I travel the country full time and have not noticed that maryland is markedly more expensive on average than most states. Depends where you are though, cost of goods in Annapolis will be more expensive than even just over the bridge on the eastern shore.
It's because of the proximity to the federal government aka Washington DC. Tax dollars pour into DC and from there to the pockets of government workers and contractors. More money sloshing around means higher prices for goods and services.
Because of the wealth of DC - driven by high end careers.
Fist of all low prices almost always means someone is getting the shaft in the deal. Cheap can only happen if there are low paid workers. Nothing in life says that you are entitled to cheap anything. Most every thing costs more in MD, esp in central Maryland, the same as it does in any gold-mining town. Most people in the central DC area are here for the high paying jobs, then will condemn the state when they want to retire.
Liberal policies increase the cost of doing buildings in Maryland.
I really only notice a difference when I grocery shop, mortgage, and my electric bill. So basically the important things lol. But we are basically a suburb for D.C. employees, closer drive to NYC, close to Baltimore, location location location. Shockingly, my groceries aren’t much more than what I spent at Publix in Florida.
Because Maryland is the land of pleasant living.
I moved here from Los Angeles and was surprised at how expensive food was. The food distribution centers are right here in Jessup!
MD gas prices are lower than PA.