Census-designated place · Howard County, Maryland

Fulton, Maryland

Fulton is a census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland, part of the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area. It has 5,677 residents. Fulton, Maryland has a quality-of-life score of 99 out of 100 (very high), ranking #146 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Maryland it ranks #3 of 334 cities and towns. It ranks best on adult smoking (low), frequent mental distress (low) and poor or fair health (low). It ranks worst on time spent in the emergency room (high), job growth (low) and public libraries (low).

99Very high

Quality-of-life score: #146 of 15,651 cities and towns
Maryland: #3 of 334 in MD
Population: 5,677 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 1,499.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 2431025

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety74#4,036/15,637
Economy99#120/15,631
Housing43#8,480/14,977
Health100#23/15,609
Healthcare97#450/15,650
Environment91#1,401/15,453
Education97#440/15,649
Infrastructure97#477/15,650
Community95#860/15,651
Leisure & amenities64#5,618/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Fulton, Maryland ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Howard 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

Adult smoking · low4.8%
100/100Maryland 12.3%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · low11.2%
100/100Maryland 17.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Poor or fair health · low8.5%
100/100Maryland 17.0%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Primary care physicians · high185 /100k
100/100Maryland 86 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHoward County value
Lack of reliable transportation · low3.8%
100/100Maryland 8.2%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Physical inactivity · low11.8%
99/100Maryland 22.9%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Time spent in the emergency room · high266 min
1/100Maryland 246 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHoward County value
Job growth · low-2.0%
13/100Maryland -1.7%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataHoward County value
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
14/100Maryland 0.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesHoward County value
Average commute time · high25.5 min
16/100Maryland 31.0 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Drought exposure · high71%
22/100Maryland 64%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAHoward County value
Property crime rate · high1,450 /100k
31/100Maryland 1,820 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationHoward County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
4,326 (2015-2019) → 5,677 (2020-2024)
+31%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
24.8% (2015-2019) → 47.7% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
15.5% (2015-2019) → 24.5% (2020-2024)
+9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
78.3% (2015-2019) → 85.0% (2020-2024)
+6.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$175,446 (2015-2019) → $222,039 (2020-2024)
+27%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Average commute timeImproving
34.2 min (2015-2019) → 25.5 min (2020-2024)
−25%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Fulton, Maryland improved on 1 of 8 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 moved within the margin of error and 0 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.

Improved1

Property tax−0.5 points1.13% → 0.66%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 8 measures

Change of every measure of Fulton, Maryland between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	34.2 min2015-2019	25.5 min2020-2024	−8.6 min	Within the margin of error	97%
Bachelor's degree or higher	78.3%2015-2019	85.0%2020-2024	+6.7 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Broadband subscriptions	99.1%2015-2019	98.3%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Effective property tax rate	1.13%2015-2019	0.66%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Improved	89%
High school diploma or higher	99.6%2015-2019	98.4%2020-2024	−1.2 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Home price to income ratio	3.7×2015-2019	4.1×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	51%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3962015-2019	0.4122020-2024	+0.016	Within the margin of error	37%
Median household income	$175,4462015-2019	$222,0392020-2024	+27%	Within the margin of error	48%

“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 Fulton, Maryland five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Fulton, 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, Fulton, Maryland itself moved +5.7 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

5,677 residents (±536)

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

1,939 households (±176)

Fulton, Maryland
Maryland share

Under $25k0.7%†14
$25k–50k1.1%†22
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,939 households (±176)

Fulton, Maryland
Maryland share

Own80%1,549
Rent20%†390

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−9.2 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

3,274 workers (±404)

Fulton, Maryland
Maryland share

Drive alone50%1,638
Carpool3.8%†126
Public transit3.1%†102

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 Howard County, the county holding most of Fulton's residents.

Howard County has 10,050 employer establishments, 299 for every 10,000 residents (1.20× the US rate of 248; 1.30× Maryland's), with 185,946 paid employees at an average annual pay of $82,905. The Census Bureau also counts 35,620 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 10,050; 35,620 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 299; US 248 · Maryland 230
Paid employees: 185,946
Average annual pay: $82,905; US $68,342

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

Computer systems design and related services	1,002	29.8	6.88×More than typical	14,272	$135,596	957
Ambulatory health care services	945	28.1	1.35×More than typical	10,257	$72,687	2,681
Restaurants and other eating places	602	17.9	0.97×About typical	11,638	$24,573	173
Management, scientific and technical consulting	517	15.4	2.29×More than typical	8,004	$112,631	2,301
Specialty trade contractors	514	15.3	0.99×About typical	8,767	$74,438	1,190
Lessors of real estate	402	12	0.97×About typical	2,018	$88,899	3,484
Offices of physicians	314	9.3	1.44×More than typical	3,137	$111,293	589
Limited-service restaurants	302	9	1.12×About typical	4,612	$22,325	101
Architectural, engineering and related services	287	8.5	2.45×More than typical	6,215	$99,734	322
Construction of buildings	273	8.1	1.07×About typical	2,821	$100,974	621
Offices of other health practitioners	255	7.6	1.25×About typical	2,095	$47,101	1,180
Services to buildings and dwellings	232	6.9	1.02×About typical	3,700	$43,463	851

Rank places for an industry Open Howard County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 336,321 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 $121M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Fulton, Maryland: $21,307 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $121M; −8.6% vs FY2025
Per resident: $21,307; US $1,994
Sole-source: 71%; US 30%
Single offer: 2.4%; 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 Navy$33.7M28%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$24.3M20%
Department of the Air Force$14.3M12%
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration$13.8M11%
Missile Defense Agency$5.9M4.9%
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency$4.7M3.9%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$4.2M3.5%
Office of Procurement Operations$3.7M3.0%

Top recipients

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY LLC$63.9M53%
KBR WYLE SERVICES, LLC$19.5M16%
SOLIPSYS CORPORATION$18.9M16%
THARROS DEFENSE, INC.$5.5M4.5%
REVEAL GLOBAL CONSULTING LLC$3.4M2.8%

Spending by fiscal year

58.9MFY2017
76.3MFY2018
74.3MFY2019
89MFY2020
79.4MFY2021
82.9MFY2022
113.2MFY2023
110.4M

Top industries (NAICS)

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Fulton, Maryland

COMMERCIAL DATA PROGRAM - TO#1$27.1M
KBR WYLE SERVICES, LLC· Howard County, MD· IT & telecom· Jun 11, 2026 – Aug 26, 2026· 1305M226F0241
BC3/MSCT SOFTWARE LICENSES AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES FROM SOLIPSYS CORPORATION TO SUPPORT DBMN PHASE II. THIS AWARD IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH GSA FEDERAL SUPPLY SCHEDULE, CONTRACT NUMBER 47QTCA21D001K.$24.9M
SOLIPSYS CORPORATION· Howard County, MD· IT & telecom· Aug 8, 2024 – Mar 19, 2026· FA861224CB005
COORDINATED VULNERABILITY DISCLOSURE SUPPORT$23.9M
THARROS DEFENSE, INC.· Howard County, MD· Professional services· Sep 28, 2023 – Sep 2, 2026· 70RCSJ23FR0000070

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 Fulton, Maryland, so they do not add up across cities.

Fulton, Maryland's figures are part of those of Howard County, MD ($4.5B in FY2026), never added to them: 2.7% of that total.

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

See federal money in Howard 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.

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

House

Sarah ElfrethD-MD-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.0%

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.

Howard County96100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD69

Other cities and towns in Howard 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
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/2431025

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends