Howard County has a racially diverse population. Howard County is located in the Piedmont Plateau region of Maryland, with rolling hills that make up most of the landscape. According to the Census Bureau, Howard County ranks fourth in the country in terms of educational achievement, and an estimated 63.6% of residents aged 25 and older have a bachelor's degree or higher. For much of the 1800s and 1900s, Howard County was a predominantly white, mostly rural county with a small population and little ethnic, racial, or religious diversity.
Immigration from Asia, particularly from Korea, India and China, as well as from Latin America, has also contributed to the diversity of Howard County. However, as in most parts of the country, inequalities persist in Howard County, many of them on racial and ethnic grounds. Pravin Ponnuri, president of the Howard County Indian Origin Network, says that one of the organization's goals is to become a place for Indian Americans to contribute more visibly to the community at large. Much of Howard County's racial diversification occurred after 1967, when The Rouse Company designed Columbia to be a planned community that included people from diverse socioeconomic and racial backgrounds.
The largest universities in Howard County, Maryland, by number of degrees awarded are Howard Community College (1438 and 63.6%), the Lincoln College of Technology-Columbia (396 and 17.5%) and the University of Integrative Health of Maryland (358 and 15.8%). African-Americans have lived in Howard County for centuries, and the African-American population increased sharply after the 1960s. According to its website, Choose Civility is an ongoing community initiative, led by the Howard County Library, to position Howard County as a model of civility. At the state government level, Howard County is represented by nine Democrats in the Maryland House of Delegates and three Democrats in the Maryland Senate.
Howard County has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election starting in 1992, and has become increasingly Democratic in subsequent presidential elections. This chart shows the stock breakdown of the major industries for residents of Howard County, Maryland, although some of these residents may live in Howard County, Maryland, and work elsewhere. In the era of the Underground Railroad, some residents of Howard County helped slaves who were escaping to freedom. By 1899, Howard County had 400 miles (640 km) of land and 48 miles (77 km) of cobblestone roads, including three pay highways maintained by 118 men.
