Working but Poor in Maryland

Despite great prosperity in much of Maryland, tens of thousands of Maryland working families continue to struggle to support their families with jobs that do not pay enough to meet their basic needs. Some 158,000 Marylanders, including 105,000 children, live in working poor families - that is, families with working parents whose incomes are below the federal poverty line (about $17,500 for a family of four).

The number of working poor families is 70 percent higher than it was two decades ago - a rate of growth about five times as high as that of working non-poor families.

Working poor families come from a broad cross-section of Maryland residents. A typical working poor parent is a high school graduate, age 25 to 44, and works three-quarters of the year.

A full-time job at the current minimum wage pays just $10,700 per year - often not enough to lift a family out of poverty, even for many families that qualify for public benefits. Much of the poverty despite work in Maryland may be explained by the prevalence of low-wage jobs, combined with the inadequacy of the safety net.

Policy options to assist the working poor include increasing the state's Earned Income Credit, increasing the standard deduction, allowing welfare recipients to earn more without losing benefits, expanding public health insurance for working-poor parents, boosting child care subsidies, and increasing the state minimum wage.