Maryland energy profile
Manufacturing energy costs in Maryland
The current industrial power rate in Maryland is 11.22 cents per kWh (May 2026, EIA), ranking 40 of 51 states and sitting 28.8% above the national average.
Current prices in Maryland
- Industrial electricity: 11.22 cents per kWh (May 2026, EIA).
- Commercial electricity, the rate a warehouse or distribution center in Maryland typically pays: 16.4 cents per kWh.
- Maryland does not report an industrial natural gas price for the latest month; plants there should use their utility contract rate.
- Just below Maryland on the price ladder: Pennsylvania at 10.31, Virginia at 10.53, Delaware at 10.69 cents. Just above: Vermont at 12.59, Maine at 14.48, New Jersey at 14.57 cents.
What the rate does to operating cost
- A 10 kW machine running a 4,000 hour year costs about 4,488 in electricity at Maryland rates versus 3,484 at the national average; at 50 kW the gap is 22,440 versus 17,420, and at 200 kW it is 89,760 versus 69,680.
- Power costs here punish waste. In Maryland, load-shifting, waste heat recovery, and idle-time elimination pay back quicker than the national math suggests, and quotes for energy-heavy work should use the local rate, not a national default.
What factory labor pays in Maryland
- Industrial production managers: $63.72/hr median in Maryland versus $60.61 nationally (OEWS 2025).
- Industrial engineers: $57.66/hr median in Maryland versus $49.25 nationally (OEWS 2025).
- Production supervisors: $37.75/hr median in Maryland versus $35.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
- Industrial machinery mechanics: $34.55/hr median in Maryland versus $31.02 nationally (OEWS 2025).
- Molding and casting machine setters: $30.51/hr median in Maryland versus $21.32 nationally (OEWS 2025).
- Quality inspectors and testers: $29.71/hr median in Maryland versus $23.35 nationally (OEWS 2025).
- Maryland employs about 110,000 manufacturing workers as of Jun 2026 (BLS).
Manufacturing base in Maryland
- Maryland has 2,838 manufacturing establishments employing about 109,929 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).
- Largest sectors by establishment count: food manufacturing (400), fabricated metal products (390), printing and related support (290), computer and electronic products (169), chemical manufacturing (154).
Sources and update cadence
- Prices come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and refresh automatically when the agency publishes; this page also archives each month's Maryland observation so the local price history deepens over time.
Last reviewed 2026-07-24.