Howard County
Fast Facts:
- Howard was home to 339,668 people and had 126,788 housing units in 2024. Since 2010, Howard has added an average of 3,700 people and 1,200 housing units per year.
- Twenty-nine percent of households were renters and 48 percent of renters had unaffordable housing costs.
- Howard built 569 units in 2025; an estimated 1,714 units are needed annually to meet future housing demand. Cumulatively, Howard has produced at least 3,883 units since 2022, short of its 4-year target of 6,856.
- Howard County's Housing Opportunities Master Plan (PDF) sets an affordability target of at least 3,000 units in a ten-year period.
Policy Status
Solving the region's affordable housing crisis requires a portfolio of policies to preserve existing affordable housing, produce more housing, and protect people from discrimination and displacement.
Right of First Refusal
- Adopted: Howard County
Preservation Inventory - Subsidized
- Not adopted: Howard County
Preservation Inventory - Unsubsidized
- Not adopted: Howard County
Rental Assistance Demonstration
- Adopted: Howard County
Energy Efficiency Upgrades for Homeowners
- Adopted: Howard County
Energy Efficiency Upgrades of Affordable Housing
- Adopted: Howard County
Housing Outcomes
Local jurisdictions submitted data to enable the region to track housing production, preservation, and rental affordability.
Structural Racism
Discriminatory actions and racist public policies have produced inequitable outcomes for Black, Indigenous, and people of color in the Washington region, including lower incomes and wealth, lower homeownership rates, and higher rates of housing cost burden.
Housing Context
Understanding how household incomes relate to the supply of affordable rental and homeownership units will inform jurisdictions' efforts to meet the current and future housing needs of residents.
Elected Officials
Equity Officer
Housing Official
Kelly A. Cimino
Director, Department of Housing and Community Development