Living in Columbia, MD
Columbia is a mid-size city of 104,338 people in Howard County, Maryland. It's about 15 miles from Baltimore, MD. Summer highs average 88°F and winter highs 43°F, with about 28 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $497k and rent runs about $2k a month.
104,338people
$497kTypical home
$2,042/moRent
88° / 43°Summer / winter
28"Snow
233Sunny days
136Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Mid-size city of 104,338
- Part of a metro area
- About 3,267 people per sq mi
- 15 mi to Baltimore, MD
- 15 mi to Baltimore, MD
- Has its own stores and services
Money
- Typical home $497k (≈$3,137/mo)
- Median rent $2,042/mo
- Median household income $131k
- Property tax about 1.2% of value
- 4.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 88°F
- Winter highs around 43°F
- Muggy summers (dew point 65°F)
- 233 sunny days a year (81 totally clear)
- 132 cloudy days a year
- 40 of 90 winter days are gray
- 136 days a year with rain or snow
- 28" of snow a year
- 6 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- 1 day a year over 100°F
- 3 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Very low violent crime (109 per 100k), county-wide
- Low property crime (1,460 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 39
- 30% of households have kids
- 17% are 65 or older
- 64% have a college degree
- Very diverse community
- 8% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 30 min
- 4% walk or take transit to work
- 10 mi to BWI airport
- 10 mi to BWI (major hub)
- 9 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 65% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1983
- 96% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 302 ft
- 13 mi to the ocean
- 189 mi to a big lake
- 3 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 47 mi to the nearest ski area
- 7 mi to the nearest campground
- 97 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 3,411 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 376 bars within 25 mi
- 923 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 64 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 183 museums within 25 mi
- 54 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 5 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 4% of Maryland districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 1 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 12 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- Vet in town
- Dog park in town
- 5 congregations per 10k people
- College in town
Politics
- Howard County: D+42 in 2024
- Maryland: D+29 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Moderate hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- High flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk