Living in Howard County: Columbia, Ellicott City and the west

Living in Howard County

Howard County sits in central Maryland between Baltimore and Washington. The Patapsco River runs along its north and northeast edge, across from Baltimore County, and the Patuxent River forms its southwest edge, where the Triadelphia and Rocky Gorge reservoirs sit on the Montgomery County line. Carroll County lies to the north, Frederick County meets it in the far west, Prince George's County lies to the south and Anne Arundel County runs along the land border to the southeast. The county was formed in 1851.

Howard County has no incorporated towns or cities, according to the Maryland Manual. Every place in it, including Columbia and the county seat of Ellicott City, is unincorporated, so one government handles zoning, building permits, police, trash pickup and the property tax bill for every address. Voters adopted charter government in 1968, replacing the board of three commissioners with an elected county executive and a county council. With no town government anywhere in the county, no address carries a municipal property tax on top of the county's.

Interstate 95 crosses the eastern side of the county and Interstate 70 crosses the north. US 29 runs north and south through Columbia and Ellicott City, US 40 and US 1 cross the east, and MD 32 and MD 100 connect the corridors. Since the county's 1990 general plan, the Planned Service Area line has split the county into a suburban east on public water and sewer and a Rural West on wells and septic. Deborah Green, a REALTOR with LPT Realty licensed in Maryland since 2002, works with buyers, sellers, investors and people relocating, including in Howard County.

Homes and property types in Howard County

The oldest housing sits in the river and mill towns. The Ellicott brothers bought land on the Patapsco for a mill in 1772, and the Ellicott City Historic District, listed on the National Register in 1978, holds buildings from 1772 into the twentieth century, set into steep granite hillsides above Main Street. Elkridge grew around a tobacco landing on the Patapsco that the General Assembly recognized as a town in 1733. Savage grew around a textile mill chartered in 1822 on the Little Patuxent.

Columbia, which James Rouse began in 1967, shapes most of the central county. Its ten villages opened in stages: Wilde Lake in 1967, Harper's Choice in 1968, Oakland Mills in 1969, Long Reach in 1971, Owen Brown in 1972, Town Center and Hickory Ridge in 1974, Kings Contrivance in 1977, Dorsey's Search in 1980 and River Hill in 1990. Housing runs from detached homes to townhomes and condominiums, and homes on land under Columbia Association covenants pay CA's annual charge, which is written into the deed.

West of the Planned Service Area line, the Rural West holds farms, farmhouses and homes on private wells and septic systems. The county offers a property tax credit on farmland in its Agricultural Land Preservation Program. New construction is limited by land. HoCo By Design, the general plan the County Council passed on October 11, 2023, says nearly all of the county's land is already developed, committed or preserved, and it directs future growth into activity centers, much of it as redevelopment. The county's plans name Downtown Columbia, the Gateway area and the Route 1 corridor along Washington Boulevard.

Age and location set the inspection list. In historic Ellicott City and old Elkridge, ask which past additions were permitted. A Columbia home from the late 1960s through the 1980s may still have its original windows, roof or mechanical systems. In the west, plan for a well water test and a septic inspection. Howard County is not one of the counties in the state's Chesapeake Bay Critical Area program, but flood maps still matter: historic Ellicott City's Main Street flooded in July 2016 and again in May 2018.

Towns and communities in Howard County

Every place below is unincorporated and governed by Howard County. Columbia, Ellicott City, Elkridge, Savage and several others are census-designated places, a Census counting boundary with no local government behind it. Mailing names follow ZIP codes, and three communities, Jessup, Hanover and Marriottsville, reach into neighboring counties. Check the county on the SDAT record before you compare schools or taxes.

Columbia

Unincorporated planned community and census-designated place in the center of the county, ZIP codes 21044, 21045 and 21046. Ten villages built from 1967 to 1990 around village centers, lakes and pathways.

Ellicott City

Unincorporated county seat on the Patapsco, ZIP codes 21042 and 21043. The historic mill town on Main Street plus suburban subdivisions spreading out along US 29 and US 40.

Elkridge

Unincorporated census-designated place in the east along US 1, ZIP code 21075, with I-95 on its west side and MD 100 across the south. The county's oldest settlement, now mostly suburban subdivisions.

Savage

Unincorporated census-designated place in the southeast, ZIP code 20763. A mill village around Savage Mill, renovated as a marketplace in 1984, with the 1852 Bollman Truss Bridge nearby.

North Laurel

Unincorporated census-designated place in the far southeast, ZIP code 20723. It is separate from the City of Laurel, an incorporated city across the Patuxent with its own government and tax.

Fulton

Unincorporated census-designated place in the south between US 29 and the Patuxent, ZIP codes 20759 and 20723. Scaggsville Road (MD 216) is the main road; farmland gave way to planned development in the 2000s.

Clarksville

Unincorporated community on MD 108 in the south-central county, ZIP code 21029. Home to River Hill High School and historic houses including Montrose and Richland Farm, both on the National Register.

Jessup

Unincorporated census-designated place in the east, partly in Anne Arundel County, ZIP code 20794. Guilford Park High School opened here in 2023, and the MARC Jessup station is on Old Jessup Road.

Glenelg, Glenwood and Dayton

Unincorporated communities along the MD 32 corridor in the Rural West. Farms and homes on private wells and septic systems; Glenelg High School is on Burntwoods Road.

West Friendship

Unincorporated community in the west where I-70 meets MD 32, ZIP code 21794. Frederick Road (MD 144) is its main road, and the Howard County Fairgrounds sit on it.

Schools and boundaries

The Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) runs every public school in the county. It has 13 high schools, plus the Homewood Center and the Career and Technical Education Center on Clarksville Pike and Cedar Lane School on Scaggsville Road in Fulton. HCPSS assigns schools by planning polygons, small map units it uses to place each address, and those lines do not follow ZIP codes or community names.

Boundaries change here. On November 21, 2019 the Board of Education adopted a systemwide plan that moved students at every level for the 2020 to 2021 school year. In November 2022 it drew an attendance area for the new Guilford Park High School, taken from within the Hammond High area, for 2023 to 2024. On December 4, 2025 it adopted changes that move some Bryant Woods Elementary and Harper's Choice Middle students starting in 2026 to 2027. HCPSS says its School Locator shows the 2026 to 2027 changes. Enter the exact address there before you count on a school.

Atholton High School

On Freetown Road in Columbia, ZIP code 21044. Check the School Locator for the streets it serves.

Centennial High School

On Centennial Lane in Ellicott City. It was one of two high schools included in the boundary review that began in February 2025.

Glenelg High School

On Burntwoods Road in Glenelg, in the Rural West. One of the high schools west of the Planned Service Area line.

Guilford Park High School

On Ridgelys Run Road in Jessup. The newest HCPSS high school, it opened in August 2023 with an attendance area drawn from the Hammond area.

Hammond High School

On Guilford Road in Columbia, ZIP code 21046. Its attendance area gave up territory when Guilford Park opened in 2023.

Reservoir High School

On Scaggsville Road (MD 216) in Fulton, down the road from Cedar Lane School.

Wilde Lake High School

On Trumpeter Road in Columbia's Wilde Lake village. It was included in the 2025 boundary review along with Centennial.

What it costs to own here beyond the price

Every Howard County address gets one property tax bill from the county Department of Finance. It carries the county real property tax, the State real property tax the county collects and a countywide fire tax. Because the county has no incorporated towns, no address pays a town tax on top. The same bill carries the annual trash fee, a watershed protection fee for stormwater projects and, for homes on septic, the State Bay Restoration Fee.

The Homestead Tax Credit limits how much of a yearly assessment increase is taxed on a principal residence, and Howard County's cap on the county portion is lower than the state's cap on the state portion. You apply once, through the SDAT homestead portal or Maryland OneStop, and the credit stays while the home is your principal residence. The state Homeowners' Tax Credit is separate, based on income and net worth, and is filed each year by October 1. The county adds its own credits, several for owners 65 and older.

In the east, the Department of Public Works Bureau of Utilities runs public water and sewer. Homes in the Metropolitan District pay an ad valorem charge on the tax bill, and homes on a street with a water or sewer main pay an annual front foot benefit charge, a line many buyers do not expect. Ask the seller for the latest bill. In the Rural West, the Health Department's Well and Septic Program reviews septic designs, inspects wells and septic systems and keeps files you can request. BGE provides electricity in Howard County.

At closing, the county Director of Finance collects the county transfer tax and the recordation tax, and the state transfer tax goes to the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Howard County Code Section 20.300 gives county police officers and deputy sheriffs, fire and rescue members and certificated teachers a reduced county transfer tax, or an exemption if they are first-time Howard County buyers, with a three-year occupancy rule. In Columbia, add the Columbia Association annual charge, paid to CA. Many other subdivisions have their own association and covenants.

Buying your first home in Howard County

First-time buyers here can combine state and county help. The Maryland Mortgage Program, run through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, offers 30-year fixed loans and down payment assistance through approved lenders, and every purchase borrower must finish homebuyer education before approval. Howard County runs its own Settlement Downpayment Loan Program through the county Department of Housing and Community Development, with funds offered first come, first served, and a Moderate Income Housing Unit program that sells designated homes to buyers who enroll.

Two transfer tax rules matter at settlement. Under Maryland law, a first-time Maryland homebuyer buying a principal residence pays a reduced state transfer tax rate, and the seller pays that tax. Howard County's own transfer tax relief is written for county police, deputy sheriffs, fire and rescue members and certificated teachers, so most first-time buyers here get the state rule only. Deborah runs free seminars for first-time buyers that walk through these programs, the loan steps and what to expect on settlement day.

Maryland Mortgage Program 1st Time Advantage

Run by Maryland DHCD through approved lenders. A 30-year fixed-rate loan for eligible first-time buyers, with homebuyer education required before approval.

MMP down payment assistance and Partner Match

Maryland DHCD. Extra funds for down payment and closing costs; Partner Match adds MMP money to assistance offered by partner organizations such as employers.

Howard County Settlement Downpayment Loan Program

Howard County DHCD. Deferred loans due on sale, refinance or default; pre-purchase counseling required; the first-time buyer rule applies to the HomeStarter, HomeSteader and DreamMaker loans.

Moderate Income Housing Unit (MIHU) program

Howard County DHCD. Designated condominiums and townhomes sold to buyers who apply during an open enrollment period and meet the income and credit rules.

Parks, trails and things to do

The county's two rivers frame its largest parkland. Patapsco Valley State Park, about 16,043 acres along about 32 miles of the Patapsco, follows the north and east edge of the county, with the Hollofield and McKeldin areas on Ellicott City addresses, the Swinging Bridge at Orange Grove and the 1833 Thomas Viaduct at Elkridge. To the southwest, the Patuxent and its two reservoirs, Triadelphia and Rocky Gorge, run largely through public land along the Montgomery County line.

Columbia was planned around open space. It has about 80 miles of paths, and the Columbia Association annual charge pays to maintain its pathways, lakes, ponds, play areas and pools. The Downtown Columbia Lakefront on Lake Kittamaqundi hosts the free LakeFest weekend and the Fourth of July fireworks. Merriweather Post Pavilion, designed by Frank Gehry and opened in 1967, sits on Little Patuxent Parkway.

Patapsco Valley State Park

About 16,043 acres along the Patapsco with more than 200 miles of trails, the Swinging Bridge and the Thomas Viaduct, completed in 1833.

Centennial Park

A 325-acre county park built around a 54-acre lake, with a walking path around the water. The county bought the parkland in 1975.

B&O Railroad Ellicott City Station Museum

Built in 1830 as the first terminus of the B&O line, it is called the oldest remaining passenger railway station in the United States. Run by the county since 2017.

Savage Mill and the Bollman Truss Bridge

The mill dates to about 1820 and reopened as a marketplace in 1984. The 1852 iron bridge was moved to its site in 1887 and is on the National Register.

Merriweather Post Pavilion

Outdoor concert venue in Columbia at 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, designed by Frank Gehry and opened in 1967.

Howard County Fair

Held each August at the Howard County Fairgrounds on Frederick Road (MD 144) in West Friendship.

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

A weekend festival in early May, held at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship.

Getting around: DC, Baltimore and BWI

Interstate 95 crosses the eastern side of the county between Baltimore and Washington, and Interstate 70 crosses the north, meeting MD 32 at West Friendship. US 29 is the main north and south road through Columbia and Ellicott City. MD 32 runs across the middle of the county and MD 100 runs across the south of Elkridge into Anne Arundel County. US 1, Washington Boulevard, runs through Elkridge, Jessup and North Laurel.

The MARC Camden Line, a weekday commuter line between Camden Station in Baltimore and Union Station in Washington, stops at Dorsey on Deerpath Road and Jessup on Old Jessup Road, both in Howard County, and at Savage on Dorsey Run Road, on the Howard and Anne Arundel line. The MARC Penn Line, Amtrak and Acela stop at the BWI Rail Station in Anne Arundel County. The Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland (RTA) runs local buses for Howard, Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties. There is no Metrorail station in the county.

In a straight line, Columbia is about 15 miles from downtown Baltimore, about 23 miles from Union Station in Washington and about 11 miles from BWI Marshall Airport, which sits in Anne Arundel County at the end of I-195. Ellicott City is about 10 miles from downtown Baltimore. Two large employers are inside the county: the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory on Johns Hopkins Road in Laurel, ZIP code 20723, and Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center in Columbia.