Counties with the most born-and-bred residents in Maryland

Many people choose not to leave the state they were raised in for reasons ranging from wanting to be close to family, to not having the resources to leave, to sticking with a lower cost of living.

In order to determine where people stay put in your home state, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the most born-and-bred residents in Maryland using data from the Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the highest percentage of residents who were born in the state according to the latest data, which is 2024 five-year estimates. The percentage of residents who were born in another state, a U.S. territory, and another country is also included.

Read on to find out where the most loyal Maryland residents live.

24. Montgomery County
- Population: 1,065,949
- Born in Maryland: 277,639 (26.0% of population)
- Born in a different state: 407,936 (38.3% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 22,151 (2.1% of population)
- Born in another country: 358,223 (33.6% of population)

23. Prince George's County
- Population: 959,754
- Born in Maryland: 257,346 (26.8% of population)
- Born in a different state: 443,194 (46.2% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 16,835 (1.8% of population)
- Born in another country: 242,379 (25.3% of population)

22. Charles County
- Population: 170,527
- Born in Maryland: 65,876 (38.6% of population)
- Born in a different state: 86,770 (50.9% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 3,368 (2.0% of population)
- Born in another country: 14,513 (8.5% of population)

21. Howard County
- Population: 336,328
- Born in Maryland: 135,304 (40.2% of population)
- Born in a different state: 116,400 (34.6% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 7,895 (2.3% of population)
- Born in another country: 76,729 (22.8% of population)

20. Cecil County
- Population: 104,960
- Born in Maryland: 47,442 (45.2% of population)
- Born in a different state: 52,085 (49.6% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 1,313 (1.3% of population)
- Born in another country: 4,120 (3.9% of population)

19. St. Mary's County
- Population: 115,126
- Born in Maryland: 55,689 (48.4% of population)
- Born in a different state: 52,532 (45.6% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 1,963 (1.7% of population)
- Born in another country: 4,942 (4.3% of population)

18. Frederick County
- Population: 287,048
- Born in Maryland: 139,234 (48.5% of population)
- Born in a different state: 103,843 (36.2% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 4,494 (1.6% of population)
- Born in another country: 39,477 (13.8% of population)

17. Calvert County
- Population: 94,313
- Born in Maryland: 47,229 (50.1% of population)
- Born in a different state: 41,364 (43.9% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 1,915 (2.0% of population)
- Born in another country: 3,805 (4.0% of population)

16. Anne Arundel County
- Population: 598,166
- Born in Maryland: 301,411 (50.4% of population)
- Born in a different state: 223,453 (37.4% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 13,354 (2.2% of population)
- Born in another country: 59,948 (10.0% of population)

15. Kent County
- Population: 19,346
- Born in Maryland: 10,095 (52.2% of population)
- Born in a different state: 8,375 (43.3% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 166 (0.9% of population)
- Born in another country: 710 (3.7% of population)

14. Talbot County
- Population: 37,917
- Born in Maryland: 20,527 (54.1% of population)
- Born in a different state: 13,696 (36.1% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 671 (1.8% of population)
- Born in another country: 3,023 (8.0% of population)

13. Worcester County
- Population: 53,700
- Born in Maryland: 29,288 (54.5% of population)
- Born in a different state: 21,225 (39.5% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 662 (1.2% of population)
- Born in another country: 2,525 (4.7% of population)

12. Wicomico County
- Population: 104,914
- Born in Maryland: 62,608 (59.7% of population)
- Born in a different state: 31,091 (29.6% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 1,302 (1.2% of population)
- Born in another country: 9,913 (9.4% of population)

11. Garrett County
- Population: 28,615
- Born in Maryland: 17,486 (61.1% of population)
- Born in a different state: 10,555 (36.9% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 177 (0.6% of population)
- Born in another country: 397 (1.4% of population)

10. Washington County
- Population: 155,709
- Born in Maryland: 96,288 (61.8% of population)
- Born in a different state: 47,150 (30.3% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 2,006 (1.3% of population)
- Born in another country: 10,265 (6.6% of population)

9. Queen Anne's County
- Population: 51,825
- Born in Maryland: 32,315 (62.4% of population)
- Born in a different state: 16,469 (31.8% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 416 (0.8% of population)
- Born in another country: 2,625 (5.1% of population)

8. Baltimore County
- Population: 850,796
- Born in Maryland: 544,312 (64.0% of population)
- Born in a different state: 179,572 (21.1% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 14,681 (1.7% of population)
- Born in another country: 112,231 (13.2% of population)

7. Baltimore
- Population: 573,243
- Born in Maryland: 366,961 (64.0% of population)
- Born in a different state: 145,826 (25.4% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 7,059 (1.2% of population)
- Born in another country: 53,397 (9.3% of population)

6. Harford County
- Population: 263,757
- Born in Maryland: 172,580 (65.4% of population)
- Born in a different state: 70,178 (26.6% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 5,307 (2.0% of population)
- Born in another country: 15,692 (5.9% of population)

5. Carroll County
- Population: 175,321
- Born in Maryland: 114,829 (65.5% of population)
- Born in a different state: 49,096 (28.0% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 1,819 (1.0% of population)
- Born in another country: 9,577 (5.5% of population)

4. Somerset County
- Population: 24,822
- Born in Maryland: 16,495 (66.5% of population)
- Born in a different state: 6,965 (28.1% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 96 (0.4% of population)
- Born in another country: 1,266 (5.1% of population)

3. Caroline County
- Population: 33,669
- Born in Maryland: 23,000 (68.3% of population)
- Born in a different state: 8,291 (24.6% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 320 (1.0% of population)
- Born in another country: 2,058 (6.1% of population)

2. Dorchester County
- Population: 32,754
- Born in Maryland: 23,185 (70.8% of population)
- Born in a different state: 7,882 (24.1% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 219 (0.7% of population)
- Born in another country: 1,468 (4.5% of population)

1. Allegany County
- Population: 67,452
- Born in Maryland: 48,375 (71.7% of population)
- Born in a different state: 17,191 (25.5% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 499 (0.7% of population)
- Born in another country: 1,387 (2.1% of population)