The Federal Government Spending and Jobs in Maryland project is a collaboration between the Comptroller of Maryland and the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. The project analyzes and presents data on the direct impact of federal government spending in Maryland and estimates impacts of federal government cuts at the state and county levels.
The below dashboard presents the top 10 federal agencies by contract, grant, and wage spending in Maryland and by number of Marylanders employed by federal agencies. Data can be viewed at the statewide level or by individual counties and is presented as an annual average of the five-year period of 2020 to 2024. There are also two more in-depth and interactive dashboards available to state and county officials to assist with budget and planning activities.
Links to the reports used for this dashboard can be found at the bottom of this page.
The federal government and State of Maryland have enjoyed a decades-long mutually beneficial partnership. Maryland is home to numerous federal agencies, laboratories, and military installations that serve as a foundation for the state’s economy and tax base. Likewise, the federal government benefits from Maryland’s highly educated, skilled, and diverse population that serves the nation as scientists, national security analysts, healthcare professionals, and many other roles in support of the nation’s defense, health, and economic security. In addition, Maryland-based firms and research institutions provide a wide range of goods and services to the federal government to advance the nation’s priorities.
Prior to 2025, the federal government spent about $150 billion in Maryland per year on contracts, grants, salaries, and direct payments to individuals and firms, and directly employed approximately 230,000 Marylanders. These amounts are among the largest spending and employment levels of any state in the country, which has meant that Maryland’s economy and communities have been disproportionately impacted by historic, across-the-board cuts to federal government spending and jobs carried out by the Trump Administration.
To better understand the impacts of completed, planned, or potential Trump Administration actions, the Comptroller of Maryland and the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business worked together to closely analyze federal government spending in Maryland for the five-year period of 2020 through 2024. This work resulted in two reports and the creation of dashboard tools for use by the public and by state and county budget officials and government contractors.
Complementing these tools are the two reports: