Relocate: Maryland

Columbia Association Sports Park mini-golf THE ROAD BETWEEN OUR NATION’S CAPITAL and Baltimore runs directly through Howard County, Maryland. Designated as an “All-America County” by the National Civic League, Howard County is one of the nation’s most outstanding places to live, work, and play! Howard County has a balanced blend of pastoral farms, historic towns, suburban communities, and urban lifestyle. Diversity surrounds you, from Columbia’s world-class shopping mall to historic Ellicott City’s Main Street filled with antiques, boutiques, and cozy restaurants. With all of this and so much more, it’s no wonder that Howard County’s Columbia/Ellicott City area was chosen as the “Fourth Best Place to Live” by Money magazine. But that’s not all! Howard County has also been recognized as Best Educated (adults over 25), according to the U.S. Census Bureau; “Seventh Best School System” in the country by Forbes; “First Among Great Public Library Systems” by American Libraries; “Second Most Technologically Advanced Community in the U.S.” by USA Today; and “Ninth Best Quality of Life” by American City Business Journals. When it comes to leisure-time activities, there are six regional parks, 24 community parks, seven golf courses, five lakes, and over 200 miles of walking, hiking, and biking trails. It’s no wonder that Sports Illustrated chose Howard County as one of only eight communities nationwide to receive the “Good Sports Communities of the Year” award. Howard County was also chosen as the ideal location for the first railroad terminus in the nation, the Historic National Road; Merriweather Post Pavilion, a premier outdoor amphitheater with headline entertainment; and Columbia, one of the largest planned communities in the country. Centrally located in the Baltimore-Washington Corridor, Howard County is the strategic location of choice for a diverse and thriving business base. Several large business contractors call Howard County home, as do corporate and regional headquarters, a wide variety of technology-driven firms, and wholesale distributors and manufacturers. The county’s citizens are among the wealthiest in the nation, with a median household income of $94,276. As one of approximately 30 counties in the nation to have a triple-A bond rating from all three rating agencies, Howard County’s economy is one of the strongest in Maryland. Howard County is the state leader in the creation of new jobs, with more than 35,000 new jobs added over the last decade. It has the highest concentration of professional, scientific, and technical workers in the state. You’ll want to call Howard County your strategic location of choice, too, once you discover there is so much, so close! HOWARD COUNTY Howard County Economic Development Authority Columbia, MD 21046 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Suite 500 410-313-6500 www.hceda.org POPULATION 2005 Estimate: 268,500 2010 Projection: 286,950 TRANSPORTATION Highways: I-70, I-95, U.S. 1, U.S. 29, U.S. 40, MD 32, MD 100 and MD 175. CLIMATE Yearly Precipitation (inches): 45.3 Yearly Snowfall (inches): 20.9 Summer Temperature (degrees F): 73.0 Winter Temperature (degrees F): 33.8 Duration of Freeze-Free Period: 172 days HOUSING Median Selling Price: All owner-occupied properties (2007): $392,000 All multiple-listed properties (2006): $385,000 RECREATION AND CULTURE PERSONAL INCOME www.howardcountymd.gov/www.MarylandLife.com Per-Capita Personal Income (2005): $52,580 LABOR AVAILABILITY (by place of residence, 2006) Civilian Labor Force: Total civilian labor force: 158,974 Employment: 154,404 Unemployment: 4,570 Unemployment rate: 2.9% Employment in selected occupations: Management, professional and related: 86,802 (58.0%) Service: 16,564 (11.1%) Sales and office: 34,072 (22.8%) Production, transportation and material moving: 6,327 (4.2%) Residents commuting outside the county to work: 89,662 (59.9%) TOP FIVE EMPLOYERS Employer Johns Hopkins U. Applied Physics Lab. Howard Community College Verizon Wireless SAIC Howard County General Hospital Product/Service R&D systems engineering Higher education Telecommunications Engineering services Medical services Employment 4,300 2,500 2,028 2,000 1,700 EDUCATION Educational Attainment- age 25 and over (2006) High School Graduate or Higher: 93.8% Bachelor’s Degree or Higher: 57.5% Public Schools: www.hcpss.org Number: 38 Elementary, 19 Middle/Combined, 12 High Enrollment: 49,048 (Sept. 2006) Private Schools Number: 78 Enrollment: 9,992 (Sept. 2006) Cost per Pupil: $11,232 (2005-2006) Students per Teacher: 13.6 (Oct. 2006) High School Career/Tech Enrollment: 3,599 (2007) High School Graduates: 3,520 (June 2006) Higher Education (2006) Name 2-Year Institution Howard Community College 4-Year Institution TAI Sophia Institute Enrollment 7,161 376 Degrees 460 53 2008 RELOCATE MARYLAND 33 http://www.hceda.org http://www.howardcountymd.gov http://www.MarylandLife.com http://www.hcpss.org

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Relocate: Maryland Contents Maryland Map Welcome! Real Estate: Its Contribution to the MD Economy Why Use a REALTOR® What does BRAC Mean to Maryland? Allegany Anne Arundel/Annapolis Resources Baltimore County Baltimore City Calvert Caroline Carroll Cecil Charles Dorchester Frederick Garrett Harford Howard Kent Montgomery Prince George’s Queen Anne’s Somerset St. Mary’s Talbot Washington Wicomico Worcester/Ocean City

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