A parent with two young children in Frederick County needs at least $61,000 a year to make ends meet, a new study shows, as local government agencies and charities report a sharp rise in families needing financial help for the first time.

Talbot County, in the middle of the Eastern Shore, occupies the economic middle as well when it comes to getting by in tough economic times.

Basic Needs Breakdown for Maryland Families

A parent with two young children needs at least $54,000 in income to get by without government assistance in Washington County, and a family of four needs as much as $68,000, a new study shows. Researchers at the University of Washington School of Social Work based their calculations on the local costs of housing, food, child care, health care, transportation and other essentials in each of Maryland’s counties.

How Maryland Compares to Other Places

A family made up of one adult, one preschooler and one school-age child in Worcester County needs $46,600 dollars a year simply to get by, a new study shows.

The cost of making ends meet for working families in Queen Anne’s County has nearly doubled over the last decade, according to a new study. No other county in the state has experienced such a great rise, the study showed.

A parent with two young children in Somerset County needs to make at least $42,000 a year to get by without government assistance, a new study says. That makes the county one of the most affordable in the state, but it’s also one of the poorest, and a local charity says families are struggling.