County profile
Howard County, MD
United States · GDP 2024
#162 of 3,127 US counties by GDP73rd-percentile growthmore diversified than 89% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$37.1B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+6.5%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
185,946
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
10,050
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$84.9k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
339,183
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
3.5%
Median HH income
$149.8k±$3.2k
Bachelor's degree+
64.5%±1.4%
Poverty rate
5.2%±0.6%
Business applications
5,792 · 2025
Retail establishments
843
25.0/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
1Tenable Holdings, Inc.Technology$999.4M62C2BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc.Technology$127.7M45D3Rekor Systems, Inc.Technology$48.5M44D4COPT Defense PropertiesReal Estate$42.1M66B5Hemagen Diagnostics, Inc.Healthcare$4.0M——6Igene Biotechnology, Inc.Basic Materials———HQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Professional services36%
Health care16%
Wholesale trade14%
Retail trade12%
Admin & support11%
Food & accommodation11%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
339,183
residents · 2025 · +1.9% since 2020
Income per capita $99.8k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration−5,902
International migration+6,563
Natural change+5,374
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$28.5B2019
$28.7B2020
$31.3B2021
$32.6B2022
$34.9B2023
$37.1B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$597.9k±$6.1k
Median gross rent
$2.1k/mo±$33/mo
Vacancy rate
3.4%±0.5%
Affordability
7.0× wages
Residential permits
$255.5M
728 units · 2.1/1k pop
FEMA risk score
72.4
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$1.9k/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Winter weather 93Heat wave 89Strong wind 89
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
6802016
6932017
7062018
7192019
7312020
7852021
8762022
9412023
10002024
10202025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↓ -58% since 20211,7352021
5712022
7982023
8812024
7282025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
5.9 km
I-70
Nearest freight rail
9.8 km
CSXT
Nearest port
28.2 km
PORT COVINGTON PIER NO 6
Nearest commercial airport
24.2 km
BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON INTL THURGOOD MARSHALL
Filing activity
SEC EDGAR1 filing from 1 company here in the last 90 days.
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$84.9k
avg. annual pay · +20% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of Howard?
Howard's economy produced $37.1B in 2024, growing 6.5% year over year — faster than most US counties. Its largest employment sector is professional services.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.