Talbot Jobs Paid an Average of $1,155 a Week in the First Quarter, Ahead of Four Nearby Shore Counties

EASTON, MARYLAND — Jobs covered by unemployment insurance in Talbot County paid an average of $1,155 a week in the first quarter of 2026, $521 below the Maryland average of $1,676, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bureau released the figures Sept. 4; second-quarter numbers are due Dec. 2.

The bureau counted 1,545 establishments in Talbot and 17,952 covered jobs in March. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by the state's unemployment insurance program and the federal program for federal employees. The bureau labels the data preliminary.

Talbot's average ranked 14th among the 24 Maryland jurisdictions in the bureau's table. Wages ran highest in Montgomery County at $2,126 a week and St. Mary's County at $1,833, and lowest in Worcester County at $932.

Among nearby Shore counties, Talbot's $1,155 topped Queen Anne's County ($1,125), Kent County ($1,108), Dorchester County ($1,082) and Caroline County ($1,052). It also had more covered jobs than any of the four: Queen Anne's had 15,912, Dorchester 11,302, Caroline 8,734 and Kent 7,418. Somerset County, farther south, averaged $1,228 a week.

The national average was $1,654 a week, $499 more than Talbot's. Maryland's average ranked 10th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Across the state, average weekly wages rose 2.7% over the year, and covered employment fell 1.7% from March 2025 to March 2026, to 2,700,300 jobs. For the 16 smaller counties, including Talbot, the bureau publishes wage and employment levels but not over-the-year changes.