Howard County

Howard County is located in the heart of central Maryland between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., home to approximately 336,000 residents, with Ellicott City serving as the county seat. Spanning 251 square miles, Howard County is consistently ranked among the most affluent, educated, and livable communities in the United States, with a median household income of approximately $150,000 — one of the highest of any county in the nation.

The county is home to Columbia, a nationally recognized planned community of approximately 100,000 residents founded in 1967, which is regularly ranked among Money magazine's Top 10 "Best Places to Live." Howard County ranks fourth in the nation for educational attainment, with over 63% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and the Howard County Public School System has been ranked the best in Maryland.

Howard County has six regional parks, 24 community parks, seven golf courses, five lakes, and over 200 miles of walking, hiking, and biking trails. The Patapsco River borders the county to the north and northeast, and the Patuxent River to the southwest, with both running largely through publicly accessible parkland. The county also features the Robinson Nature Center, the African Art Museum of Maryland, and numerous working farms offering agritourism experiences.



The county's private sector industries generate $27.8 billion in economic output, spanning health care, biotech, information technology, telecom, and defense sectors, with proximity to 50 federal agencies, universities, and Fortune 500 companies.