MARYLAND (WBFF) — After more than four decades in the same Hampden row home, Dena Clements is preparing to leave behind the life she built in Baltimore.
Not because she wants to, but because she can no longer afford to stay.
“I think, for me, the taxes,” Clements said. “I think the cost of utilities — everything. Everything has really gotten high. It’s not as affordable as it was when I first came here.”
ALSO READ | Lifelong Baltimore resident plans to leave Maryland as out-migration trend grows
Her decision reflects a broader shift among Maryland residents who are moving across state lines for financial relief. A 2025 report from Maryland’s comptroller flagged affordability, especially housing, as a growing factor driving residents out of state.
Maryland’s comptroller reports about 127,000 residents left Maryland for other states between 2021 and 2023, and 18,000 left Maryland from July 2023 to July 2024.
Many are heading to Delaware, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida.
Delaware, just across the border, has become an increasingly attractive option — especially for retirees.
For Clements, the decision comes down to the numbers.
She flipped through a stack of bills at her dining room table last week, pointing out what she pays each year.
“This was what I paid for property taxes this past year,” she said. The total was $2,719.69 — even after applying a homestead credit.
Her utility bills are also climbing. In recent months, she paid more than $300 each month, with summer bills reaching as high as $400.
“That’s how the bills go,” she said.
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Clements said she does not expect prices to return to what they were when she first moved to her Baltimore row home in 1984, after growing up in Reisterstown in Baltimore County. Still, she believes the current cost of living, combined with taxes and concerns about crime, has made staying in Maryland less appealing.
“I’m bothered by what they do with our taxes,” she said, referring to the current administration at both the state and city levels.
While she said she still feels safe in her own neighborhood, she is more cautious about traveling elsewhere in the city.
“I’m very concerned about the violence. I don’t go any further into the city unless I have to because, truthfully, I’m a little concerned about carjacking, I’m concerned if I’m by myself I’ll get robbed.”
Clements emphasized that she and her husband, Gary, whom she married in 2000, are financially stable.
“We’re able to pay,” she said. “There’s a lot of people who make less income than us who are struggling and my heart bleeds for them because it’s just not easy to make ends meet.”
The couple has long prioritized financial discipline. Clements doesn’t buy food unless it’s on sale, rarely buys new clothes, washes clothes in cold water and hangs them to dry instead of using the dryer to conserve energy. She still drives a 2010 vehicle she bought new, along with a car her husband purchased used in 2014.
“We don’t live big,” she said. “Actually, living under my means, that’s a big philosophy for me.”
Even small fees have become a source of frustration. She pointed to a $1.15 fee on a gallon of paint and $2.25 for five gallons.
“I think that’s pitiful,” she said.
‘Moore knows costs are too high’
This is the second story in a Spotlight on Maryland series called “Moving out of Maryland.” Spotlight reached out to Gov. Wes Moore’s press team to ask whether the governor is concerned about people moving out and what’s being done to encourage residents to stay.
Moore spokesperson Rhyan Lake blamed the Trump administration for the high costs but did not address the governor’s signing of the fiscal 2026 budget in May 2025, which included a record $1.6 billion tax and fee hike.
“Governor Moore knows costs are too high for working families, especially as the Trump administration’s policies make their bills even higher,” Lake said in an emailed statement. “That’s only compounded by the fact that Trump fired more than 31,000 federal workers in Maryland. The Governor has aggressively taken action to ease the pressure, including giving the middle class a tax cut, working across the aisle to put money directly in Marylanders’ pockets, and banning grocery stores from using data to manipulate higher prices. Since Day One, he’s fought to make life easier for Marylanders, and he welcomes Republicans to join him.”
Lower costs in Delaware
Clements and her husband are planning a move to Delaware, hoping to stay near Harford County to remain close to family, including her stepson. She is in the process of contacting realtors.
“I’m saving my money to have a nice home in Delaware and pretty much have a very low mortgage because I’m older,” Clements said.
Experts say her reasoning reflects a broader trend.
Lisa DeRose, an accountant and managing director with Whisman Giordano & Associates, said Delaware can offer financial advantages, particularly for retirees.
“Retirement age, Delaware is not a bad state to retire to,” DeRose said.
One major difference is property taxes. In Baltimore, DeRose said rates are roughly 2.36% of a home’s value. In Delaware, they typically range from about 0.4% to 0.5%.
State income tax rates in Maryland and Delaware are similar, both hovering around 6%. However, Maryland residents also pay local county income taxes, which is an added cost Delaware does not impose.
“It’s that local tax that people get hit with in Maryland that Delaware doesn’t have,” DeRose said.
Another key factor: Delaware has no sales tax, compared with Maryland’s 6% rate.
However, some state lawmakers say the Maryland sales tax could go up next year to help close an estimated $3 billion budget deficit.
“Because of the tax advantages,” DeRose said, explaining why she has seen more people make the move to Delaware in the last decade.
For Clements, the decision is not easy. Baltimore is where she built her life — working as a nurse at several hospitals, later becoming a therapist at Johns Hopkins, and raising a family.
Still, she believes the move is necessary.
Asked whether she will be sad to leave, Clements paused.
“No,” she said. “I don’t think so.”
Spotlight on Maryland is a collaboration between FOX45 News, WJLA in Washington, D.C., and The Baltimore Sun. Have a story tip? Email spotlightonmaryland@sbgtv.com or call 410-467-4670. Investigative reporter Tessa Bentulan can be reached at tbentulan@sbgtv.com.
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