State Overview · Census CBP 2023

Maryland Industries

Employment and payroll benchmarks for 924 industries in Maryland

Reading the Maryland Industry Picture

Maryland (MD) shows 10,248,423 workers employed across 650,213 business establishments, covering 924 industries tracked by the Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 program. That single-state footprint is a starting point for anyone benchmarking location strategy, evaluating a market for expansion, or simply understanding where jobs concentrate. The single largest employer-industry in Maryland is Health Care and Social Assistance with 403,945 workers — a signal about what kind of labor market and supplier ecosystem the state actually supports.

Beyond the top employer, Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (301,509) and Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (301,509) fill out the top three, giving you a quick read on the state's economic base. Payroll dispersion is just as important as headcount: the highest-paying tracked industry (Finance and Insurance) pays $229,740/yr per employee, while the lowest-paying (Educational Services) pays $10,802/yr. That gap tells you how the state's median wage is being pulled up or down by its industry composition — critical context for anyone comparing cost of labor across markets.

Census CBP data does not include profit margins (that comes from IRS Statistics of Income at the national level only), so a full benchmark on any specific NAICS code in Maryland requires combining this state page with the national industry page. Click any industry in the table below to drop into a Maryland-specific NAICS view showing employment, establishments, annual payroll, and average compensation for that exact combination — then cross-reference the national page for profitability, entity structure, and SBA lending activity in the same industry.

Total Employment

10,248,423

Total Establishments

650,213

Industries Tracked

924

Top Industries by Employment

Industry Employment
Health Care and Social Assistance

NAICS 62

403,945
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

NAICS 54

301,509
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

NAICS 541

301,509
Retail Trade

NAICS 44

289,469
Administrative and Support and Waste Management

NAICS 56

256,840
Administrative and Support and Waste Management

NAICS 561

247,135
Accommodation and Food Services

NAICS 72

241,483
Accommodation and Food Services

NAICS 722

216,002
Accommodation and Food Services

NAICS 7225

197,368
Accommodation and Food Services

NAICS 72251

197,368
Construction

NAICS 23

167,451
Health Care and Social Assistance

NAICS 621

160,614
Construction

NAICS 238

118,543
Other Services (except Public Administration)

NAICS 81

112,568
Manufacturing

NAICS 31

109,929
Finance and Insurance

NAICS 52

98,329
Transportation and Warehousing

NAICS 48

96,536
Accommodation and Food Services

NAICS 722513

91,593
Accommodation and Food Services

NAICS 722511

90,952
Wholesale Trade

NAICS 42

90,300

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people are employed in Maryland?
According to Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 data, Maryland has 10,248,423 employees across 650,213 business establishments in 924 tracked industries.
What are the largest industries in Maryland?
The largest industries in Maryland by employment are Health Care and Social Assistance (403,945), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (301,509), and Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (301,509).
What is the average payroll in Maryland?
Average payroll per employee varies widely by industry in Maryland. The highest-paying tracked industry is Finance and Insurance at $229,740/yr. All data is from Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023.
How many businesses operate in Maryland?
Maryland has 650,213 business establishments across 924 industries tracked by the Census Bureau County Business Patterns program. Each establishment represents a single physical location or operating unit.
Disclaimer: PlainBizBench provides publicly available IRS and Census data for informational purposes only. This is not financial, tax, or business advice. Consult a qualified accountant or financial advisor for business-specific guidance.

Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · MD

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Data sourced from official U.S. government datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainBizBench Editorial

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