Columbia ranked among top places to live, raise a family

Columbia was named one of the best places to live and raise a family in recent reports, ranking among the top 15 cities nationwide and the highest-ranked Maryland city.

The two reports join a number of rankings over the past year that have found Columbia ranked among the top cities in the United States for jobs, safety, and quality of life. The rankings serve as a testament to the work that Howard County and Columbia leaders and residents have done over the past few years to invest in the community and make Columbia a premier place to live, officials say.

Columbia ranked 13th in WalletHub’s “2023’s Best Places to Raise a Family” list and 13th in Livability’s “2023 Top 100 Best Places to Live in the U.S.” ranking.

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said that Columbia’s place in the rankings is not surprising given the work that county leaders have done to invest in their community and create a positive place to live, work, and play.

WalletHub’s annual rankings to advise families on the best and worst places to live in the United States compared over 180 cities based on factors that relate to family dynamics, including cost of housing, recreational opportunities and the quality of education and health care systems.

Scores from five categories contribute to a weighted average, resulting in Columbia’s 13th-place ranking. Of the five categories, Columbia’s score was heavily boosted by its score in the affordability category, which factored in cost of living, housing affordability, and wallet wellness. Columbia ranked second in affordability of all listed cities, only behind Overland Park, Kansas.

Livability’s ranking, which considers only small and mid-sized cities between 75,000 and 500,000 residents, uses an algorithm that takes into account measures of economy, housing, cost of living, amenities, transportation, environment, safety, education and health and creates an aggregate score.

Ball said the end of the pandemic has created unique opportunities to address challenges and work to empower young people and promote growth and safer communities while also prioritizing public safety.

Columbia ranked at the top of the education category in addition to its 13th-place ranking on the Livability list. The report also lists transportation and economy as strengths contributing to the city’s score.

Over the past few years, Howard County has invested in education, opening new schools and increasing the budget for public schools by 7% in 2023. Ball said the county also worked to expand universal pre-K, fund salary increases to allow the school system to recruit and retain teachers, invest in community college and create educational opportunities.