Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 104,338, settled in 1874.
Where it does best is hazard risk (A+). Columbia’s overall A puts it 36th of 259 in Maryland. That leaves it better than 93% of U.S. towns. Add health to its strengths (A): it is healthier than 92% of U.S. towns. The catch is cost of living — the typical home is worth about $502K, 5.1 years of the Baltimore metro’s $99K median household income. 26% of the land in the city is conserved, above both the Maryland town median (9.5%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). On the outdoors, just 9 of Maryland’s 329 towns do better. The city is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns.
Figures: FEMA National Risk Index · health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · USGS PAD-US.
Where Columbia beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Columbia | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6% | 9.9% |
26% of the town is conserved land, across 23 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Columbia is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 10%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 8,815 in 1970, 104,681 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper and 7 maps from 1892 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Columbia. Close and well known come first.
Big draw23 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw23 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw25 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw24 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw23 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaNorthwest StadiumWhite House: This image or media was taken or created by Matt H. Wade. To see his entire port, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Washington Monument: Oren Rozen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Arlington National Cemetery: Protoant, Public domain · United States Triumphal Arch: Hstoops, CC0 · Smithsonian Institution: Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer, Public domain · Northwest Stadium: Maryland GovPics, CC BY 2.0
Columbia is unincorporated, so Howard County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Mar 11, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Columbia.
Columbia has schools in the top 5% of Maryland, draws workers from Baltimore and beyond and is one of Maryland’s best towns for the outdoors.
78,086 jobs are based in Columbia, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
17% of Columbia working residents work locally. For half of commuters, work is under 14 miles away. In Columbia, the typical household income is $131,000. The top destinations are Baltimore (12%), Washington (5%) and Fulton (4%).
| Columbia | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 25% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $131,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 3.1% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its A ranks #12 of the 261 Maryland towns we grade for schools. Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $503K.
Three of the 42 schools are below, and why each made the list. Its public schools are run by the Howard County Public Schools. 6 public schools serve Columbia, with 3,835 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pointers Run ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 835 | A |
| Atholton HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,540 | A+ |
| River Hill HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,383 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Maryland is tooth loss: 6% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9.9% statewide.
The share of adults in Columbia who feel lonely: 31%. Among adults in the town, 13% report frequent mental distress and 10% report frequent physical distress.
| Columbia | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 23% | 25% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.9% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Columbia | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.9% | 15.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
On expected storm and flood damage, Columbia sits below 98% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 25 flood insurance claims have been paid out in the town. Expected losses in Columbia break down as 56% from inland flooding and 10% from heat waves. One declared disaster, in 2003, has brought federal aid to Columbia households.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #7 of 261 in Maryland.
In 23 parks and preserves, walkers have 31 miles of trail. The biggest place to walk is Middle Patuxent Environmental Area, 1,009 acres with 8.2 miles of trail. For Columbia, the density of trails is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Middle Patuxent Environmental Area | 8.2 mi | 1,009 |
| 2. Blandair Regional Park | 5.6 mi | 297 |
| 3. Sweet Hours Park | 1.8 mi | 154 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Summer afternoons peak near 87° in July, and January nights bottom out around 25°; snowfall runs to about 29 inches a winter. The seasons in Columbia: chilly winters, warm summers.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
On the market in Columbia: a median 26 days to sell. Its midpoint rent comes in at $2,042 a month. 65% of households live in a home they own locally.
| Columbia | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,042 a month | $1,809 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 74% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 45% | 51% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
13 within 15 miles of the center of Columbia
About 8 of every 100 Columbia residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Maryland.
5 places in Columbia on the National Register of Historic Places.
25 notable people were born in Columbia.
Planned community in Maryland, United States
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 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, a not-for-profit management company. The United States Postal Service also uses the name for other communities that predate Columbia, including Simpsonville and Atholton; the Census Bureau also counts…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Columbia.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | #36 | A | D | — | A | A |
| Scaggsville | #43 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Ellicott City | #50 | A | D− | — | A | A+ |
| Ilchester | #23 | A+ | D | — | A | A+ |
| North Laurel | #28 | A | C− | — | A | A |
| Savage | #61 | A | C− | — | A | A |
| Jessup | #139 | B | D | — | B+ | B |
Columbia, Scaggsville, Ellicott City, Ilchester, North Laurel, Savage and Jessup report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Columbia with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Columbia grades A overall, better than 93% of U.S. towns and #36 of 259 in Maryland. It grades A for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
25 notable people were born here, including Jack Douglass and Brent Faiyaz.
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