Comparable baseline
Maryland at a glance
| Population | 6,265,347 | July 1, 2025; +1.4% since 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Business applications | 9,134 | July 2026, seasonally adjusted |
| Trailing-12-month applications | 108,517 | 1,732.0 per 100,000 residents |
| High-propensity applications | 2,531 | 27.7% of July applications |
| Projected employer formations | 333 | Census four-quarter projection for July's cohort |
| Small businesses | 696,710 | SBA 2025 profile; underlying employer and nonemployer data are from 2022 |
| Small-business employment | 1,167,051 | 47.9% of private employment in 2022 |
| Employer establishments | 142,967 | 2023 County Business Patterns |
Application rankings cover the 50 states and use unrounded figures. Applications are qualifying EIN filings, not confirmed business openings. Measurement years differ because federal datasets are released on different schedules.
Maryland’s business-application level is more notable than its recent growth. The state recorded 9,134 applications in July 2026, 5.7% more than a year earlier and 1.0% fewer than in June. Across the 12 months through July, applications rose 12.7% to 108,517.
That trailing-year total equaled 1,732 applications per 100,000 residents, the 19th-highest rate among states. Yet Maryland ranked 40th for trailing-year growth and 45th for July’s year-over-year change. The state is producing a meaningful level of applications without the acceleration seen elsewhere.
Scale looks less exceptional after adjusting for population
Maryland ranked 20th by raw July application count but 30th on a per-capita basis, at 145.8 applications per 100,000 residents. The rank shift is not enormous, but it keeps a fairly large absolute market in perspective.
July applications were 47.6% above the 6,188 recorded in July 2019. Maryland’s estimated population increased 1.4% from the 2020 Census base to July 2025, reaching 6.27 million. These time periods only partly overlap, so they show context rather than causation.
Census classified 2,531 July filings as high propensity, or 27.7% of applications and 16th among states. Its model projected 333 employer formations from the July cohort within four quarters; that is a forecast, not an observed conversion or survival rate.
Maryland’s high-propensity share ranked 16th, while projected formations per 100 applications ranked 46th. The two indicators point to a mixed employer-oriented application profile.
The small-business headline is mostly nonemployers
The SBA reported 696,710 small businesses in Maryland from 2022 component data. Only 110,383 were small employer firms; 586,327 were nonemployer businesses with no paid employees. Nonemployers made up 84.2% of the published total, the sixth-highest share among states.
That composition is essential whenever Maryland’s business count is cited. The total represents a broad universe of businesses without paid employees and employer firms, not nearly 700,000 payroll companies or storefronts.
Small firms employed 1,167,051 people, equal to 47.9% of private-sector employment and 23rd among states.
Professional services distinguish Maryland’s employment base
Professional, scientific, and technical services employed 301,509 people in 2023, or 12.2% of employment covered by County Business Patterns. That share was 1.65 times the 50-state share. Health care and social assistance was larger at 403,945 jobs, while retail trade employed 289,469.
Maryland’s covered private employment was also distributed across several jurisdictions. Montgomery County led with 17.8%, Baltimore County held 13.8%, and Baltimore city 12.2%. Together they accounted for 43.9%, but no single county contained one-fifth of the state total.
County Business Patterns counted 142,967 employer establishments and about 2.47 million covered private jobs statewide. The three leading jurisdictions are important centers, yet more than half of covered employment was located elsewhere—a broader base than a Baltimore-versus-Washington shorthand suggests.
These employment figures do not explain recent applications. They show the industries and local markets in which established Maryland employers operate.
Official starting points for a Maryland business
- Coordinate the process: Maryland Business Express brings together entity, tax, license, annual-report, and good-standing services.
- Register an entity: The registration guide explains State Department of Assessments and Taxation requirements, including resident-agent information.
- Handle taxes and employer accounts: The tax and insurance guide links the relevant state services.
- Find licenses: The Business Express FAQ points to the state license database and local clerks.
- Get advice: Maryland SBDC provides individualized consulting and training through regional offices.
Source and calculation note
Application figures use the Census July 2026 Business Formation Statistics release. Monthly values are seasonally adjusted; trailing-year totals sum unadjusted applications from August 2025 through July 2026 and compare them with the preceding August–July period. Rates use the July 1, 2025 population estimate. SBA measures use 2022 employer and nonemployer components. Industry and county shares use 2023 County Business Patterns employment. BizFacts calculated the percentage changes, rates, regional medians, shares, ratios, and 50-state ranks from sources retrieved September 3, 2026.