City · Wicomico County, Maryland

Salisbury, Maryland

Salisbury is a city in Wicomico County, Maryland, part of the Salisbury, MD metro area. It has 33,285 residents. Salisbury, Maryland has a quality-of-life score of 25 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,771 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Maryland it ranks #313 of 334 cities and towns. It ranks best on job growth (high), preventable hospital stays (low) and public EV charging ports (high). It ranks worst on adult obesity (high), poverty rate (high) and unemployment rate (high).

25Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,771 of 15,651 cities and towns
Maryland: #313 of 334 in MD
Population: 33,285 (2020-2024)
Land area: 14 mi²
Density: 2,410.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 2469925

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety34#10,331/15,637
Economy18#12,802/15,631
Housing28#10,820/14,977
Health25#11,647/15,609
Healthcare52#7,461/15,650
Environment81#2,919/15,453
Education36#10,019/15,649
Infrastructure23#12,115/15,650
Community15#13,238/15,651
Leisure & amenities44#8,748/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Job growth · high3.3%
95/100Maryland -1.7%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataWicomico County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,970 /100k
86/100Maryland 2,655 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWicomico County value
Public EV charging ports · high9.9 /10k
81/100Maryland 8.9 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyWicomico County value
Mental health providers · high449 /100k
81/100Maryland 394 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWicomico County value
Suicide rate · low10.4 /100k
81/100Maryland 10.0 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataWicomico County value
Hospital quality rating · high4.0
80/100Maryland 3.3United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesWicomico County value

Weaknesses

Adult obesity · high44.6%
5/100Maryland 36.8%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Poverty rate · high24.3%
7/100Maryland 9.2%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Unemployment rate · high8.8%
13/100Maryland 4.0%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Physical inactivity · high32.3%
14/100Maryland 22.9%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Distance to an Amtrak station · high80 mi
15/100Maryland 13 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauWicomico County value
Lack of reliable transportation · high12.8%
16/100Maryland 8.2%United States 8.3%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.

New homes permittedImproving
0.8 /1k (2021) → 3.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+270%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
73.8% (2015-2019) → 87.9% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$41,905 (2015-2019) → $58,576 (2020-2024)
+40%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
57.5% (2015-2019) → 54.4% (2020-2024)
−3.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
28.2% (2015-2019) → 25.7% (2020-2024)
−2.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
9.1% (2015-2019) → 11.5% (2020-2024)
+2.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Salisbury, Maryland improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 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+14 points73.8% → 87.9%
Household income+40%$41,905 → $58,576

Declined1

Inequality+0.0420.437 → 0.480

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Salisbury, Maryland between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.9 min2015-2019	22.2 min2020-2024	+0.3 min	Within the margin of error	44%
Bachelor's degree or higher	28.2%2015-2019	25.7%2020-2024	−2.5 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Broadband subscriptions	73.8%2015-2019	87.9%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	77%
Child poverty rate	27.7%2015-2019	29.7%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Effective property tax rate	1.43%2015-2019	1.10%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Little change	78%
High school diploma or higher	85.5%2015-2019	87.8%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Home price to income ratio	3.8×2015-2019	3.9×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	74%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4372015-2019	0.4802020-2024	+0.042	Declined	20%
Median household income	$41,9052015-2019	$58,5762020-2024	+40%	Improved	73%
Poverty rate	24.7%2015-2019	24.3%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Rent as share of income	34.2%2015-2019	32.0%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Rent-burdened households	57.5%2015-2019	54.4%2020-2024	−3.1 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Unemployment rate	8.3%2015-2019	8.8%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.1%2015-2019	11.5%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Within the margin of error	23%

“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 Salisbury, Maryland five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Salisbury, 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, Salisbury, Maryland itself moved +2.5 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

33,285 residents (±48)

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

13,168 households (±517)

Salisbury, Maryland
Maryland share

Under $25k23%3,070
$25k–50k21%2,760
$50k–75k17%2,286

Homes

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

Owners and renters

13,168 households (±517)

Salisbury, Maryland
Maryland share

Own27%3,567
Rent73%9,601

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

15,319 workers (±684)

Salisbury, Maryland
Maryland share

Drive alone74%11,386
Carpool14%2,118
Public transit0.8%†122

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 Wicomico County, the county holding most of Salisbury's residents.

Wicomico County has 2,495 employer establishments, 235 for every 10,000 residents (0.95× the US rate of 248; 1.02× Maryland's), with 35,249 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,307. The Census Bureau also counts 8,381 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,495; 8,381 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 235; US 248 · Maryland 230
Paid employees: 35,249
Average annual pay: $52,307; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	229	21.6	1.04×About typical	2,919	$79,763	384
Restaurants and other eating places	179	16.9	0.92×About typical	3,525	$20,792	33
Specialty trade contractors	176	16.6	1.07×About typical	1,346	$54,804	598
Lessors of real estate	128	12.1	0.98×About typical	384	$44,828	826
Limited-service restaurants	90	8.5	1.06×About typical	1,677	$19,079	13
Services to buildings and dwellings	81	7.6	1.13×About typical	578	$39,285	740
Construction of buildings	75	7.1	0.94×About typical	301	$69,282	293
Offices of physicians	73	6.9	1.06×About typical	1,289	$111,095	59
Full-service restaurants	70	6.6	0.86×About typical	1,591	$22,532	17
Religious organizations	67	6.3	1.14×About typical	407	$22,452	—
Offices of other health practitioners	65	6.1	1.01×About typical	316	$49,715	159
Building equipment contractors	60	5.7	0.94×About typical	586	$59,078	112

Rank places for an industry Open Wicomico County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 106,024 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 $662K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Salisbury, Maryland: $19.89 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $662K; −72% vs FY2025
Per resident: $19.89; US $1,994
Sole-source: 7.5%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.7%; 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$507.8K77%
Defense Logistics Agency$98.2K15%
Departmental Offices$70.1K11%
Department of the Air Force$38.8K5.9%
Department of the Navy$31.6K4.8%
Federal Aviation Administration$14K2.1%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$11K1.7%
Public Buildings Service$3,2540.5%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

4.5MFY2017
4.3MFY2018
4.7MFY2019
3.6MFY2020
3.3MFY2021
1.8MFY2022
2.5MFY2023
2.1M

Top industries (NAICS)

Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$618.6K93%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$70.1K11%
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing · 3344$55.2K8.3%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$27.7K4.2%
Beverage manufacturing · 3121$6,0590.9%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364

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

Salisbury, Maryland's figures are part of those of Wicomico County, MD ($4.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 15% of that total.

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

See federal money in Wicomico 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.

Salisbury, 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.

Wicomico County52100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Salisbury, MD40

Other cities and towns in Wicomico 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/2469925

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends