Census-designated place · Somerset County, Maryland

Mount Vernon, Maryland

Mount Vernon is a census-designated place in Somerset County, Maryland, part of the Salisbury, MD metro area. It has 1,067 residents. Mount Vernon, Maryland has a quality-of-life score of 24 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,828 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Maryland it ranks #314 of 334 cities and towns. It ranks best on dentists (high), unemployment rate (low) and home price to income ratio (low). It ranks worst on access to exercise opportunities (low), primary care shortage (high) and restaurants and bars (low).

24Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,828 of 15,651 cities and towns
Maryland: #314 of 334 in MD
Population: 1,067 (2020-2024)
Land area: 13 mi²
Density: 81.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 2454375

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 70 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.

Safety31#10,802/15,637
Economy64#5,577/15,631
Housing—
Health26#11,616/15,609
Healthcare44#8,810/15,650
Environment54#7,129/15,453
Education40#9,332/15,649
Infrastructure32#10,604/15,650
Community15#13,338/15,651
Leisure & amenities3#15,184/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Dentists · high233 /100k
100/100Maryland 82 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSomerset County value
Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100Maryland 4.0%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Home price to income ratio · low1.4×
98/100Maryland 4.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low0.7%
97/100Maryland 7.2%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.300
90/100Maryland 0.456United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Preventable hospital stays · low1,842 /100k
89/100Maryland 2,655 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSomerset County value

Weaknesses

Access to exercise opportunities · low9.8%
1/100Maryland 92.1%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSomerset County value
Primary care shortage · high20.0
1/100Maryland 7.1United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSomerset County value
Restaurants and bars · low2.8 /10k
2/100Maryland 7.2 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSomerset County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Maryland 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSomerset County value
Voter turnout · low51.3%
5/100Maryland 68.6%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionSomerset County value
Math scores · low2.55
6/100Maryland 2.96United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSomerset County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
966 (2015-2019) → 1,067 (2020-2024)
+10%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Median household incomeImproving
$48,347 (2015-2019) → $113,938 (2020-2024)
+136%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
11.0% (2015-2019) → 35.0% (2020-2024)
+24 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Home price to income ratioImproving
4.5× (2015-2019) → 1.4× (2020-2024)
−68%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
12.3% (2015-2019) → 0.7% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Unemployment rateImproving
8.5% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−8.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Mount Vernon, Maryland improved on 3 of 8 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 5 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.

Improved3

Household income+136%$48,347 → $113,938
Price / income−3.0×4.5× → 1.4×
Bachelor's++24 points11.0% → 35.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 8 measures

Change of every measure of Mount Vernon, Maryland between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.0%2015-2019	35.0%2020-2024	+24 points	Improved	100%
Broadband subscriptions	91.0%2015-2019	95.4%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Effective property tax rate	0.93%2015-2019	0.91%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	20%
High school diploma or higher	93.4%2015-2019	97.4%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Home price to income ratio	4.5×2015-2019	1.4×2020-2024	−3.0×	Improved	100%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3722015-2019	0.3002020-2024	−0.072	Within the margin of error	91%
Median household income	$48,3472015-2019	$113,9382020-2024	+136%	Improved	100%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“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 Mount Vernon, Maryland five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Mount Vernon, 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, Mount Vernon, Maryland itself moved +30.2 points in standing on average over the same 7 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

1,067 residents (±308)

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

439 households (±123)

Mount Vernon, Maryland
Maryland share

Under $25k13%†56
$25k–50k9.3%†41
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

439 households (±123)

Mount Vernon, Maryland
Maryland share

Own94%†414
Rent5.7%†25

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

563 workers (±207)

Mount Vernon, Maryland
Maryland share

Drive alone92%†516
Carpool1.1%†6
Public transit

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 Salisbury, 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 Somerset County, the county holding most of Mount Vernon's residents.

Somerset County has 360 employer establishments, 146 for every 10,000 residents (0.59× the US rate of 248; 0.64× Maryland's), with 4,141 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,686. The Census Bureau also counts 1,608 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 360; 1,608 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 146; US 248 · Maryland 230
Paid employees: 4,141
Average annual pay: $46,686; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	29	11.8	0.76×Fewer than typical	134	$54,634	110
Religious organizations	25	10.2	1.83×More than typical	130	$26,969	—
Restaurants and other eating places	19	7.7	0.42×Fewer than typical	191	$21,052	15
Ambulatory health care services	18	7.3	0.35×Fewer than typical	167	$70,934	61
Construction of buildings	14	5.7	0.75×Fewer than typical	34	$38,147	56
Lessors of real estate	13	5.3	0.43×Fewer than typical	26	$29,077	88
Building equipment contractors	11	4.5	0.74×Fewer than typical	49	$41,612	17
Limited-service restaurants	11	4.5	0.56×Fewer than typical	129	$21,984	8
Other specialty trade contractors	11	4.5	1.78×More than typical	60	$59,867	40
Services to buildings and dwellings	11	4.5	0.66×Fewer than typical	30	$24,833	181
Truck transportation	11	4.5	0.88×About typical	53	$56,208	37
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	9	3.7	0.90×Too few to compare	25	$28,960	17

Rank places for an industry Open Somerset County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 24,596 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 $351 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Mount Vernon, Maryland: $0.33 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $351; +519% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.33; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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$351100%

Top recipients

ALS GROUP USA CORP$351100%

Spending by fiscal year

27.5KFY2017
20.5KFY2018
-13.9FY2019
17.8KFY2020
684.6FY2021
0FY2022
19.8KFY2023
56.8FY2025

Top industries (NAICS)

Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$351100%

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 Mount Vernon, Maryland, so they do not add up across cities.

Mount Vernon, Maryland's figures are part of those of Somerset County, MD ($377.7K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

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

See federal money in Somerset 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.

Mount Vernon, 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.

Somerset County11100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Salisbury, MD40

Other cities and towns in Somerset 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/2454375

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends