Eastern Shore of Maryland business leaders’ sentiment regarding their expectations for the economy showed mixed signals in a survey conducted in January 2026 by the Business Economic and Community Outreach Network (BEACON) at Salisbury University. Over the past six and twelve-month periods, sentiment has diverged, with outlook stabilizing on a countywide and regional level, while sentiment for the state of Maryland has taken a downturn.
When asked to predict business conditions for their county or for the Eastern Shore of Maryland over the next twelve months, respondents expressed views predicting similar business conditions in the next twelve months to those seen in the past year. This reflects an outlook shifting from a slightly positive outlook seen in last year’s winter survey to expecting unchanged conditions.
Additionally, on the county and Eastern Shore level, the summer 2025 survey found a 59% positive or neutral outlook, whereas in the most recent winter 2026 survey 70% had a positive or neutral outlook, showing an increase.