Town · Charles County, Maryland

Indian Head, Maryland

Indian Head is a town in Charles County, Maryland, part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area. It has 4,055 residents. Indian Head, Maryland has a quality-of-life score of 29 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,063 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Maryland it ranks #303 of 334 cities and towns. It ranks best on child poverty rate (low), natural hazard risk (low) and new business applications (high). It ranks worst on time spent in the emergency room (high), rent as share of income (high) and average commute time (high).

29Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,063 of 15,651 cities and towns
Maryland: #303 of 334 in MD
Population: 4,055 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 3,297.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 2441500

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.

Safety28#11,331/15,637
Economy65#5,483/15,631
Housing23#11,461/14,977
Health53#7,316/15,609
Healthcare39#9,550/15,650
Environment93#1,107/15,453
Education28#11,269/15,649
Infrastructure4#14,983/15,650
Community24#11,836/15,651
Leisure & amenities22#12,127/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Child poverty rate · low1.5%
92/100Maryland 11.2%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Natural hazard risk · low5.8
91/100Maryland 4.72025Federal Emergency Management AgencyCharles County value
New business applications · high19.5 /1k
88/100Maryland 16.2 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauCharles County value
Depression · low18.6%
88/100Maryland 19.9%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Food environment index · high9.0
87/100Maryland 8.8United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCharles County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low2.8%
86/100Maryland 7.2%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010

Weaknesses

Time spent in the emergency room · high262 min
2/100Maryland 246 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCharles County value
Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Maryland 30.8%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Average commute time · high44.7 min
3/100Maryland 31.0 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Adult obesity · high43.8%
7/100Maryland 36.8%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Job growth · low-2.5%
9/100Maryland -1.7%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataCharles County value
Homicide rate · high9.3 /100k
10/100Maryland 6.0 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCharles County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
3,822 (2015-2019) → 4,055 (2020-2024)
+6.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
31.5% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
New homes permittedWorsening
14.3 /1k (2021) → 0.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−97%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
14.4% (2015-2019) → 1.5% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
26.4% (2015-2019) → 15.7% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Public transit commutersWorsening
7.6% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−7.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%

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, Indian Head, Maryland improved on 0 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 4. 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined4

Rent / income+20 points31.5% → 51.0%
Bachelor's+−11 points26.4% → 15.7%
Inequality+0.1030.368 → 0.471
Transit use−7.6 points7.6% → 0.0%

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Indian Head, Maryland between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	49.9 min2015-2019	44.6 min2020-2024	−5.2 min	Within the margin of error	91%
Bachelor's degree or higher	26.4%2015-2019	15.7%2020-2024	−11 points	Declined	1%
Broadband subscriptions	86.8%2015-2019	85.1%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Effective property tax rate	1.20%2015-2019	1.01%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	58%
High school diploma or higher	95.9%2015-2019	92.4%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Home price to income ratio	3.2×2015-2019	3.4×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	66%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3682015-2019	0.4712020-2024	+0.103	Declined	4%
Median household income	$69,3552015-2019	$89,0632020-2024	+28%	Within the margin of error	52%
Poverty rate	12.6%2015-2019	9.7%2020-2024	−2.9 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Public transit commuters	7.6%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	−7.6 points	Declined	3%
Rent as share of income	31.5%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+20 points	Declined	2%

“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 Indian Head, Maryland five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Indian Head, 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, Indian Head, Maryland itself moved −22.1 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

4,055 residents (±18)

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

1,668 households (±225)

Indian Head, Maryland
Maryland share

Under $25k18%†293
$25k–50k8.8%†146
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,668 households (±225)

Indian Head, Maryland
Maryland share

Own75%1,254
Rent25%†414

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

† 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

2,175 workers (±302)

Indian Head, Maryland
Maryland share

Drive alone73%1,579
Carpool9.5%†207
Public transit0.0%0

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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

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 Charles County, the county holding most of Indian Head's residents.

Charles County has 2,793 employer establishments, 162 for every 10,000 residents (0.65× the US rate of 248; 0.70× Maryland's), with 33,675 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,027. The Census Bureau also counts 16,222 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,793; 16,222 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 162; US 248 · Maryland 230
Paid employees: 33,675
Average annual pay: $47,027; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	258	15	0.72×Fewer than typical	2,332	$65,941	708
Specialty trade contractors	252	14.6	0.95×About typical	2,711	$72,966	1,039
Restaurants and other eating places	238	13.8	0.75×Fewer than typical	5,373	$21,855	64
Limited-service restaurants	134	7.8	0.97×About typical	2,928	$21,087	28
Building equipment contractors	118	6.9	1.14×About typical	1,638	$77,989	297
Lessors of real estate	100	5.8	0.47×Fewer than typical	272	$43,776	1,276
Construction of buildings	92	5.3	0.71×Fewer than typical	477	$67,786	350
Offices of physicians	90	5.2	0.81×About typical	977	$78,157	60
Automotive repair and maintenance	83	4.8	0.96×About typical	608	$57,605	234
Full-service restaurants	82	4.8	0.62×Fewer than typical	2,159	$23,098	25
Management, scientific and technical consulting	79	4.6	0.68×Fewer than typical	333	$64,544	618
Services to buildings and dwellings	78	4.5	0.67×Fewer than typical	578	$42,092	789

Rank places for an industry Open Charles County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 172,174 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 $4.8M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Indian Head, Maryland: $1,190 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $4.8M; −36% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1,190; US $1,995
Sole-source: 24%; US 30%
Single offer: 2.1%; 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$4.8M99%
Defense Logistics Agency$98.7K2.0%
Federal Emergency Management Agency$11.7K0.2%
Federal Acquisition Service$4,4180.1%
U.S. Special Operations Command$4420.0%
Immediate Office of the Secretary of Transportation$4270.0%

Top recipients

EASTERN RESEARCH GROUP INC$937.5K19%
CRUZ ASSOCIATES INC.$676.8K14%
CJW CONTRACTORS, INC.$553.3K11%
APPLIED RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, INC.$442.1K9.2%
EDIFICE SERVICES JV, LLC$426.4K8.8%

Spending by fiscal year

3.1MFY2017
3.8MFY2018
3.6MFY2019
4.2MFY2020
3.8MFY2021
5.7MFY2022
7.1MFY2023
9M

Top industries (NAICS)

Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$2M42%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$1.1M24%
Facilities support services · 5612$792.6K16%
Machine shops and screw, nut, and bolt manufacturing · 3327$140.7K2.9%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$102.6K2.1%
Electric power generation, transmission and distribution · 2211

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Indian Head, Maryland, so they do not add up across cities.

Indian Head, Maryland's figures are part of those of Charles County, MD ($206.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 2.3% of that total.

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

See federal money in Charles 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.

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

House

Steny H. HoyerD-MD-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 2.8%

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.

Charles County71100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV86

Other cities and towns in Charles 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/2441500

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends