Maryland Bioscience Industry Highlights High Wages and Research Strength Alongside Challenges
Maryland’s bioscience sector supported 51,705 jobs across 3,594 establishments in 2025, delivering an average annual wage of $158,224 that sits roughly twice the state private-sector average, according to a new national report released on October 29, 2026, by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and TEConomy Partners.
High Wages Contrast With Research Capital and Competitive Pressures
That $158,224 average wage spans a wide economic spectrum across the state’s commercial hubs. Pharmaceutical development leads the pay scale at nearly $233,000 annually. Medical devices and equipment lag behind those figures, averaging about $121,000 per year. The state’s dominant subsector—research, testing, and medical laboratories—employs more than 30,000 workers at an average wage exceeding $145,000.
At the same time, academic institutions poured nearly $2.9 billion into bioscience-related research and development during fiscal year 2024. That spending translates to $460 per resident, which more than doubles the national average of $203. Federal backing remains strong. Maryland organizations secured nearly $2.2 billion in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding in fiscal year 2025. That figure equals $345 per capita, outstripping the national average of $107 by a factor of three.
Venture Capital Inflows Match Patent Output
Commercial translation matches the academic research volume. Private companies attracted nearly $4 billion in venture capital investment between 2021 and 2025. During the same window, inventors across the state laid claim to 4,581 bioscience-related patents. These numbers place Maryland firmly in the top 20 percent of states for per capita R&D expenditures, academic research totals, and federal grant capture.
Yet the report also identifies competitive challenges that threaten that market share. Kelly Schulz, CEO of the Maryland Tech Council, pointed to those stakes in a statement accompanying the data.
Maryland is home to one of the nation’s most impressive concentrations of scientific talent, research institutions and innovative bioscience companies. Our bioscience industry is a tremendous economic asset that creates high-paying jobs, attracts investment, and develops breakthroughs that improve and save lives. This report reinforces Maryland’s position as a national leader and underscores why we must continue building pro-innovation policies in Maryland, investing in the industry’s future, and attracting private-sector investment.
Nationwide, the bioscience economy accounted for more than 2.3 million jobs in 2025. National employment grew 7 percent from 2021 levels, while average annual wages across the country reached $145,188. Maryland continues to outperform those broader benchmarks on wage density and federal funding capture, even as regional leaders weigh the specific competitive hurdles flagged in the latest Biotechnology Innovation Organization findings.