2020-24 Data Put Talbot Second-Lowest in Maryland for Women's Labor Force Participation

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND — Census estimates covering 2020-24 put Talbot County's female labor force participation rate at 51%, the second-lowest among Maryland jurisdictions, according to a new report from the Office of the Comptroller.

The report, "Women & the Economy," dated October 2026, uses 2020-24 American Community Survey five-year estimates for counties. It puts Talbot's female participation rate at 51% and Allegany's at 48%; Talbot's rate for men and women together is 56%. The report's statewide 2024 one-year estimates put Maryland's female rate at 65% and its overall rate at 68%.

The labor force participation rate is the percentage of civilian, noninstitutionalized people 16 and older who are employed or actively looking for work.

Statewide, the report finds an eight-point gap between women and men, 65% versus 73%. According to roundtable participants in Western Maryland and on the Eastern Shore, the report says, rural areas trail because of factors including more limited job opportunities, fewer options for higher education, inadequate access to public transportation and child care, and expectations placed on women about caregiving.

The report also cites the "benefits cliff," in which a small raise can cost a worker more in lost public benefits than it pays. A workforce development professional on the Eastern Shore quoted in the report said: "I have heard from employers that good employees are not able to take promotions because the small increase in pay does not equate to what they lose in benefits."

The report draws on federal, state and some private data, along with conversations with nearly 200 women across the state. Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman wrote that her office's research reports do not prescribe specific policy recommendations. The full report is posted on the Comptroller's research reports page.