Baltimore: A Snapshot

Baltimore is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. It is about 40 miles from Washington, D.C. and about 187 miles from New York City.

The Baltimore Jewish community is strong, stable and vibrant with a high level of Jewish engagement. Nonetheless, a recent Community Study did reveal declining rates of participation in Jewish life by a growing minority, especially younger adults. We have evolving social and human welfare needs and families facing deep financial challenges that arose out of the economic downturn that began in 2008.

THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore is the central fundraising engine and programming umbrella for local Jewish life. Its network of agencies and partners offer multiple opportunities for Jews to get involved in meaningful ways and offer services to meet the social and human service needs of our community. Learn more>>

Jewish Population: There are 93,400 Jews living in 42,500 households.

In general, the Baltimore Jewish community is well-distributed among the different age cohorts.

• Children – 24%
• Roughly 40 percent of all children in Jewish households are enrolled in Jewish day school
• Half of Children Ages 0-4 have been enrolled in a Jewish preschool or nursery school
• Younger adults (18-34) – 20%
• Maturing adults (35-49) – 15%
• Boomer Generation (50-64) – 22%
• Older adults (65 and over) – 19%

Our community is diverse in birthplace and affiliation.

• Nearly half of all adults in Jewish Baltimore households were born outside of Baltimore
• We offer Shalom Baltimore to help newcomers adjust to the city. Learn more>>
• The fastest growing part of our population is the Orthodox community, now making up 32 percent of Jewish people
• Roughly one-quarter of Baltimore’s Jews are Conservative
• Twenty-three percent of Baltimore’s Jews are Reform
• Thirteen percent said they were secular or non-denominational
• Forty-six percent of households have a synagogue membership
• Baltimore has over 50 synagogues

In recent years, there has been an increase in the population of Jewish seniors over the age of 85; there are an estimated 3,900 Jewish seniors over 85 living in Baltimore.

• Forty percent of seniors over the age of 65 who are living alone are in poor or fair health
• Twenty-two percent of all Jewish seniors over the age of 65 who are living alone need assistance with “activities of daily life”
• While two-thirds of Baltimore Jewish seniors over the age of 65 report having an adult child in the area with who they are in relatively frequent contact, one-third of seniors do not have an adult child living in the Baltimore area

Employment and Industry:
Baltimore has three dominant fields: Financial, business and health services.

Facilities and Attractions:

• Fortune 500 Companies - Constellation Energy, Black & Decker and Grace Chemicals.
• Other leading companies – asset manager Legg Mason, investment advisors T. Rowe Price, Brown Advisory, Alex Brown, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, FTI Consulting, Vertis, Thomson Prometric, Performax, Sylvan Learning/Laureate Education, Under Armour, DAP, Old Mutual Financial Network and Advertising.com, among others.
• Nineteen hospitals, including Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, supported by THE ASSOCIATED
• Inner Harbor activities
• Art museums
• Multiple hotels
• National Aquarium

Full listing of Baltimore attractions>>
Full listing of Jewish Baltimore attractions>>