Marketing a business in Maryland

People and buying power

Across Maryland there are 4 metropolitan areas with their own profiles on this site; Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD is the largest at 2.85 million residents.

Household income runs $103,678 here, which is 28 percent above the national figure. Homes are valued at a median of $419,900 against $332,700 nationally, 26 percent above the national figure. Both figures matter for pricing and for which offers land.

Three quick reads on the people of Maryland. 67.6% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, 2 points above the US share. 43.4% of adults finished a four-year degree or more (8 points above the US share). Of 3,313,651 people in the labor force, 4.9% are unemployed, about the same as the US share. The median resident is 39.4 years old, 0.5 years above the national median.

Against its largest metro, the median income is 4 percent higher than the Baltimore metro figure, the median home value is 7 percent higher than the Baltimore metro figure, and the number of businesses per resident is 5 percent thinner than the Baltimore metro figure; see the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD page for the full figures.

Establishments by trade

By the Census Bureau's count Maryland supports 142,967 employer establishments. Per 1,000 people that is 23, 8 percent below the national figure. Home-services contractors make up 7,280 of those establishments, 5.1% of the total, about the same as the US share.

The last column divides the local share of establishments by the national share (1.00 = the same mix as the US).

Maryland is dense with specialty trade contractors and grocery stores compared with the US pattern. At the top of that list, specialty trade contractors number 1,161, 1.6 times the US share. Where the base is lighter: general freight trucking, concrete contractors, automobile dealers and roofing contractors. General freight trucking number just 1,298, about 65% of the US share, which is room for a well-run operator to be the obvious choice. Plumbing and HVAC contractors, electrical contractors and landscaping services sit near their national proportions.

Adjusted for population, restaurants are the thickest on the ground (168.2 per 100,000), with physicians' offices and legal services next. Three categories dominate by count: restaurants at 10,438, physicians' offices at 4,091 and legal services at 3,046. By sector, medical and dental practices are the most over-represented at about the same as the US share; trucking, storage, real estate and road construction are the least, at about 79% of.

Reading the numbers as an advertiser

For specialty trade contractors and grocery stores, expect the Google Ads auction to be contested: more advertisers per search means higher cost per click and a real premium on ad relevance, landing-page quality and call tracking that proves which keywords produce jobs. Thin categories such as general freight trucking, concrete contractors and automobile dealers are where the market has room. The searches still happen; there are simply fewer businesses answering them, so the first well-presented operator tends to collect the calls. Household income 28 percent above the national figure supports higher ticket sizes, which is why premium positioning and financing offers tend to work in this market. Residents here are older than the US median (0.5 years above the national median); they search, read reviews and call, which puts the weight on search, the listing and the phone.