Howard County is situated in the heart of the dynamic corridor between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, which combined comprise the fourth largest consolidated market in the United States. Howard County's ideal geographic location has resulted in the substantial growth of a wide variety of industries, including high-tech and life science businesses. Conveniently accessible to I-95 and I-70, the county is located within a 20-minute drive of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and the Port of Baltimore.

A diverse business base thrives in the county, taking advantage of a friendly business climate, a highly educated workforce and superb quality of life. Howard County's corporate citizens range from information technology, telecommunications and biotechnology companies to multinational corporations, research and development firms and wholesale distributors.

Howard County's 8,350 businesses employ 126,800 workers; over 275 of these businesses have 100 or more workers. Major private sector employers include Arbitron, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, MICROS Systems, Northrop Grumman, SAIC and Verizon Wireless.

For additional information, download the 4-page Brief Economic Facts for the county.
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