Howard County, MD
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 39.25, -76.92.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 96th pct · 96th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 100th pct · 1st of 24 Maryland counties · median $417,647
- 100th pct · 1st of 7 counties in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro · median $486,857
- 27th pct · 2,207th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 43rd pct · 14th of 24 Maryland counties · median +0.8%
- 33rd pct · 5th of 7 counties in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro · median +0.8%
- 92nd pct · 97th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 95th pct · 2nd of 22 Maryland counties · median $1,875
- 100th pct · 1st of 7 counties in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro · median $1,896
- 93rd pct · 197th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 78th pct · 6th of 24 Maryland counties · median 44,580
- 50th pct · 4th of 7 counties in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro · median 168,782
- 97th pct · 93rd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 91st pct · 3rd of 24 Maryland counties · median $1,216
- 100th pct · 1st of 7 counties in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro · median $1,480
- 86th pct · 419th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 65th pct · 9th of 24 Maryland counties · median 5.8
- 66th pct · 3rd of 7 counties in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro · median 5.8
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $625,349 (Sep 2026), +0.8% over one year, +16.5% over five
- 96th pct · 96th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 100th pct · 1st of 24 Maryland counties · median $417,647
- 100th pct · 1st of 7 counties in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro · median $486,857
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Howard County, MD | $625,349 · +0.8% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Typical rent $2,358/mo (Sep 2026), +3.3% over one year; price-to-rent 22.1
- 92nd pct · 97th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 95th pct · 2nd of 22 Maryland counties · median $1,875
- 100th pct · 1st of 7 counties in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro · median $1,896
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Howard County, MD | $2,358/mo · +3.3% 1-yr |
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $3,464 a month on $625,349 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $7,761 a month: 44.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $625,349 × 80% = $500,279, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $3,464/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,791 × 52 / 12 = $7,761) = 45% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $625,349 / ($1,791 × 52) = 6.7
- price-to-rent = $625,349 / ($2,358 × 12) = 22.1
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
168,782 jobs at 11,704 employers (2026 Q1); -2.0% jobs and +1.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 93rd pct · 197th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 78th pct · 6th of 24 Maryland counties · median 44,580
- 50th pct · 4th of 7 counties in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro · median 168,782
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Howard County, MD | 168,782 jobs · $1,791/wk · -2.0% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional and technical services | 31,672 | $2,812 | 2.72 | -5.2% |
| Health care and social assistance | 19,149 | $1,242 | 0.75 | +1.6% |
| Retail trade | 14,924 | $913 | 0.91 | -3.6% |
| Wholesale trade | 13,572 | $2,203 | 2.10 | +2.4% |
| Accommodation and food services | 12,586 | $564 | 0.83 | +0.2% |
| Administrative and waste services | 10,984 | $1,381 | 1.14 | -2.1% |
| Construction | 10,552 | $2,012 | 1.19 | -3.8% |
| Finance and insurance | 5,715 | $3,065 | 0.83 | +0.1% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 4,570 | $1,206 | 0.64 | +0.0% |
| Other services | 4,487 | $1,131 | 0.89 | -3.0% |
| Educational services | 3,233 | $1,126 | 0.89 | +2.9% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 3,176 | $713 | 1.14 | +4.6% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
D0 abnormally dry
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$9.5 bn in deposits at 54 offices of 17 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,229, moderately concentrated. $8.7 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (contracts $4.9 bn, direct payments $3.8 bn), $51,631 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bank of America, National Association | $2.4 bn · 25.3% share · 8 offices | |
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | $1.1 bn · 11.6% share · 7 offices | |
| Atlantic Union Bank | $1.0 bn · 10.6% share · 4 offices | |
| Howard, MD | $8.7 bn FY2026 · $51,631/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $3.7 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America, National Association | $2,389,267,000 | 25.3% | 8 |
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | $1,098,785,000 | 11.6% | 7 |
| Atlantic Union Bank | $1,002,576,000 | 10.6% | 4 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $947,109,000 | 10.0% | 6 |
| Fulton Bank, National Association | $727,434,000 | 7.7% | 4 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $724,812,000 | 7.7% | 3 |
| Truist Bank | $722,992,000 | 7.7% | 5 |
| Capital One, National Association | $521,816,000 | 5.5% | 2 |
| First National Bank of Pennsylvania | $347,138,000 | 3.7% | 2 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $325,873,000 | 3.4% | 6 |
Deposit concentration is 1,229 across 17 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 17 banks with deposits in the county = 25.3² + 11.6² + 10.6² + … (14 more) = 1,229
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
USAspending place-of-performance obligations for FY2026, by awarding agency.
| Awarding agency | Obligations |
|---|---|
| Department of Health and Human Services | $2,241,081,780 |
| Department of Defense | $1,883,896,694 |
| Social Security Administration | $1,386,227,821 |
| Department of Transportation | $1,329,931,760 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $745,936,093 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $522,368,425 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $394,188,556 |
| Department of Justice | $57,661,247 |
| Department of Commerce | $34,268,611 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $26,440,627 |
| Department of State | $21,902,959 |
| Department of Education | $19,659,522 |
That is $51,631 per covered job, against 168,782 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $8.7 bn / 168,782 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $51,631
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 17.95 | 2026-10-18 | -2.6% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.20 | 2026-10-19 | +0.0% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 7.00 | 2026-10-13 | +133.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 101.91 | 2026-10-14 | +1.0% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.40 | 2026-10-15 | +0.0% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 652,115.00 | 2026-09-01 | +0.7% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Howard County, MD: 19 findings, 1 at a watch level and 18 noted
watchHoward County, MD's covered employment is -2.0% against a year earlier, a watch level here: covered employment below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -2 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteHoward County, MD's covered employment was 2.0% lower than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- -2 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteHoward County, MD's average weekly wage was 1.9% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +1.9 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteHoward County, MD's typical home value of $625,349 ranks 1st of 24 Maryland counties, against a median of $417,647.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 100 on the 0-to-100 scale across 24 Maryland counties that published home.latest
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteHoward County, MD's typical home value of $625,349 ranks 1st of 7 counties in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro, against a median of $486,857.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 100 on the 0-to-100 scale across 7 counties in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro that published home.latest
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 12 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.