Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Generates $6.5 Billion in Economic Impact, Supports Nearly 28,000 Jobs in Fiscal Year 2024
DHCD invested $2.6 billion overall across Maryland to improve affordable housing, support small businesses, revitalize neighborhoods and increase broadband connectivity
NEW CARROLLTON, Md. (February 25, 2025) – The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development just released its Fiscal Year 2024 Agency Impact Report, which shows how its mission to create more affordable housing, help businesses and create lovable places across the state has generated $6.5 billion in economic impact.
DHCD invested $2.6 billion overall in state programs in FY24 that were designed to create more affordable housing, revitalize communities, support small businesses and increase broadband connectivity in Maryland. That investment generated $6.5 billion in economic impact and helped create the equivalent of nearly 28,000 full-time jobs across the state as the Department continues to fulfill the Moore-Miller Administration’s commitment to building a greater Maryland through pathways to work, wages and wealth.
“The numbers in this report – the $6.5 billion in generated economic impact and $107.5 million in state and local tax revenues – prove that the department is a catalyst for economic growth for our state,” said DHCD Secretary Jake Day. “Every housing development we help build, every public space we improve, every business we support and every household we connect with high-speed internet will strengthen our long-term economy, create jobs, grow generational wealth and get us closer to a Maryland that is sheltered, affordable, just, lovable and connected.”
Work to tackle Maryland’s affordable housing crisis led to DHCD supporting $1.2 billion in new rental housing development projects. Those 27 projects either created or preserved nearly 3,000 units and produced close to the equivalent of 13,000 jobs in FY24.
DHCD also continued to help Marylanders build generational wealth through homeownership. The Department’s Maryland Mortgage Program (MMP) is a key part of this effort, averaging $1 billion in mortgage loan reservations annually. In Fiscal Year 2024, the MMP program provided mortgages to nearly 3,500 Marylanders and their families. The program offers a nationally recognized array of mortgage and down payment assistance options that are responsive to an ever-changing housing market, including innovative products like Maryland SmartBuy.
The Department’s goal to help build lovable places and re-energize main streets in Maryland’s towns and cities meant DHCD allocated almost $111 million from its Neighborhood Revitalization Division to support projects and services to improve urban, suburban, and rural communities.
Project Restore 2.0, a Neighborhood Revitalization initiative, awarded approximately $13 million in grant assistance to 55 place-based economic development organizations to fill vacant commercial spaces. Additionally, DHCD’s Business Boost microgrant program provided $2.1 million in funding to 47 businesses, including women and minority-led ventures, looking to grow or innovate.
DHCD also supplied $33.9 million worth of financial assistance through its Neighborhood BusinessWorks program to business owners for things such as real estate acquisition or construction.
The Department also continued its mission to create digital equity and access to affordable high-speed internet. The Office of Statewide Broadband connected more than 7,200 households with high-speed internet in FY 24 and 100,000 Marylanders overall since 2023.
Two of DHCD’s newest divisions have also helped Maryland’s most vulnerable populations and improve communities that have endured years of disinvestment and discrimination.
The Division of Homeless Solutions is responsible for leading the state’s initiatives to prevent and end homelessness for all Marylanders and assists local governments and nonprofits deliver help such as street outreach, shelter, permanent housing, food pantries and specialized services for aging adults, domestic violence survivors, and youth. In FY24, the division’s programs helped 10,000 people.
The Division of Just Communities is designed to help reverse decades of disinvestment and exclusionary policies, opening pathways to opportunity in communities that have been previously denied them and ensuring that no Marylander is left behind. Last fall, the Division released its baseline report.
Visit DHCD’s website to learn more about DHCD’s impact in FY24.