Howard County, Maryland

County in MD, US

By Neilsberg Research

Last updated May 1, 2026

Key Indicators

A quick look at key numbers

Population

336,328

Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Median Age

39.8

years ∙ half population younger than 39.8, half older

Diversity Index

70.3%

chance two random people differ in race and ethnicity

Nativity

22.8%

foreign-born population

77.2%Native

22.8% Foreign-born

Geographic Context

Location, size, and surroundings

About

Howard County is a county in Maryland, United States.

Location

County in MD, US

Co-ordinates

DEC39.252264° N, 76.924406° W

DMS39° 15′ 08.15″ N, 76° 55′ 27.86″ W

Population Density & area

1,340/sq mi (517.4/km²)

Total Area

253.3 sq mi (656.3 km²)

Land Area

250.9 sq mi (650 km²) · 99.03%

Water Area

2.4 sq mi (6.3 km²) · 0.97%

Demographics & Living

Who lives here, how households are formed, and community composition

Population Composition

Key characteristics of the population

Sex Distribution

49.3% male

Male 49.3%

Female 50.7%

males per 100 females

Howard County 97.3

Maryland 94.8

United States 98

Nativity

22.8%

foreign-born population

77.2%Native

22.8% Foreign-born

% Foreign-born

Howard County 22.8%

Maryland 16.6%

United States 14.1%

Age Distribution

How the population is spread across age groups

Median Age

39.8

years ∙ half population younger than 39.8, half older

Howard County

39.8

Maryland

39.4

United States

38.9

Dependency ratio

dependents per 100 working-age adults

Howard County 64

Maryland 63.5

United States 64.4

AGE DISTRIBUTION

Distribution of age group

Median age

	Howard County	Maryland	United States
Age Group
Children (Under 18)	23.8%	22.2%	22%
Working age (18-64)	61%	61.1%	60.8%
Senior (65+)	15.2%	16.7%	17.2%
Dependency ratio
Total dependency ratio	64	63.5	64.4
Child dependency ratio	39	36.3	36.1
Old-age dependency ratio	25	27.2	28.3

Racial & Ethnic Composition

Racial and ethnic makeup and how it compares

Race & Ethnicity

White

45.9%

Black

19.7%

Asian

19.2%

Hispanic

8.7%

Other

6.5%

Note: White, Black, and Asian refer to individuals belonging to a single race and not of Hispanic origin. Hispanics may be of any race.

Diversity Index

70.3%

chance two random people differ in race and ethnicity

Howard County 70.3%

Maryland 67.7%

United States 61.4%

Note: The Diversity Index (DI), based on the Blau Index, measures the probability that two randomly selected individuals differ in race and ethnicity. Values range from 0 (no diversity) to 1 (high diversity) and are shown as percentages.

RACIAL & ETHNIC COMPOSITION

Race & Ethnicity

Percentage of Howard County population

	Howard County	Maryland	United States
Hispanic or Latino	8.7%	12.5%	19.3%
Mexican	1.7%	2%	11.3%
Puerto Rican	1.1%	1.1%	1.8%
Cuban	0.3%	0.3%	0.8%
Other Hispanic / Latino	5.5%	9.1%	5.5%
Not Hispanic or Latino	91.3%	87.5%	80.7%
One race	85.6%	82.9%	76.4%
White	45.9%	46.6%	57.4%
Black or African American	19.7%	28.9%	11.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native	0.1%	0.1%	0.5%
Asian	19.2%	6.5%	5.9%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0.2%
Some Other Race	0.7%	0.7%	0.6%
Two or more races (Multiracial)	5.7%	4.6%	4.3%

Household & Families Composition

Household size, type, and family structure

Household structure

72.7% family

Family 72.7%

Non family 27.3%

% family households

Howard County 72.7%

Maryland 65%

United States 64.2%

Average household size

2.76

persons per household

Howard County

2.76

Maryland

2.57

United States

2.53

Household & Family COMPOSITION

Households

Percentage of Howard County population

	Howard County	Maryland	United States
Total households	121,065	2,362,928	129,227,496
Average houshold size	2.76	2.57	2.53
Family households	87,962	1,535,706	82,990,528
Average family size	3.23	3.19	3.14
Married couple family	70,598	1,090,871	60,637,388
Other families	17,364	444,835	22,353,140
Male householder	5,003	120,206	6,572,819
Female householder	12,361	324,629	15,780,321
Non-family households	33,103	827,222	46,236,968
One-person households	26,158	677,124	37,140,836
Male householder	10,991	282,192	16,871,444
Senior (65+) living alone	2,400	87,532	5,225,110
Female householder	15,167	394,932	20,269,392
Senior (65+) living alone	7,339	185,255	10,089,070
Other living arrangements	6,945	150,098	9,096,132

Housing Profile

Housing stock, ownership, rentals, and cost burdens

Total housing units

125,286

housing units

Howard County 125,286

Maryland 2,560,784

United States 143,775,355

Occupancy status

96.6% occupied

Occupied 96.6%

Vacant 3.4%

vacancy rate

Howard County 3.4%

Maryland 7.7%

United States 10.1%

Housing Characteristics

How the housing supply is structured and used

Types of Housing unit

72.5%

Single family houses

72.5%

Apartments in multi-unit structures

26.7%

Mobile homes

0.7%

Boat, RV, van, etc

0.2%

Median Year Built

1989

Half of houses were built before 1989, and half after.

Historic ∙ 1939 or earlier

1.9%

Postwar & mid-century ∙ 1940 - 1969

10.4%

Late 20th century ∙ 1970 - 1999

58.4%

Modern ∙ 2000 or later

29.3%

Note: Median year built reflects occupied units only; distribution includes all units.

Housing Characteristics

Units, rooms & bedrooms

Physical characteristics of housing units

	Howard County	Maryland	United States
Rooms per unit
Median rooms	6.8	6.2	5.5
1–3 rooms	10.6%	12.3%	15.1%
4–6 rooms	35.4%	42.4%	51.6%
7+ rooms	53.9%	45.2%	33.4%
Bedrooms
No bedroom / studio	1.4%	2.1%	2.9%
1 bedroom	8.3%	10.3%	10.9%
2 bedrooms	19.5%	21.3%	25%
3 bedrooms	28.7%	35.8%	38.7%
4+ bedrooms	42.2%	30.5%	22.4%
At a glance
Median year built	1989	1980	1981
Total housing units	125,286	2,560,784	143,775,355

Occupancy Profile

Who is inside and how they use it

Homeownership

71.5% owners

Renter-occupied 28.5%

Owner-occupied 71.5%

homeownership rate

Howard County 71.5%

Maryland 67.6%

United States 65.2%

Average household size

2.92

Owner-occupied

2.34

Renter-occupied

owner-occupied average size

Howard County 2.92

Maryland 2.7

United States 2.64

Housing Characteristics

Occupied unit characteristics

Tenure, crowding, and utilities

	Howard County	Maryland	United States
Total occupied units	121,065	2,362,928	129,227,496
Year moved in
2020 or later	23.5%	23.2%	24.8%
2010 to 2019	40%	39%	39.6%
2000 to 2009	17.1%	17.1%	16.4%
1999 or earlier	19.5%	20.8%	19.1%
Occupants per room
1.00 or fewer	98.2%	97.5%	96.6%
1.01 to 1.50	1.2%	1.7%	2.2%
1.51 or more	0.6%	0.8%	1.2%
Vehicles availability
No vehicles	3.6%	8.8%	8.4%
1 vehicle	28.7%	33.5%	33.1%
2 vehicles	43.5%	35.8%	36.6%
3 or more vehicles	24.2%	21.9%	21.9%
House heating fuel used
Gas	44.4%	46.9%	51.4%
Electricity	49.9%	44.1%	41.3%
Solar	0.5%	0.4%	0.3%
Fuel oil, kerosene etc	4.1%	6.6%	3.9%
All other fuels	0.8%	1.6%	2%
No fuel used	0.3%	0.6%	1.2%
Selected characteristics
Lacking complete plumbing	0.3%	0.3%	0.4%
Lacking complete kitchen	0.5%	0.6%	0.8%
No telephone service available	0.5%	0.8%	0.9%

Housing Value

What owner-occupied units are worth

Median home value

$597,900

owner-occupied units

Median value(USD)

Howard County

$597,900

Maryland

$419,900

United States

$332,700

Housing Cost Burden

21.7%

of homeowners with a mortgage are cost-burdened

% Cost-Burdened Households

Owners with a mortgage

21.7%

Owners without a mortgage

9.6%

Renters

47.7%

Note: Households spending 30% or more of their income on housing costs are considered cost-burdened.

Financial characteristics

Property value and housing costs

Tenure, crowding, and utilities

	Howard County	Maryland	United States
Property value
Median Value	$597,900	$419,900	$332,700
Under $100,000	2.2%	5%	11.4%
$100,000 - $200,000	1.4%	7.5%	15.8%
$200,000 - $300,000	5.1%	14.8%	17.8%
$300,000 - $500,000	27.8%	37.1%	26.9%
$500,000 - $1,000,000	53.1%	29.7%	20.9%
$1,000,000 and more	10.3%	6%	7.1%
Owner-occupied households
With a mortgage	72.1%	71%	60.6%
Without a mortgage	27.9%	29%	39.4%
Median monthly owner costs
With a mortgage	$3,021	$2,347	$1,963
Without a mortgage	$1,044	$753	$638
Gross rent
Median rent	$2,099	$1,705	$1,413

Education Profile

How educated is the community and how education pays off

Adults with a college degree

64.5%

of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher

Howard County 64.5%

Maryland 43.4%

United States 35.7%

Adults without a high school diploma

5.1%

of adults (25+) without a high school diploma

Howard County 5.1%

Maryland 8.8%

United States 10.4%

School Enrollment

Who is enrolled in school and at what level

School enrollment

91,996

population (age 3+) enrolled in school

Nursery / Preschool

6.6%

K–12

67.5%

College / Undergraduate

17.5%

Graduate / Professional

8.4%

College-going rate (18-24 yr olds)

43.5%

of 18-24-year-olds in college or graduate school

Howard County

43.5%

Maryland

41.8%

United States

40.9%

Enrollment & school type

Enrollment levels, college-going rate, and public vs private school split

Population 3+ currently enrolled in a school

	Howard County	Maryland	United States
Total enrolled (age 3+)	91,996	1,533,098	80,089,790
Nursery / preschool	6.6%	5.7%	5.7%
K–12	67.5%	66.3%	67.6%
Kindergarten	4.5%	4.9%	5%
Elementary: Grades 1–4	18.3%	19.5%	19.8%
Elementary: Grades 5–8	22.3%	20.5%	21%
High School: Grades 9–12	22.4%	21.5%	21.7%
College or graduate school	25.9%	28%	26.7%
College, undergraduate	17.5%	20.4%	21%
Graduate, professional school	8.4%	7.6%	5.8%
College-going rate · 18-24 yr olds	43.5%	41.8%	40.9%
School type
Public school	83.6%	80%	82%
Private school	16.4%	20%	18%

Education Attainment by Level & Gender

What is the highest level of education completed among adults

Education attainment

229,908

population 25 years and over

Total adults (25+)

Less than 9th grade

9th-12th, no diploma

2.1%

HS graduate

12.4%

Some college no degree

12.2%

Associates degree

5.9%

Bachelors degree

30.3%

Graduate or professional degree

34.1%

Attainment by gender

Male vs Female

Adults (25+) · Share within each education level

% male · % female

Less than 9th grade

46.9% · 53.1%

9th-12th, no diploma

49.3% · 50.7%

HS graduate

48.4% · 51.6%

Some college no degree

48.5% · 51.5%

Associates degree

44.7% · 55.3%

Bachelors degree

48.7% · 51.3%

Graduate or professional degree

48.6% · 51.4%

Educational Attainment Overview

Distribution and key education attainment rates for adults (25+)

Highest credential completed · adults 25+

	Howard County	Maryland	United States
Population (25+)	229,908	4,301,335	230,807,303
Less than 9th grade	3%	4%	4.7%
9th–12th, no diploma	2.1%	4.8%	5.7%
High school diploma or GED	12.4%	23.4%	26%
Some college, no degree	12.2%	17.4%	19.1%
Associate's degree	5.9%	6.8%	8.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher	64.5%	43.4%	35.7%
Bachelor's degree	30.3%	22.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional	34.1%	20.8%	14.1%
High School or higher	95%	91.1%	89.6%

Earnings by education level

percentage as applicable

Median Earnings

$88,862

Median earnings for adults 25+, by level

Less than HS graduate

$31,582

HS graduate

$46,864

Some college or associates

$58,189

Bachelors degree

$91,143

Graduate or professional degree

$123,356

Poverty Rate

1.9%

for ages 25+, with bachelors degree or higher

Less than HS graduate

15.6%

HS graduate

12.2%

Some college or associates

Bachelors degree or higher

1.9%

Outcomes by Education Level

Earnings and poverty rates across education levels (25+)

Adults 25+

	Howard County	Maryland	United States
Median earnings
Population 25+, with earnings	$88,862	$65,293	$52,696
Less than high school graduate	$31,582	$35,487	$32,485
High school graduate (includes equivalency)	$46,864	$45,113	$40,153
Some college or associate's degree	$58,189	$54,823	$47,260
Bachelor's degree	$91,143	$80,465	$70,044
Graduate or professional degree	$123,356	$105,640	$90,720
Poverty rates
Less than high school graduate	15.6%	20.9%	24.2%
High school graduate (includes equivalency)	12.2%	12.6%	14.4%
Some college or associate's degree	6%	8.3%	9.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher	1.9%	3.5%	4.5%

Insights for Howard County, by topic

Income By year By race By age By gender

Population By year By race By age By gender

About Neilsberg Research

Neilsberg Research team are data scientists with expertise in processing, analysis and visualization of big data helping small businesses make right decisions.

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