City · Harford County, Maryland

Aberdeen, Maryland

Aberdeen is a city in Harford County, Maryland, part of the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area. It has 17,298 residents. Aberdeen, Maryland has a quality-of-life score of 55 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,082 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Maryland it ranks #215 of 334 cities and towns. It ranks best on natural hazard risk (low), voter turnout (high) and reading scores (high). It ranks worst on time spent in the emergency room (high), hospital quality rating (low) and restaurants and bars (low).

55Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,082 of 15,651 cities and towns
Maryland: #215 of 334 in MD
Population: 17,298 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 2,484.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 2400125

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety79#3,309/15,637
Economy39#9,463/15,631
Housing40#8,952/14,977
Health48#8,126/15,609
Healthcare56#6,814/15,650
Environment63#5,713/15,453
Education73#4,177/15,649
Infrastructure27#11,444/15,650
Community65#5,419/15,651
Leisure & amenities33#10,556/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Aberdeen, Maryland ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Harford County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Natural hazard risk · low4.1
94/100Maryland 4.72025Federal Emergency Management AgencyHarford County value
Voter turnout · high75.0%
86/100Maryland 68.6%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionHarford County value
Reading scores · high3.25
83/100Maryland 3.00United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHarford County value
Traffic deaths · low7.1 /100k
83/100Maryland 9.4 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataHarford County value
New homes permitted · high7.1 /1k
82/100Maryland 2.1 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Public transit commuters · high1.5%
80/100Maryland 4.2%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Time spent in the emergency room · high239 min
5/100Maryland 246 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHarford County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Maryland 3.3United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHarford County value
Restaurants and bars · low5.3 /10k
13/100Maryland 7.2 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHarford County value
Adult obesity · high41.2%
16/100Maryland 36.8%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Average commute time · high27.5 min
17/100Maryland 31.0 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Food insecurity · high21.2%
24/100Maryland 15.8%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
15,848 (2015-2019) → 17,298 (2020-2024)
+9.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
0.9 /1k (2021) → 7.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+661%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
26.8% (2015-2019) → 19.5% (2020-2024)
−7.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
82.0% (2015-2019) → 88.8% (2020-2024)
+6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherImproving
86.9% (2015-2019) → 92.5% (2020-2024)
+5.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
35.8% (2015-2019) → 31.6% (2020-2024)
−4.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Aberdeen, Maryland improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Broadband+6.8 points82.0% → 88.8%
Household income+17%$63,842 → $74,826

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Aberdeen, Maryland between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.4 min2015-2019	27.5 min2020-2024	+1.2 min	Within the margin of error	34%
Bachelor's degree or higher	24.8%2015-2019	25.6%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Broadband subscriptions	82.0%2015-2019	88.8%2020-2024	+6.8 points	Improved	42%
Child poverty rate	26.8%2015-2019	19.5%2020-2024	−7.4 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Effective property tax rate	1.41%2015-2019	1.05%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Little change	81%
High school diploma or higher	86.9%2015-2019	92.5%2020-2024	+5.7 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Home price to income ratio	3.2×2015-2019	3.5×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	63%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4532015-2019	0.4322020-2024	−0.021	Within the margin of error	69%
Median household income	$63,8422015-2019	$74,8262020-2024	+17%	Improved	27%
Poverty rate	16.9%2015-2019	14.3%2020-2024	−2.6 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Rent as share of income	35.8%2015-2019	31.6%2020-2024	−4.2 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Rent-burdened households	57.6%2015-2019	55.1%2020-2024	−2.5 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Unemployment rate	4.3%2015-2019	5.7%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.9%2015-2019	6.0%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	45%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Aberdeen, Maryland five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Aberdeen, Maryland in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Aberdeen, Maryland itself moved +4.8 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

17,298 residents (±37)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

7,300 households (±391)

Aberdeen, Maryland
Maryland share

Under $25k15%1,078
$25k–50k19%1,388
$50k–75k16%1,189

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

7,300 households (±391)

Aberdeen, Maryland
Maryland share

Own62%4,533
Rent38%2,767

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

8,540 workers (±597)

Aberdeen, Maryland
Maryland share

Drive alone78%6,672
Carpool8.7%743
Public transit1.5%†132

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Harford County, the county holding most of Aberdeen's residents.

Harford County has 5,636 employer establishments, 213 for every 10,000 residents (0.86× the US rate of 248; 0.92× Maryland's), with 79,488 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,256. The Census Bureau also counts 21,525 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 5,636; 21,525 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 213; US 248 · Maryland 230
Paid employees: 79,488
Average annual pay: $55,256; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Harford County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	537	20.3	1.31×More than typical	4,078	$67,188	1,144
Ambulatory health care services	488	18.4	0.88×About typical	4,877	$62,879	1,068
Restaurants and other eating places	373	14.1	0.77×Fewer than typical	8,483	$22,537	77
Construction of buildings	257	9.7	1.28×More than typical	1,320	$73,160	428
Building equipment contractors	229	8.7	1.44×More than typical	1,993	$67,889	274
Lessors of real estate	228	8.6	0.70×Fewer than typical	500	$52,298	2,232
Services to buildings and dwellings	211	8	1.18×About typical	1,723	$42,472	908
Limited-service restaurants	192	7.3	0.90×About typical	3,920	$20,918	45
Computer systems design and related services	154	5.8	1.34×More than typical	3,023	$87,198	212
Management, scientific and technical consulting	153	5.8	0.86×About typical	2,140	$102,373	736
Offices of other health practitioners	152	5.7	0.94×About typical	1,101	$51,223	440
Automotive repair and maintenance	149	5.6	1.12×About typical	758	$51,716	196

Rank places for an industry Open Harford County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 264,739 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $3.1M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Aberdeen, Maryland: $179 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $3.1M; −36% vs FY2025
Per resident: $179; US $1,994
Sole-source: 44%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.4%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$3M98%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$23.5K0.8%
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office$16.7K0.5%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$13.8K0.4%
Department of Veterans Affairs$11.7K0.4%
Defense Logistics Agency$5,1910.2%
Defense Contract Management Agency$4,8910.2%
Department of the Air Force$3,2420.1%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

11.4MFY2017
7.6MFY2018
10.9MFY2019
3.6MFY2020
14MFY2021
5.4MFY2022
3.8MFY2023
4.1M

Top industries (NAICS)

Software publishers · 5112$1.6M51%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$1.3M41%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$154.2K5.0%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$46.4K1.5%
Information (NAICS 5178) · 5178$16.7K0.5%
Audio and video equipment manufacturing · 3343

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Aberdeen, Maryland, so they do not add up across cities.

Aberdeen, Maryland's figures are part of those of Harford County, MD ($1.7B in FY2026), never added to them: 0.2% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Aberdeen is mostly in Harford County.

See federal money in Harford County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Aberdeen, Maryland is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Andy HarrisR-MD-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 96%Missed 2.7%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Harford County87100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD69

Other cities and towns in Harford County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2400125

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends