Somerset County, on Maryland's Eastern Shore, is the state's southernmost county. The Chesapeake Bay forms its western boundary, Virginia its southern. The county is located approximately 100 miles from the Baltimore/Washington, Wilmington/Philadelphia, as well as the Norfolk/Hampton Roads metropolitan areas. A water-oriented county, rural Somerset attracts fisherman, hunters, tourists and water sports enthusiasts.

Crisfield and Princess Anne are the two major business and industrial centers of the county. Major employers are Lankford-Sysco Food Services, McCready Memorial Hospital, Handy International, Mountaire Farms, PNC, Perdue, Rubberset, Eastern Correctional Institute and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Somerset is a major seafood processor and poultry producer, and provides a rich agricultural harvest including soybeans, corn, tomatoes and wheat. Princess Anne is the county seat and the site of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, with undergraduate programs, including doctoral programs in marine, estuarine and environmental sciences.

The county has a 499-acre Enterprise Zone located within the City of Crisfield, and a 1,297-acre Zone in the Town of Princess Anne. In addition, Somerset is participating in the One Maryland Program, which offers significant tax credits for capital investments that create jobs. The county's EDC is developing services in and around Princess Anne to assist the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and commercial interests in the waterfront of Crisfield. Plans and studies are still moving forward for a passenger ferry service, a hotel conference center, and developing industrial projects such as a Wal-Mart distribution center, biodiesel facility, Oddi Atlantic manufacturing plant and a proposed ethanol plant.

For additional information, download the 4-page Brief Economic Facts for the county.
(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)