It’s not a mystery why so many families want to move to Howard County. Highly ranked schools and proximity to both Baltimore and Washington, D.C., make it an ideal place for young people to imagine putting down roots and raising a family.

But new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau suggests a harsh reality: It’s never been harder for young families to move to Howard County.

In 2024, the monthly cost of owning a home for mortgage holders, including taxes and fees, exceeded $3,000, the highest in Maryland, according to a Banner analysis.

“I say all the time that Howard County and Columbia, we’re a victim of our own success, because it’s such a desirable community … we are now basically pricing people out,” said Jessamine Duvall, executive director of the Columbia Housing Center, a nonprofit that offers a referral service for renters and landlords and other social services.

High housing costs — the median home in the county sold for $636,000 in April — also has proved too much for many young homeowners. Only about 7% of county homeowners are age 34 or younger. A larger percentage of homeowners in the county are 75 or older.

“We don’t have a lot of starter homes. We have some condos and townhouses, [but] not that many smaller homes in Howard County,” Duvall said. “That really limits the options for that first-time homebuyer and therefore makes it harder for young people to own.”

Only about 10% of owner-occupied houses in Howard County have fewer than three bedrooms.

“That being said, everyone still wants to live here,” Duvall said.

Another factor driving up the price of homeownership?

Monthly fees imposed by condo and homeowner associations. About 63% of Howard County homeowners say they are responsible for fees that go toward maintaining common spaces and neighborhood upkeep, census figures show. Nationally, the average is only about one in four.

Renting in the county isn’t much cheaper. The typical gross rent, which includes the cost of utilities, is more than $2,100 a month — tied for tops in the state, according to the Banner analysis.

“There’s so much competition that the landlords know what they can get away with,” Duvall said.

Last year, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball pushed a package of housing bills intended to ease the mounting cost burden on residents, but the County Council did not advance the measures.

For Duvall, the “most important” step the county can take is to build more housing. She hopes change will come after newcomers are elected to the County Council next November.

Until the county expands its housing stock, Duvall said, ”we’re going to be putting Band-Aids on bullet holes.”