Moving to Columbia, Maryland

About Columbia, Maryland
Columbia

Columbia is a planned community in Howard County, Maryland, United States, consisting of 10 self-contained villages. With a population of 104,681 at the 2020 census, it is the second most populous community in Maryland after Baltimore. Columbia, located nearly halfway between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area and is tracked by the United States Census Bureau as a census-designated place. Columbia proper consists only of territory governed by the Columbia Association, but larger areas are included under its name by the Census Bureau and the United States Postal Service. These include several other communities which predate Columbia, including Simpsonville, Atholton, and in the case of the Census, part of Clarksville.

Founded in 1967, Columbia began with the idea that a city could enhance its residents' quality of life. Developer James Rouse attempted to create the new community in terms of human values, rather than economics and engineering. Columbia was intended to not only eliminate the inconveniences of then-current subdivision design, but also eliminate racial, religious and class segregation. Rouse additionally stated that Columbia would help avoid the leap-frog and spot-zoning development threatening the county.

Gender
Gender Columbia Maryland Country
Female 51.6% 51.5% 50.8%
Male 48.4% 48.5% 49.2%
Gender

Household Income


Income Columbia Maryland Country
Less than $10,000 3.8% 4.6% 5.8%
$10,000 to $14,999 2.2% 2.6% 4.1%
$15,000 to $24,999 4.8% 5.6% 8.5%
$25,000 to $34,999 3% 6.1% 8.6%
$35,000 to $49,999 5.2% 9.3% 12.0%
$50,000 to $74,999 10.8% 15.2% 17.2%
$75,000 to $99,999 14.3% 13% 12.8%
$100,000 to $149,999 22.7% 19.3% 15.6%
$150,000 to $199,999 14.8% 10.8% 7.1%
$200,000 or more 18.4% 13.4% 8.3%
Education


Education Columbia Maryland Country
< 9th Grade 3% 3% 5.0%
9-12th Grade 2% 6% 7.0%
High School or GED 13% 24% 27.0%
Other College 15% 19% 20.0%
Associate's Degree 5% 7% 9%
Bachelor's Degree 29% 22% 20.0%
Master's Degree 22% 13% 9.0%
Professional Degree 5% 3% 2.0%
Doctorate Degree 6% 3% 1.0%
Household Income
Education
Race / Ethnicity


Ethnicity Columbia Maryland Country
White 44.5% 50.2% 60.1%
African American 27% 29.4% 12.2%
American Indian 0.3% 0.2% 0.6%
Asian 13.3% 6.3% 5.6%
Hawaiian 0% 0% 0.2%
Other 0.8% 0.4% 0.3%
Multiracial 4.7% 3.3% 2.8%
Hispanic 9.4% 10.3% 18.2%
Race / Ethnicity