Groundwork

Health care · Metro area · Maryland

Medical and dental practices in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area

How the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for medical and dental practices: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 43 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #247 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 4 scored metro areas based in Maryland

Listings
9,947
1,261 chain locations (13%)
Official establishments
3,874
−1.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.5B
On medical and dental services · $1,297 a household
Spending per listing
$146K
4% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
88.8
5% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
2,857,781
+0.4% since 2020

See the medical and dental practices around any address in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area

The site report maps the medical and dental practices 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 the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

At $1,297 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area spend about $1.5B a year on medical and dental services. That works out to $146K per practice, 4% below the U.S. figure of $152K.

There are 9,947 medical and dental practices on map listings in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area as of September 2026. 1,261 of them (13%) are chain locations, against 11% across the U.S. That is 88.8 per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 84.5.

Official counts show 3,874 businesses with payroll classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area in 2023, down 1.9% from 2019. That is one for every 289 households, against one for every 270 across the U.S. Official counts list 3,176 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 46 SBA-backed loans worth $12.2M have gone to businesses classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area.

Population estimates show the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area grew 0.4% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For medical and dental practices, the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area has a Groundwork market score of 43 (lower middle): #247 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 4 scored metro areas based in Maryland.

How the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area compares

The same measures for Maryland and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all medical and dental services by the medical and dental practices counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Doctors, dentists and clinics in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area compared with Maryland and the U.S.
MeasureBaltimore-Columbia-Towson metro areaMarylandU.S.
Listings per 10k households88.888.684.5
Spending per listing$146K$149K$152K
Households per official establishment289274270
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−1.9%−2.0%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.4%+1.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on medical and dental services$1,297$1,322$1,288
Median household income$99,470$103,678$80,734
Groundwork market score4342

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3,874−1.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
45,478
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.9B
One-person businesses, 2023
3,176Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
9,9471,261 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
9,527The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
46
Amount
$12.2M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area, 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 the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
2,857,781+0.4% since 2020
Households
1,120,269
Median age
40.3
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
2,602 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,095
Median household income
$99,470+21.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$131,059
Median home value
$391,300
Jobs located here
1,345,791
Daytime population
2,886,566Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the medical and dental practices on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Doctors, dentists and clinics across Maryland

Every Maryland market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Maryland for medical and dental practices, numbered among those based in Maryland (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Maryland

Metro areas in Maryland ranked for medical and dental practices by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Lexington Park, MD8051768.1$211K+2.1%#15 of 387
2Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV7369358.6$192K+7.1%#40 of 387
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV5521,68391.4$160K+3.3%#153 of 387
3Salisbury, MD4735572.7$151K+2.9%#211 of 387
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD4721,55687.4$148K+1.4%#212 of 387
4Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD439,94788.8$146K+0.4%#247 of 387

Other business types in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many medical and dental practices are in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 9,947 medical and dental practices in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area. 1,261 of them (13%) are chain locations. The listings count every outpatient clinic and practice, and urgent care. Official counts show 3,874 businesses with payroll classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in 2023, down 1.9% from 2019. Official counts also show 3,176 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area spend on medical and dental services?

About $1.5B a year, or $1,297 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 101, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 9,947 medical and dental practices on map listings, it comes to $146K per practice. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,120,269 households in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area compare with the U.S. for medical and dental practices?

The Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area has 88.8 medical and dental practices per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 84.5. Spending per practice is $146K, 4% below the U.S. figure of $152K. At the U.S. ratio of medical and dental practices to household spending, the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area would have about 9,527, against 9,947 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 289 households, against one for every 270 across the U.S. The official count fell 1.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area at 2,857,781 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,120,269 households. The median household income in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area is $99,470 a year, 23% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.9% 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. The Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area scores 43 for medical and dental practices (lower middle), #247 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area. It maps the medical and dental practices 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 medical and dental practices · All 56 business types in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area?

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 the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area. 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.