Scores by category

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

Safety34#10,388/15,637
Economy64#5,689/15,631
Housing45#8,278/14,977
Health21#12,281/15,609
Healthcare29#11,136/15,650
Environment76#3,717/15,453
Education53#7,322/15,649
Infrastructure15#13,286/15,650
Community29#11,096/15,651
Leisure & amenities35#10,112/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where North East, Maryland ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Cecil 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 care cost burden · low22.8%
85/100Maryland 26.1%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCecil County value
Dental care shortage · low0.0
84/100Maryland 5.3United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationCecil County value
Child poverty rate · low3.5%
84/100Maryland 11.2%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high6.2 /10k
82/100Maryland 5.0 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCecil County value
Hospital quality rating · high4.0
80/100Maryland 3.3United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCecil County value
Natural hazard risk · low13.5
78/100Maryland 4.72025Federal Emergency Management AgencyCecil County value

Weaknesses

Drug overdose deaths · high38.8 /100k
3/100Maryland 21.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCecil County value
Injury deaths · high142 /100k
5/100Maryland 95 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCecil County value
Time spent in the emergency room · high228 min
10/100Maryland 246 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCecil County value
Average commute time · high28.1 min
10/100Maryland 31.0 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Preventable hospital stays · high3,827 /100k
12/100Maryland 2,655 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCecil County value
Distance to an emergency room · high11.0 mi
14/100Maryland 4.6 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCecil County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
3,620 (2015-2019) → 4,134 (2020-2024)
+14%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
17.7% (2015-2019) → 39.8% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$47,849 (2015-2019) → $91,603 (2020-2024)
+91%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherImproving
82.1% (2015-2019) → 96.4% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.3% (2015-2019) → 86.6% (2020-2024)
+9.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
11.0% (2015-2019) → 3.6% (2020-2024)
−7.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, North East, Maryland improved on 4 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 6 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.

Improved4

Bachelor's++22 points17.7% → 39.8%
Household income+91%$47,849 → $91,603
Property tax−0.6 points1.35% → 0.74%
Broadband+9.3 points77.3% → 86.6%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of North East, Maryland between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.6 min2015-2019	28.1 min2020-2024	−1.4 min	Within the margin of error	65%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.7%2015-2019	39.8%2020-2024	+22 points	Improved	99%
Broadband subscriptions	77.3%2015-2019	86.6%2020-2024	+9.3 points	Improved	56%
Effective property tax rate	1.35%2015-2019	0.74%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Improved	94%
High school diploma or higher	82.1%2015-2019	96.4%2020-2024	+14 points	Within the margin of error	98%
Home price to income ratio	4.1×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	−0.9×	Within the margin of error	97%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4432015-2019	0.4382020-2024	−0.005	Within the margin of error	55%
Median household income	$47,8492015-2019	$91,6032020-2024	+91%	Improved	98%
Poverty rate	11.0%2015-2019	7.5%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Rent-burdened households	53.1%2015-2019	53.8%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	53%

“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 North East, Maryland five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of North East, 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, North East, Maryland itself moved +23 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

4,134 residents (±13)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 40–49 women (+6.9 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

4,134 residents (±13)

North East, Maryland
Maryland share

White76%3,122
Black15%†612
Hispanic or Latino5.6%†232
Asian0.8%†31
American Indian and Alaska Native0.0%0
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.0%0
Other or two or more races3.3%†137

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B03002View table on data.census.gov

Education

3,009 residents (±322)

North East, Maryland
Maryland share

No high school diploma3.6%†107
High school or GED28%†854
Some college22%†677
Associate degree5.7%†172
Bachelor's degree21%†633
Graduate degree19%†566

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Graduate degree (+14.7 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B15003View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

2,034 households (±281)

North East, Maryland
Maryland share

Under $25k10.0%†203
$25k–50k22%†441
$50k–75k7.6%†154
$75k–100k15%†295
$100k–150k22%†451
$150k–200k13%†271
$200k or more11%†219

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $150k–200k (+10.8 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,034 households (±281)

North East, Maryland
Maryland share

Own62%1,267
Rent38%†767

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

745 households (±308)

North East, Maryland
Maryland share

Under $75023%†168
$750–1,0005.0%†37
$1,000–1,50050%†369

Home values

1,267 homes (±303)

North East, Maryland
Maryland share

Under $150k2.1%†27
$150k–250k26%†330
$250k–400k44%†563

Age of homes

2,236 homes (±286)

North East, Maryland
Maryland share

2010 or later25%†557
2000–200933%†733
1980–199913%†288

Size of homes

2,236 homes (±286)

North East, Maryland
Maryland share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom5.0%†112
2 bedrooms33%†736

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,450 workers (±319)

North East, Maryland
Maryland share

Drive alone66%1,610
Carpool6.5%†160
Public transit0.2%†6
Walk2.7%†66
Bike0.0%0
Work from home18%†451
Other6.4%†157

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+16.0 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,999 workers (±342)

North East, Maryland
Maryland share

Under 15 min32%†635
15–29 min30%†606
30–44 min14%†272

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-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 Cecil County, the county holding most of North East's residents.

Cecil County has 1,776 employer establishments, 168 for every 10,000 residents (0.68× the US rate of 248; 0.73× Maryland's), with 29,700 paid employees at an average annual pay of $60,961. The Census Bureau also counts 6,845 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,776; 6,845 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 168; US 248 · Maryland 230
Paid employees: 29,700
Average annual pay: $60,961; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	143	13.5	0.65×Fewer than typical	1,407	$50,913	281
Restaurants and other eating places	136	12.9	0.70×Fewer than typical	3,043	$23,572	27
Specialty trade contractors	123	11.6	0.75×Fewer than typical	745	$58,226	493
Lessors of real estate	86	8.1	0.66×Fewer than typical	242	$40,405	670
Services to buildings and dwellings	70	6.6	0.98×About typical	570	$31,919	455
Limited-service restaurants	68	6.4	0.80×About typical	1,498	$20,704	14
Automotive repair and maintenance	66	6.2	1.24×About typical	380	$49,395	123
Construction of buildings	57	5.4	0.71×Fewer than typical	135	$56,415	179
Offices of physicians	55	5.2	0.80×About typical	327	$61,893	37
Full-service restaurants	54	5.1	0.66×Fewer than typical	1,353	$27,542	6
Building equipment contractors	52	4.9	0.82×About typical	288	$59,927	106
Religious organizations	52	4.9	0.89×About typical	207	$25,348	—

Rank places for an industry Open Cecil County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 105,789 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 -$207 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in North East, Maryland: -$0.05 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: -$207; −104% vs FY2025
Per resident: -$0.05; US $1,995
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

DONLEY, DOUGLAS A-$2070.0%

Spending by fiscal year

37.6KFY2017
34.7KFY2018
13.6KFY2019
1.9MFY2020
4MFY2021
186.3KFY2022
6.1KFY2023
3.1KFY2024
4.7K

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 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 North East, Maryland, so they do not add up across cities.

North East, Maryland's figures are part of those of Cecil County, MD ($35.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Cecil 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.

North East, 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.

Cecil County54100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD73

Other cities and towns in Cecil 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/2456450