Frederick County, Maryland: commercial real estate data.
Frederick County, Maryland had an estimated 299,317 residents on July 1, 2024, up 10.2 percent since the 2020 census base of 271,720, across 660 square miles. County output reached $20.35 bn in 2024, 6,591 establishments operate here, and the SBA record carries 363 7(a) approvals worth $158.2 m since FY2020.
Underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency.
Frederick County
How many people live in Frederick County
- Population, American Community Survey 2020-2024287,048
- Households104,635
- Average household size2.74
- Median household income$122,002
- Median age39.0
- Median gross rent$1,774 per month
- Median owner-occupied home value$464,600
- Home value to household income3.8 times
- Annual rent as a share of median income17.4 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher45.8 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree20.5 percent
- Adults 25 and over196,490
- Population under 1866,996
- Share under 1823.3 percent
- Population 65 and over43,882
- Share 65 and over15.3 percent
- Working age population, 18 to 64176,170
- Civilian labor force157,379
- Unemployment rate3.3 percent
- Labor force participation, adults 18 and over71.5 percent
- Rank by population among Maryland counties7th of 24
- Rank by population among US county-equivalents, Puerto Rico included252nd of 3,222
Frederick County is the 7th largest of 24 Maryland counties by population. A median home costs 3.8 times median household income, which is moderately unaffordable by national standards. Residents under 18 outnumber those 65 and over, at 23.3 percent against 15.3 percent, a household formation profile rather than a retirement one.
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
Frederick County
Is Frederick County's population growing?
- Population, July 1, 2024299,317
- Census 2020 base population271,720
- Population change since the 2020 census base10.16 percent
- Population change, 2023 to 20245,163
- Births, 20242,981
- Deaths, 20242,133
- Natural change, 2024848
- Net domestic migration, 20242,546
- Net international migration, 20241,778
- Total net migration, 20244,324
- Cumulative net domestic migration, 2021 to 202417,805
- Rank by growth among US county-equivalents143rd of 3,144
The county has grown 10.16 percent since the 2020 census base. The population grew in 2024 from both sources: births exceeded deaths and more people moved in than left.
US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2024, Vintage 2024, estimates 2020 to 2024.
Frederick County
Where are people moving to Frederick County from?
- Tax returns filed by households arriving9,170
- People arriving, from those returns17,284
- Tax returns filed by households leaving7,848
- Net household movement1,322
- Adjusted gross income arriving$847.5 m
- Net adjusted gross income movement$169.8 m
- Average income of an arriving household$92,424
- Average income of a leaving household$86,360
- Largest single originMontgomery County (2,690 households)
- Largest single destinationWashington County (999 households)
| Origin | Households | People | Adjusted gross income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery County | 2,690 | 5,302 | $257.8 m |
| Howard County | 471 | 1,010 | $53.7 m |
| Washington County | 464 | 813 | $29.2 m |
| Carroll County | 380 | 639 | $31.1 m |
| Baltimore County | 297 | 538 | $25.4 m |
| Anne Arundel County | 295 | 606 | $30.4 m |
| Prince George's County | 272 | 563 | $21.3 m |
| Fairfax County | 237 | 485 | $25.8 m |
Households arriving report $6,064 more average income than households leaving, so the migration is raising local spending power rather than just moving it around. The largest single source of arrivals is Montgomery County, which is the catchment a retail or multifamily study should look at first.
US Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income county migration flows, 2021 to 2022 filing years.
Frederick County
What is the Frederick County economy?
- County GDP, 2024$20.35 bn
- County GDP, 2023$19.15 bn
- GDP change, 2023 to 20246.3 percent
- GDP change over five years41.7 percent
- Rank by GDP among the Maryland areas BEA publishes7th of 24
- Rank by GDP among the US county areas BEA publishes257th of 3,127
- GDP per resident$70,902
Output grew 6.3 percent in the latest year and 41.7 percent over five, which is the trend line a lender will read behind any single year figure.
US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional, table CAGDP2, CAGDP2, through 2024.
Frederick County
Employment by industry in Frederick County
- Covered employment, annual average108,438
- Establishments reporting7,170
- Average annual pay$69,852
- Average weekly wage$1,343
- Retail trade, employment14,606
- Retail trade, average annual pay$41,389
- Health care and social assistance, employment13,097
- Health care and social assistance, average annual pay$61,040
- Professional, scientific and technical services, employment11,144
- Professional, scientific and technical services, average annual pay$101,682
- Construction, employment10,110
- Construction, average annual pay$78,470
- Accommodation and food services, employment10,043
- Manufacturing, employment5,642
| Sector | Employment | Establishments | Average annual pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 14,606 | 709 | $41,389 |
| Health care and social assistance | 13,097 | 773 | $61,040 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 11,144 | 1,297 | $101,682 |
| Construction | 10,110 | 849 | $78,470 |
| Accommodation and food services | 10,043 | 508 | $27,553 |
| Manufacturing | 5,642 | 226 | $74,082 |
| Administrative and support and waste management services | 5,204 | 424 | $58,976 |
| Other services, except public administration | 4,284 | 632 | $52,545 |
Retail trade is the largest private sector at 14,606 jobs, 13.5 percent of covered employment.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages.
Frederick County
How many businesses are in Frederick County?
- Establishments, all industries6,591
- Employment at those establishments95,077
- Annual payroll$5.69 bn
- Establishments per 1,000 residents23.0
These are counts of establishments physically operating in the county, not listings, so they are the supply side a feasibility study measures demand against. County Business Patterns counts private establishments with paid employees in March 2023, while the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages above counts every unemployment-insured employer, public ones included, as a 2024 annual average, so the two establishment and employment counts differ.
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
Frederick County
Building permits in Frederick County
- Housing units authorized by permit, 20241,562
- Declared construction value permitted$431.6 m
- Single family units authorized1,185
- Multifamily units authorized377
- Multifamily share of units24.1 percent
- Average declared value per unit$276,308
- Units authorized per 1,000 households14.9
Single-family homes are 75.9 percent of units authorized, so the pipeline is predominantly single-family.
US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
Frederick County
SBA loans in Frederick County (7(a) and 504)
- 7(a) approvals recorded363
- 7(a) gross approval dollars$158.2 m
- Average 7(a) approval$435,918
- Median 7(a) approval$135,000
- 10th percentile approval$20,560
- 90th percentile approval$1,088,400
- Largest single approval$5,000,000
- Jobs reported supported, 7(a)3,958
- Jobs per approval10.9
- Distinct 7(a) lenders active55
- Distinct industries receiving approvals129
- Median 7(a) term120 months
- Share of loans on real estate terms, 240 months or longer8.8 percent
- Loans on real estate terms32
- Loans on working capital terms, 120 months or shorter306
- Franchise loans46
- Franchise share of approvals12.7 percent
- Leading industry by approval countFull-Service Restaurants (26)
- Most active lenderManufacturers and Traders Trust Company (187)
- 504 approvals recorded53
- 504 gross approval dollars$55.5 m
- Average 504 approval$1,046,906
- Median 504 approval$619,000
- Distinct CDCs active4
- 504 jobs per approval13.6
- 504 jobs per million dollars approved13.0
- Most active CDCBusiness Finance Group, Inc. (36)
- Combined SBA approval dollars, 7(a) FY2020 to FY2026 and 504 FY2010 to FY2026$213.7 m
The average approval of $435,918 sits well above the median of $135,000, pulled up by a few larger deals, so the median is the better guide to what a typical borrower here gets. Only 8.8 percent of approvals run on real estate terms, so SBA credit here is mostly working capital and equipment rather than property acquisition.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30. US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Frederick County
SBA loan default and charge-off rates in Frederick County
Do SBA loans in Frederick County get paid back?
- Loans with a final outcome recorded55
- Paid in full51
- Charged off4
- Charge-off rate on resolved loans7.3 percent
- Status: Paid in full51
- Status: Exempt from disclosure225
- Status: Charged off4
- Status: Cancelled49
- Status: Committed, not yet disbursed34
Of the 55 loans that have reached a final outcome, 7.3 percent were charged off. This is computed only over resolved loans, because a loan still running has not yet succeeded or failed and counting it either way would be wrong.
Compare against the national and state SBA charge-off rates, computed the same way over resolved loans only.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Frederick County
SBA lending by place in Frederick County
- Borrower cities with recorded lending18
- Frederick, approvals244
- Mount Airy, approvals27
- New Market, approvals14
- Brunswick, approvals13
- Monrovia, approvals12
- Thurmont, approvals10
| Borrower city | Approvals | Gross approval dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Frederick | 244 | $117,923,500 |
| Mount Airy | 27 | $7,859,600 |
| New Market | 14 | $4,425,500 |
| Brunswick | 13 | $1,083,000 |
| Monrovia | 12 | $1,765,300 |
| Thurmont | 10 | $4,806,000 |
| Walkersville | 8 | $4,645,000 |
| Jefferson | 6 | $2,426,000 |
| 10 other borrower cities | 29 | $13,304,200 |
Frederick accounts for 244 approvals against 27 in Mount Airy. County level figures average over that gap, which is why a site decision is made at the submarket rather than the county.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Frederick County
How large is Frederick County?
- Land area660 sq mi
- Rank by land area among Maryland counties1st of 24
- Width, east to west30.5 mi
- Height, north to south34.5 mi
- Geographies sharing a boundary7
- Residents per square mile of land435
- Establishments per square mile9.99
US Census Bureau county boundary geometry, TIGER, adjacency computed from shared boundary vertices, TIGER county boundaries. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year. US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
Frederick County
Flood risk in Frederick County
- Participation of the county's own NFIP community Frederick County, unincorporated areasParticipating, community 240027
- Communities in the county in the NFIP Community Status Book13
- Of those, participating in the NFIP13
- NFIP participation rate100.0 percent
- Best Community Rating System class in the county A lower CRS class is a larger flood insurance premium discount.Class 6
- Communities carrying a CRS class1
- Radon levels in Frederick County, EPA zone predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/LZone 1
The county's own community in the status book, unincorporated Frederick County (community 240027), participates in the National Flood Insurance Program and carries no Community Rating System class, so no CRS premium discount applies there. The EPA places Frederick County in radon zone 1, a predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/L. The zone is a screening prediction for the county and does not substitute for a test at an address. The best Community Rating System class among the county's communities is 6, which carries a flood insurance premium discount for policies written in that community. 100.0 percent of the county's listed communities participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, per Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26. US EPA, Map of Radon Zones, county spreadsheet, 2024-05 publication, EPA 402/A-16/001.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Traffic counts, zoning and the flood zone at an address are not on this page; they resolve at the address in the platform. How this page was built →
Feasibility studies
When a Frederick County site needs a document a lender will accept.
The same data layer behind this page is the one the studies are written from. A study for a Frederick County site starts with the figures you are reading, carrying the same source and period into the credit file.
- Population, American Community Survey 2020-2024287,048
- Households104,635
- Average household size2.74
- Median household income$122,002
- Median age39.0
Common questions
Frederick County questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Frederick County, Maryland?
The Census Bureau estimates 299,317 residents on July 1, 2024 (US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2024). The American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimate is 287,048, in 104,635 households, ranking 7th of 24 Maryland counties. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
Is Frederick County's population growing?
The population has grown 10.16 percent since the 2020 census base of 271,720, to 299,317 on July 1, 2024. In 2024 there were 2,981 births against 2,133 deaths, with net migration of 4,324. Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2024, Vintage 2024, estimates 2020 to 2024.
What is the median household income in Frederick County?
$122,002. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $464,600, which is 3.8 times income, and median gross rent is $1,774 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
How many businesses are in Frederick County?
6,591 establishments, employing 95,077 people with an annual payroll of $5.69 bn. These are establishments physically operating in the county, not listings. Source: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
What is employment by industry in Frederick County?
Retail trade is the largest private sector at 14,606 jobs, 13.5 percent of covered employment. Covered employment averages 108,438 jobs at an average annual pay of $69,852, or $1,343 a week. Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages.
How much SBA lending happens in Frederick County?
363 7(a) approvals totaling $158.2 m since FY2020, across 55 lenders, with a median approval of $135,000, plus 53 504 approvals worth $55.5 m since FY2010. These are approvals recorded in the release, not loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans in Frederick County get paid back?
Of the 55 loans that have reached a final outcome, 51 were paid in full and 4 charged off, a charge-off rate of 7.3 percent. Loans still running are excluded, because they have not yet succeeded or failed.
How many building permits were issued in Frederick County?
1,562 housing units were authorized by permit in 2024, with a declared construction value of $431.6 m. Multifamily was 24.1 percent of units. Source: US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
What is the radon zone for Frederick County?
Zone 1, a predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/L. Source: US EPA, Map of Radon Zones, county spreadsheet, 2024-05 publication, EPA 402/A-16/001.
Where do people moving to Frederick County come from?
The largest single origin is Montgomery County, with 2,690 households. Arriving households report an average income of $92,424 against $86,360 for those leaving. Source: US Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income county migration flows, 2021 to 2022 filing years.
Are traffic counts available for Frederick County on this page?
No. Annual average daily traffic resolves in the platform rather than in this dataset, so no AADT figure is printed here. It is a gap we know about rather than a figure we estimated.
Is zoning published for Frederick County?
No. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning, and where a statutory framework applies it is marked as the statewide frame, to be confirmed locally.
Frederick County
Cities and places in Frederick.
28 Census places lie wholly or partly in Frederick County. All 28 carry enough published place level data for a page of their own and are linked.
| Place | Type | Population | SBA 7(a) approvals, projects in this county | Lies in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick | city | 83,395 | 244 | Wholly in this county |
| Ballenger Creek | CDP | 26,390 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Linganore | CDP | 14,444 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Urbana | CDP | 14,260 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Green Valley | CDP | 13,602 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Mount Airy | town | 9,805 | 27 | 33.5 percent here, 66.5 percent Carroll County |
| Brunswick | city | 8,450 | 13 | Wholly in this county |
| Walkersville | town | 6,414 | 8 | Wholly in this county |
| Thurmont | town | 6,254 | 10 | Wholly in this county |
| Spring Ridge | CDP | 5,922 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Middletown | town | 5,014 | 4 | Wholly in this county |
| Monrovia | CDP | 3,568 | 12 | Wholly in this county |
| Jefferson | CDP | 3,314 | 6 | Wholly in this county |
| Bartonsville | CDP | 3,282 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Braddock Heights | CDP | 2,892 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Emmitsburg | town | 2,845 | 3 | Wholly in this county |
| Point of Rocks | CDP | 2,462 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Myersville | town | 2,358 | 6 | Wholly in this county |
| Adamstown | CDP | 2,025 | 1 | Wholly in this county |
| New Market | town | 1,603 | 14 | Wholly in this county |
| Woodsboro | town | 1,540 | 5 | Wholly in this county |
| Libertytown | CDP | 1,346 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Buckeystown | CDP | 1,192 | 1 | Wholly in this county |
| Sabillasville | CDP | 556 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Lewistown | CDP | 362 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Rosemont | village | 310 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Burkittsville | town | 135 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
| Graceham | CDP | 121 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
A further 9 of the county's 363 SBA 7(a) approvals are to borrowers in cities that match no Census place in Frederick County, the largest being Ijamsville (6), Tuscarora (1), Union Bridge (1). Those are postal cities, unincorporated areas and cities outside the county, so no place row claims them; they are counted in the county total above.