Home services · County · Maryland
HVAC and plumbing companies in Howard County, MD
How Howard County, MD compares with other counties and the U.S. for HVAC and plumbing companies: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 73 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #143 of 1,707 scored counties
#3 of 23 scored counties in Maryland
- Listings
- 68
- 7 chain locations (10%)
- Official establishments
- 112
- +5.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $502.5M
- On home repairs, maintenance and insurance · $4,150 a household
- Spending per listing
- $7.4M
- 55% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.6
- 11% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 339,183
- +1.9% since 2020
See the HVAC and plumbing companies around any address in Howard County
The site report maps the HVAC and plumbing companies on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Howard County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
For HVAC and plumbing companies, Howard County has a Groundwork market score of 73 (upper middle): #143 of 1,707 scored counties and #3 of 23 scored counties in Maryland. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for HVAC and plumbing companies.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 68 HVAC and plumbing companies in Howard County. Of those, 7 are chain locations, or 10%, against 4% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 5.6, 11% below the U.S. rate of 6.3.
Household spending on home repairs, maintenance and insurance in Howard County comes to about $502.5M a year: $4,150 per household, 38% above the U.S. average. That is about $7.4M of household spending for each company on map listings, 55% above the U.S. figure of $4.8M. That spending covers all home repairs, maintenance and insurance, which HVAC and plumbing companies share with other businesses in the trade.
In 2023, official counts showed 112 businesses with payroll in Howard County classed as plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors, up 5.7% from 2019. That is one for every 1,081 households, against one for every 1,162 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $465K have gone to businesses classed as plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors in Howard County. Population estimates show Howard County grew 1.9% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How Howard County compares
The same measures for Maryland and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all home repairs, maintenance and insurance by the HVAC and plumbing companies counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Howard County | Maryland | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.6 | 6.3 | 6.3 |
| Spending per listing | $7.4M | $5.5M | $4.8M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,081 | 1,190 | 1,162 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +5.7% | −4.8% | +7.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.9% | +1.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on home repairs, maintenance and insurance | $4,150 | $3,443 | $3,018 |
| Median household income | $149,763 | $103,678 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 73 | 65 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 106 → 112+5.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,154
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $182.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 687 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 106The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $465K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors in Howard County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in Howard County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 339,183+1.9% since 2020
- Households
- 121,065
- Median age
- 40.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 251 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,340
- Median household income
- $149,763+23.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $184,243
- Median home value
- $597,900
- Jobs located here
- 185,575
- Daytime population
- 363,145Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Howard County?
These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the HVAC and plumbing companies on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of Howard County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardHVAC and plumbing across Maryland
Every Maryland market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Maryland for HVAC and plumbing companies, numbered among those based in Maryland, with Howard County marked.
Top counties in Maryland
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Montgomery County, MD | 81 | 208 | 5.3 | $7.4M | +1.3% | #51 of 1,707 |
| 2Prince George’s County, MD | 76 | 168 | 4.8 | $6.9M | +0.5% | #97 of 1,707 |
| 3Howard County, MD | 73 | 68 | 5.6 | $7.4M | +1.9% | #143 of 1,707 |
| 4Cecil County, MD | 72 | 23 | 5.7 | $5.5M | +3.2% | #170 of 1,707 |
| 5Baltimore city, MD | 70 | 80 | 3.1 | $8.6M | −2.3% | #199 of 1,707 |
| 6Charles County, MD | 66 | 44 | 7.2 | $5.1M | +5.9% | #307 of 1,707 |
| 7Baltimore County, MD | 63 | 199 | 6.0 | $5.4M | −0.7% | #393 of 1,707 |
| 8Frederick County, MD | 63 | 89 | 8.5 | $4.4M | +11.0% | #403 of 1,707 |
| 9Washington County, MD | 62 | 36 | 6.0 | $4.8M | +2.0% | #433 of 1,707 |
| 10Anne Arundel County, MD | 60 | 166 | 7.4 | $5.1M | +1.7% | #495 of 1,707 |
Other business types in Howard County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
- Home repair trades71
- HVAC and plumbing73
- Electricians75
- Roofing and gutters74
- Lawn, cleaning and pest control69
- Landscaping and lawn care72
- House cleaning66
- Pest control82
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many HVAC and plumbing companies are in Howard County, MD?
There are 68 HVAC and plumbing companies on map listings in Howard County as of September 2026. 7 of them (10%) are chain locations. The listings count heating and air-conditioning companies and plumbers. Official counts show 112 businesses with payroll classed as plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors in 2023, up 5.7% from 2019.
How much do households in Howard County, MD spend on home repairs, maintenance and insurance?
About $502.5M a year, or $4,150 per household. That is 38% above the U.S. average (an index of 138, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 68 HVAC and plumbing companies on map listings, it comes to $7.4M per company. The spending figure covers all home repairs, maintenance and insurance, not only HVAC and plumbing companies. It is estimated from the incomes of the 121,065 households in Howard County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Howard County, MD compare with the U.S. for HVAC and plumbing companies?
Howard County has 5.6 HVAC and plumbing companies per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 6.3. Spending per company is $7.4M, 55% above the U.S. figure of $4.8M. At the national ratio of HVAC and plumbing companies to household spending, Howard County would have about 106, against 68 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,081 households, against one for every 1,162 across the U.S. The official count rose 5.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.6% for the U.S.
How fast is Howard County, MD growing?
Population estimates put Howard County at 339,183 people in 2025, up 1.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 121,065 households. The median household income in Howard County is $149,763 a year, 86% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.6% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Howard County scores 73 for HVAC and plumbing companies (upper middle), #143 of 1,707 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Howard County. It maps the HVAC and plumbing companies on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for HVAC and plumbing companies · All 56 business types in Howard County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Howard County?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of Howard County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.