Report: Incubators employ 5,000, generate $845M payroll

Improved study says incubators add $104M in taxes

The state’s 18 business incubators employ more than 5,000 workers directly and contribute $845 million in annual payroll, according to a study released Monday by the Maryland Technology Development Corp.

This study was much more comprehensive than one Tedco released in 2001, which reviewed only six of the state's incubators.

The new study also concluded that Maryland can support more high-tech incubators. Several more incubators, including on the Germantown campus of Montgomery College and in eastern Montgomery County near the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s headquarters, are planned.

‘‘The technology industry is a significant contributor to Maryland’s expanding economy,” David Edgerley, secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, said in a statement. ‘‘As the results of this recent analysis illustrate, Maryland’s technology incubators not only foster the development of new technologies but stimulate the state’s economy in a number of ways.”

The 23,000-square-foot Rockville Innovation Center, a downtown incubator that opened last June, has grown to 15 companies, officials said Monday. Five original businesses have expanded, while seven new tenants recently moved in.

‘‘The growth of the Rockville Innovation Center and the success of its startup companies not only serve as a testament to the effectiveness of business incubators, but also to the innovative entrepreneurs Rockville attracts,” Sally Sternbach, executive director of Rockville Economic Development Inc., a public-private partnership, said in a statement.

REDI and the city of Rockville provide support for the incubator, which is operated by the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development. The incubator has space for up to four more companies.