Maryland Ranks 16th For Most Veteran-Owned Businesses

Ten percent of Maryland's businesses are owned by veterans, according to a survey released Thursday.

The Maryland Survey of Business Activity, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, ranked Maryland as 16th in the nation for veteran-owned businesses and fourth in the nation for the percentage of the workforce employed by these businesses.

Here are some facts from the study using 2007 data:

• More than 54,000 firms are owned by veterans;
• These businesses employ nearly 140,000 people or 6 percent of the state’s workforce;
• They sold more than $26 million worth of products and services;
• Their employees earned $5.2 billion;
• Women own nearly 7 percent of these businesses;
• Top industries are transportation (17 percent); professional, scientific and technical services (13 percent) and construction (12.5 percent).

“Our favorable business climate and dedicated resources encourage veterans to stay in Maryland once their tours of duty have ended,” Christian S. Johansson, secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, said. “Gov. Martin O’Malley and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown have made supporting Maryland’s veterans and veteran-owned businesses a priority, and it’s paying off for both the state and for our veterans.”

In 2008, O’Malley signed legislation helping veteran-owned businesses gain state contracts. Maryland’s Procurement Preference Program for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses can receive percentage price preferences of up to 7 percent and 8 percent. 

Brown sponsored a bill in 2006 creating the Military Reservist and Service-Disabled Veterans No-Interest Loan Program. The program provided 15 loans totaling almost $700,000.