UpSurge Baltimore unveiled the 2024 Baltimore Tech Ecosystem Report at its inaugural Annual Meeting this evening. This is the third annual State of the Baltimore Tech Ecosystem report published by UpSurge. As a comprehensive review of data related to startups, venture funding, and workforce, this report serves as a source of truth for UpSurge and key stakeholders in the region and state. The report offers an invaluable tool for understanding the current health and potential of our ecosystem.
There are two key differences in this year’s report compared to previous reports issued by the organization. For the first time, UpSurge broadened the geographic footprint it studied beyond Baltimore City to include the entire Baltimore Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) with Baltimore City at its heart. In addition, the report includes workforce data to demonstrate how the pool of local tech talent can affect startup growth and expansion.
“We are bringing together local stakeholders to refine our collective vision of a thriving tech ecosystem – one that is rooted in the Equitech vision and a shared commitment to driving economic growth and resiliency across Baltimore. As we clarify that vision together, we will continue to shift the metrics used to measure and gauge our progress. In 2024, we are leading multiple data enhancement efforts and data sharing collaborations that will inform and improve our reporting in the future,” states Kory Bailey, CEO of UpSurge.
There are 496 startups currently in the Baltimore MSA, 312 of which are located in Baltimore City. The top three most startup-dense ZIP codes, each with more than 1,000 workers, are 21202, 21205, and 20759 – Downtown Baltimore, East Baltimore, and Fulton, Md. These startups are securing funding, attracting customers, building technologies of the future and establishing roots in Baltimore. Startups to note, those reflecting the diversity of founders, industries, milestones, stages, and growth paths in the Baltimore tech ecosystem are highlighted in the report.
Key findings in the report include:
1. Venture capital funding raised by Baltimore companies was 12.2% greater than the 7-year average, however, our median deal size remains below national levels. There were 87 venture capital deals in 2023. Since 2017, 83% of all venture capital raised in the Baltimore MSA has gone to healthcare and information technology (IT) startups; 90% of venture capital in 2023 went to healthcare and information technology startups. For the Baltimore MSA, the healthcare vertical attracting the most funding is oncology, and the IT verticals attracting the most funding are cybersecurity, followed by Software as a Service, or SaaS.
2. The number of tech jobs in Baltimore City grew 6.8%, which is higher than the national average of 5.7%. Leading occupation groups represented by Baltimore tech jobs include information security analysts, computer occupations, aerospace engineers, and physical scientists.
3. Women working in tech in the Baltimore MSA earn $91k on average while men earn an average salary of $110k. Women tech workers are making 81% more than their non-tech peers, and men are making 64% more.
Click here to read the full report.