Maryland small business statistics
Maryland logged 101,253 business applications in 2025, up 6.1% from 2024 and 34.2% from the pre-pandemic 2019 baseline. Professional services led both private-sector establishment and job growth since 2019.
Business applications, employment, lending, tax, bankruptcy, and contracting records cover different parts of Maryland's business economy.
At a glance
Maryland logged 101,253 business applications in 2025, up 6.1% from 2024 and 34.2% from the pre-pandemic 2019 baseline.
Through May 2026, total applications were up 14.7% from the same months in 2025; high-propensity applications were up 4.6%.
Prince George’s filed 20,166 applications in 2025, the largest county total in Maryland. Garrett led the high-volume counties after adjusting for population. Its small resident denominator makes the rate an outlier flag; employer records provide the local operating-business count.
Professional services led both private-sector establishment and job growth since 2019.
SBA 7(a) and 504 approvals to Maryland businesses reached $572.0M in FY2025 across 1,516 loans, led by accommodation and food services, health care and social assistance, professional services, other services, and retail trade.
Business bankruptcy cases tied to Maryland counties rose from 384 to 402 in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2026.
New business formation
Maryland business applications reached 101,253 in 2025, up 6.1% from 2024. Through May 2026, applications were 14.7% higher than in the same months of 2025.
Why compare with 2019
2019 is the last full year before the pandemic. The shutdown period and the business churn that followed changed EIN filing patterns. High-propensity applications totaled 13,857 through May 2026, up 4.6% from Jan-May 2025. Projected business formations within eight quarters rose 27.9% over the same period.
Census BFS counts applications for employer identification numbers. Applications are early filings; confirmed operating-business counts arrive later.
Where applications are concentrated
Prince George’s is the largest application market by raw volume. Garrett’s smaller population pushes its per-resident filing rate far above the major metro counties, making it an outlier flag.
Applications relative to population
Each rate divides 2025 Census BFS applications by the county’s Census Vintage 2025 resident population estimate. Prince George’s still has the most total filings, while Garrett has the highest application volume relative to resident population among these high-volume counties. The rate measures per-resident filing activity; employer records track changes in operating businesses.
Census BFS counts EIN applications. The denominator is 2025 resident population, which adjusts the filing count for scale. Startup conversion requires a business-based denominator.
| County | 2025 applications | Change vs 2024 | Change vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince George’s | 20,166 | +3.6% | +19.3% |
| Montgomery | 17,206 | +6.4% | +21.6% |
| Baltimore County | 13,851 | +3.3% | +29.2% |
| Baltimore city | 11,544 | +4.0% | +30.8% |
| Anne Arundel | 8,421 | +5.6% | +41.9% |
| Howard | 5,792 | +9.1% | +36.3% |
| Frederick | 3,892 | +10.4% | +68.8% |
| Charles | 3,444 | +12.0% | +44.2% |
| Harford | 3,005 | +8.1% | +48.5% |
| Garrett | 2,501 | +38.3% | +386.6% |
| Washington | 1,724 | +3.8% | +75.4% |
| Carroll | 1,651 | +6.5% | +40.0% |
Jobs, establishments, and wages
In 2024, Maryland had 192,176 private-sector establishments and 2,238,248 private-sector jobs. The establishment count was 11.3% higher than in 2019, and employment was 1.4% higher.
Professional services led establishment growth.
Professional services added 8,651 establishments from 2019 to 2024. Professional services added 24,735 jobs over the same period.
BLS QCEW counts employer establishments and jobs, along with wages, payroll, and local industry structure.
| Industry | 2024 establishments | Change vs 2019 | 2024 jobs | Change vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional services | 39,539 | +8,651 (+28.0%) | 283,075 | +24,735 (+9.6%) |
| Health care and social assistance | 21,536 | +3,174 (+17.3%) | 401,057 | +19,576 (+5.1%) |
| Other services | 20,377 | +1,019 (+5.3%) | 93,008 | +1,463 (+1.6%) |
| Construction | 16,372 | -322 (-1.9%) | 164,323 | -1,809 (-1.1%) |
| Administrative services | 12,820 | +239 (+1.9%) | 171,625 | -3,114 (-1.8%) |
| Accommodation and food services | 12,788 | +266 (+2.1%) | 226,764 | -10,809 (-4.5%) |
| Finance and insurance | 9,106 | +694 (+8.3%) | 83,230 | -6,025 (-6.8%) |
| Wholesale trade | 8,678 | -1,294 (-13.0%) | 87,667 | +1,162 (+1.3%) |
| Real estate and rental | 7,968 | +868 (+12.2%) | 43,361 | -2,600 (-5.7%) |
| Information | 5,570 | +2,724 (+95.7%) | 34,384 | -1,294 (-3.6%) |
SBA lending
SBA 7(a) and 504 approvals to Maryland businesses totaled $572.0M in FY2025 across 1,516 loans. The SBA files report 15,600 jobs supported for those approvals.
Accommodation and food services drew the most SBA capital.
Accommodation and food services drew $108.9M in FY2025 SBA approvals. Health care and social assistance, professional services, other services, and retail trade received the next-largest approval totals.
SBA fiscal year 2025 ran from Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025. The published files were current as of April 28, 2026.
| Sector | FY2025 loans | FY2025 approvals | SBA jobs supported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 174 | $108.9M | 3,364 |
| Health care and social assistance | 212 | $83.4M | 2,879 |
| Professional services | 223 | $73.2M | 2,054 |
| Other services | 170 | $61.0M | 1,466 |
| Retail trade | 138 | $52.6M | 930 |
| Construction | 168 | $44.1M | 1,274 |
| Arts and entertainment | 63 | $31.3M | 612 |
| Administrative services | 99 | $26.7M | 1,021 |
| Manufacturing | 51 | $18.6M | 336 |
| Educational services | 46 | $15.6M | 264 |
| County | FY2025 loans | FY2025 approvals | SBA jobs supported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Georges | 256 | $89.0M | 2,808 |
| Montgomery | 230 | $73.3M | 1,995 |
| Baltimore city | 198 | $72.0M | 2,406 |
| Anne Arundel | 151 | $62.9M | 1,532 |
| Frederick | 93 | $49.8M | 997 |
| Howard | 132 | $49.0M | 1,290 |
| Baltimore city | 110 | $31.7M | 1,168 |
| Harford | 73 | $28.1M | 828 |
| Washington | 44 | $27.0M | 384 |
| Saint Marys | 14 | $10.4M | 99 |
The unincorporated business economy
IRS SOI data show 641,761 Maryland Schedules C and partnership returns/forms in Tax Year 2023. Those businesses reported $105.1B in gross receipts and $9.6B in the combined income/profit measure.
Sole proprietors account for most returns.
Maryland had 574,610 nonfarm sole-proprietor Schedules C in Tax Year 2023, with $29.6B in gross receipts and $6.1B in net profit.
Partnerships reported more gross receipts.
Maryland partnerships filed 67,151 Forms 1065 in Tax Year 2023 and reported $75.5B in gross receipts.
| County | Returns/forms | Gross receipts | Combined income/profit metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery | 141,560 | $31.6B | $3.0B |
| Prince George’S | 109,700 | $9.1B | $411.9M |
| Baltimore County | 89,933 | $18.0B | $2.3B |
| Anne Arundel | 57,312 | $9.2B | $1.1B |
| Baltimore city | 51,534 | $11.6B | $867.3M |
| Howard | 36,504 | $8.3B | -$98.0M |
| Frederick | 27,285 | $3.6B | $380.2M |
| Harford | 21,131 | $2.1B | $289.1M |
| Charles | 16,939 | $1.0B | $35.4M |
| Carroll | 14,265 | $1.4B | $245.8M |
Business stress signals
Business bankruptcy cases tied to Maryland counties rose from 384 to 402 in the 12 months ending March 31, 2026. Chapter 11 accounted for 117 cases.
Why county totals can jump
Prince George’s had the largest business-bankruptcy count in the latest F-5A table. Related business cases filed in the same venue can create a sudden change in one county’s total.
Definition: U.S. Courts classifies debt as business when the debtor is a corporation or partnership, or when business-related debt predominates.
| County | Business cases, 12 months ending Mar. 31, 2026 | Change vs prior 12 months | Chapter 11 cases | All bankruptcy cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince George’S | 86 | +18 | 32 | 2,370 |
| Montgomery | 65 | -3 | 17 | 1,031 |
| Baltimore County | 56 | +0 | 16 | 3,016 |
| Baltimore city | 47 | +3 | 19 | 2,191 |
| Anne Arundel | 31 | -13 | 5 | 1,069 |
| Howard | 26 | +12 | 8 | 427 |
| Washington | 15 | +10 | 1 | 218 |
| Frederick | 14 | -2 | 2 | 335 |
| Harford | 11 | +0 | 1 | 608 |
| Carroll | 11 | +3 | 3 | 203 |
National credit backdrop
The 2026 Fed Small Business Credit Survey appendix reported that 94% of U.S. employer firms faced a financial challenge in 2025, 38% applied for financing, and 52% of applicants were fully approved.
Federal contract demand
USAspending reports $37.1B in FY2025 federal procurement obligations to recipients located in Maryland. USAspending assigns these obligations to the recipient’s state and includes award type codes A, B, C, and D.
| NAICS | Federal procurement category | FY2025 obligations |
|---|---|---|
| 541330 | Engineering Services | $5.2B |
| 541715 | Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) | $4.9B |
| 561210 | Facilities Support Services | $3.8B |
| 541519 | Other Computer Related Services | $3.6B |
| 236220 | Commercial and Institutional Building Construction | $2.1B |
| 541512 | Computer Systems Design Services | $2.1B |
| 541611 | Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services | $1.2B |
| 541511 | Custom Computer Programming Services | $1.1B |
| 541990 | All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | $1.0B |
| 334511 | Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing | $822.2M |
How the numbers fit together
Maryland's business applications rose 6.1% in 2025. The employer base has expanded since 2019, with establishments up 11.3% and employment up 1.4%.
Sources and definitions
Each dataset updates on its own schedule. Annual figures use the latest complete year, and partial-year comparisons are labeled beside the relevant number.
- Census BFS monthly CSV
Updated June 10, 2026, 14:00 GMT - Census BFS county workbook
Updated June 10, 2026, 14:22 GMT - Census county population estimates
Vintage 2025 county resident population estimates - BLS QCEW annual area files
2019 and 2024 annual API files - SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA package
Updated April 28, 2026, 14:42 GMT - IRS SOI Tax Year 2023 unincorporated tables
Tax Year 2023 county combined, sole proprietor state, and partnership state tables - U.S. Courts F-5A bankruptcy XLSX
12 months ending March 31, 2026 - Fed SBCS Main Street Metrics appendix
Last updated March 23, 2026 - USAspending API
FY2025 procurement obligations
Alex Morgan turns Census, BLS, SBA, IRS, court, Federal Reserve, and USAspending records into state-by-state business comparisons.