Howard County, Maryland

Howard County population, land area and income

Howard County had 339,668 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 251.0 square miles of land. It ranks 6th of 24 in Maryland by population and 22nd by land area. That works out to 1,353.5 people per square mile, 14.1 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top tenth nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Maryland has 111,399 residents, so Howard County is 3.0 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $140,113 is the 10th highest among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Howard County's population changed since 2020

Howard County gained 6,847 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 2.1%. That ranks 13th of 24 in Maryland for growth. The median Maryland county changed by +2.1%, and the state as a whole by +1.4%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Howard County recorded 13,506 births and 8,629 deaths, a natural change of +4,877. Net international migration added +7,252 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -5,199. The largest single component was international migration, which added 7,252 people.

Where Howard County is

The Census internal point of Howard County is at 39.252300, -76.924400. It sits in UTM zone 18N. The map shades Maryland's 24 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Howard County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Howard County

No incorporated place of 1,000 or more people has residents in Howard County. Its 339,668 residents live in smaller towns, census-designated places, or unincorporated land, which the subcounty estimates do not list at this size.

Counties bordering Howard County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Howard County. The most populous is Montgomery County, MD, with 1,082,273 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Montgomery County

  1,082,273 people

  17 mi WSW

• Prince George's County

  966,629 people

  30 mi S

• Baltimore County

  852,425 people

  21 mi NE

• Anne Arundel County

  602,350 people

  27 mi SE

• Frederick County

  299,317 people

  29 mi WNW

• Carroll County

  177,108 people

  22 mi NNW

Distance to Annapolis and the nearest big city

Annapolis is 29.9 miles SE of Howard County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Baltimore, MD (population 568,271), 17.1 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Laurel, MD (population 30,238), 11.4 miles away.

Howard County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Howard County is 24027: state code 24 for Maryland plus county code 027. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $140,113.