Recent county development has led to some realignment towards the Washington, D.C. media and employment markets.

Howard County is frequently cited for its affluence, quality of life, and excellent schools.

[2] Many of the most affluent communities in the area, such as Clarksville, Dayton, Glenelg, Glenwood, and West Friendship, are located along the Route 32 corridor in Howard County.

The main population center of Columbia/Ellicott City is regularly ranked in Money magazine's Top 10 "Best Places to Live".

[3][4][5] According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Howard County ranks fourth in the nation for educational attainment, with an estimated 63.6% of residents 25 and over holding a bachelor's degree or higher.

[10] The name of the county honors Colonel John Eager Howard,[11] an officer in the "Maryland Line" of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War, commander notably at the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina in 1781, among others.

[15] In 1652, the Susquehannock tribes signed a peace treaty with Maryland, giving up their provenance over the territory that is now Howard County.

[17] In 1838, Dr. William Watkins of Richland Manor proposed the "Howard District" of Anne Arundel County.

[18] After several adjournments, the area of western Anne Arundel County was designated the Howard District in 1839.

[20] At the January 1851 constitutional convention, Thomas Beale Dorsey submitted a petition led by James Sykes.

After several postponements, the district was erected officially as Howard County on July 4, 1851, after the approval of the new constitution at the election held June 4, 1851.

At the time of the Underground Railroad, some Howard County residents assisted slaves who were escaping to freedom.

This was particularly risky, as many prominent plantation families were Confederate sympathizers during the Civil War, contributing militiamen to the South to protect local interests.

[28] In 1940, local newspaper owner Paul Griffith Stromberg led a five-county commission to study a superhighway between Baltimore and Washington through Howard County.

In 1972, the Marriott company proposed to build a regional theme park on Rouse-owned land but was denied zoning.

Howard County is located in the Piedmont Plateau region of Maryland, with rolling hills making up most of the landscape.

Both the Patapsco and Patuxent run largely through publicly accessible parkland along the county borders.

[36] Over a 60-year period from 1950 to 2010, there were 394 National Climatic Data Center reportable events causing 617 injuries, and 99 fatalities.

Immigration from Asia, particularly Korea, India, and China, as well as Latin America, has also contributed to Howard County's diversity.

While historically primarily Christian, Howard County now has sizable Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu populations.

Howard County has a record of acting as a bellwether in state-wide elections since the late 20th century: Since at least the 1950s, Howard County has voted for the successful senatorial candidate in both Maryland's Class I and Class III seats, and since 1998 the county has voted for the successful gubernatorial candidate, voting for Republican Bob Ehrlich in the 2002 gubernatorial election, Democrat Martin O'Malley in 2006 and 2010, Republican Larry Hogan in 2014 and 2018, and Democrat Wes Moore in 2022.

In May 1962, voters were offered a second location to vote, also in Ellicott City at the National Armory on Montgomery Road.

The current Howard County Executive is Democrat Calvin Ball III, who was elected in November 2018 and took office on December 3, 2018.

[66] The county is entirely within Maryland's 3rd congressional district, represented by Democrat John Sarbanes.

[100] The County Government employs 3,323 outside of the school system with 672 police, 482 public works, and 472 fire and rescue employees.

A 1967 Airport Study Commission recommended a facility for 150–250 aircraft to provide economic development, but was not initiated.