Groundwork

Real estate · County · Maryland

Real estate businesses in Carroll County, MD

The real estate businesses in Carroll County, MD, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 50 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #1,082 of 2,229 scored counties
#9 of 24 scored counties in Maryland

Listings
196
14 chain locations (7%)
Official establishments
143
+21.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.2B
On rent and homeowner costs · $18,359 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
139
39% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
30.5
21% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
176,677
+2.2% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in Carroll County

The site report maps the real estate businesses 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 Carroll County. 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

Households in Carroll County spend about $1.2B a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $18,359 per household, 10% above the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 39% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in.

Carroll County has 196 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 7% of them, against 6% across the U.S. That is 30.5 per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

Official counts show 143 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Carroll County in 2023, up 21.2% from 2019. That is one for every 450 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Official counts list 725 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.8M has gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Carroll County.

Population estimates put the population change in Carroll County from 2020 to 2025 at +2.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For real estate businesses, Carroll County has a Groundwork market score of 50 (upper middle): #1,082 of 2,229 scored counties and #9 of 24 scored counties in Maryland.

How Carroll County compares

The same measures for Maryland and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate in Carroll County, MD compared with Maryland and the U.S.
MeasureCarroll CountyMarylandU.S.
Listings per 10k households30.540.438.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)139100100
Households per official establishment450454414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+21.2%+9.2%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.2%+1.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$18,359$17,488$16,661
Median household income$118,211$103,678$80,734
Groundwork market score5044

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
118 → 143+21.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
325
Annual payroll, 2023
$19.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
725Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
19614 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
272The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$1.8M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Carroll 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 Carroll County

Population, 2025 estimate
176,677+2.2% since 2020
Households
64,285
Median age
42.4
Homes lived in by their owners
84%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
448 sq. mi.
People per square mile
392
Median household income
$118,211+22.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$142,587
Median home value
$434,000
Jobs located here
57,897
Daytime population
147,678Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Carroll 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 real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Carroll County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Real estate across Maryland

Every Maryland market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Maryland for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Maryland, with Carroll County marked.

Top counties in Maryland

Counties in Maryland ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Caroline County, MD661612.8262+2.5%#333 of 2,229
2Somerset County, MD641012.0263+1.7%#398 of 2,229
3Cecil County, MD5610525.9145+3.2%#783 of 2,229
4Allegany County, MD554616.8186−1.6%#818 of 2,229
5Charles County, MD5525041.1104+5.9%#842 of 2,229
6St. Mary’s County, MD5313030.6138+2.4%#936 of 2,229
7Prince George’s County, MD531,00628.9137+0.5%#937 of 2,229
8Dorchester County, MD522820.7158+3.4%#983 of 2,229
9Carroll County, MD5019630.5139+2.2%#1,082 of 2,229
10Frederick County, MD5046744.697+11.0%#1,108 of 2,229

Other business types in Carroll County

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

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in Carroll County, MD?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 196 real estate businesses in Carroll County. 14 of them (7%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 143 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 21.2% from 2019. Official counts also show 725 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Carroll County, MD spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $1.2B a year, or $18,359 per household. That is 10% above the U.S. average (an index of 110, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 196 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 39% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 64,285 households in Carroll County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Carroll County, MD compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

Carroll County has 30.5 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 139, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Carroll County would have about 272, against 196 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 450 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 21.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.

How fast is Carroll County, MD growing?

Population estimates put Carroll County at 176,677 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 64,285 households. Median household income in Carroll County is $118,211, 46% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.2%, 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. Carroll County scores 50 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #1,082 of 2,229 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Carroll County. It maps the real estate businesses 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 real estate businesses · All 56 business types in Carroll County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Carroll 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 Carroll 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.