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Salaries & Cost of Living in Howard County, MD

Median pay, take-home pay and what is left after rent, food and energy for 48 occupations in Howard County, MD.

Jobs listed
48
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
Median of medians
$47,880
per year, before tax
1-bedroom rent
$1,625
HUD Fair Market Rent / month
Jobs covering basics
100%
48 of 48
Household income
$149,763
Census median per year
Property tax
$6,987
Census median per year

Pay and cost of living in Howard County, MD

Howard County, MD is part of the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD labor market, and this page summarizes 48 occupations with published wages there. The median of their median salaries is $47,880 a year. The best-paid occupation listed is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $168,520, and the lowest is Fast Food and Counter Workers at $33,090.

A one-bedroom apartment in Howard County, MD has a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,625 a month and a two-bedroom $2,006. Rent, food, home energy and gasoline for one adult add up to $26,996 a year. After federal, FICA and state income taxes, the average occupation here takes home $50,949 a year, and every one of the 48 occupations listed here earns enough take-home pay to cover the four basics.

Each occupation links to a detailed page with gross pay, take-home pay, rent, food and energy costs, and the monthly budget margin. All pages share one method, which makes it easy to compare jobs inside Howard County, MD or against other counties.

Housing, taxes and commute in Howard County, MD

The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Howard County, MD, set beside the Maryland and national medians.

Median household income in Howard County, MD is $149,763, 44% above the Maryland median of $103,678 and $80,734 nationally. A year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent ($19,500) equals 13.0% of that income. The median of the occupation medians listed here, $47,880, is 68% below household income, which is expected because a household can hold more than one earner.

Homeowners in Howard County, MD pay a median of $6,987 a year in real estate taxes, 71% above the Maryland median of $4,093. With a median home value of $597,900, 42% above the Maryland median of $419,900, the ratio of the two medians is 1.17% a year.

Renters in Howard County, MD pay a median gross rent of $2,099 a month in the Census survey, 23% above the Maryland median of $1,705. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent used for the budgets on this site is $1,625; the Census figure covers rental units of every size.

Workers in Howard County, MD who travel to a workplace spend an average of 28.5 minutes each way, 8% below the Maryland average of 31.1. 26.0% of workers work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally.

All jobs in Howard County, MD, highest paying first

Showing 1–48 of 48.

Occupations in Howard County, MD ranked by median salary
#OccupationMedian salaryTake-homeLeft per month
1Computer and Information Systems Managers$168,520$118,162$7,597
2Financial Managers$157,990$111,544$7,046
3Software Developers$138,900$99,504$6,042
4Lawyers$132,400$95,402$5,701
5Medical and Health Services Managers$124,990$90,712$5,310
6Management Analysts$117,750$86,098$4,925
7General and Operations Managers$117,040$85,634$4,887
8Computer Systems Analysts$108,980$80,367$4,448
9Project Management Specialists$103,720$76,924$4,161
10Registered Nurses$99,550$74,189$3,933
11Accountants and Auditors$85,160$64,749$3,146
12Human Resources Specialists$82,380$62,925$2,994
13Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants$78,380$60,301$2,775
14Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$78,350$60,281$2,774
15First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers$77,690$59,848$2,738
16Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education$76,400$59,002$2,667
17First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers$75,590$58,471$2,623
18Electricians$65,590$51,911$2,076
19Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel$61,840$49,212$1,851
20Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers$59,460$47,413$1,701
21Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks$53,570$42,960$1,330
22Maintenance and Repair Workers, General$52,100$41,849$1,238
23Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive$49,220$39,672$1,056
24Light Truck Drivers$48,080$38,810$985
25Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants$47,680$38,507$959
26Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks$47,440$38,326$944
27Medical Assistants$46,790$37,834$903
28First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers$46,760$37,812$901
29Construction Laborers$46,460$37,585$882
30Office Clerks, General$46,250$37,426$869
31Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$43,850$35,612$718
32Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand$43,250$35,158$680
33Customer Service Representatives$42,850$34,856$655
34Nursing Assistants$42,770$34,795$650
35Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers$39,620$32,414$452
36First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers$38,760$31,764$397
37Stockers and Order Fillers$38,630$31,666$389
38Home Health and Personal Care Aides$37,640$30,917$327
39Receptionists and Information Clerks$37,600$30,887$324
40Cooks, Restaurant$37,420$30,751$313
41Security Guards$36,970$30,411$285
42Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners$36,460$30,025$252
43Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary$36,200$29,828$236
44Waiters and Waitresses$36,170$29,806$234
45Food Preparation Workers$35,080$28,982$166
46Retail Salespersons$34,800$28,770$148
47Cashiers$33,760$27,984$82
48Fast Food and Counter Workers$33,090$27,477$40