---
title: Columbia & Ellicott City, Md.
description: Ellicott City has quaint older homes and a charming downtown. Columbia is a planned community stocked with pools and sports facilities, plus lots of big-box…
authors:
  - name: turnercowles
    url: https://money.com/author/turnercowles/
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published: '2014-09-19T19:50:11.000Z'
modified: '2019-08-22T19:04:20.000Z'
section: Lifestyle
tags:
  - Best Places to Live
  - best places to live 2014
  - Columbia
  - columbia maryland
  - ellicott city
  - ellicott city maryland
  - Maryland
canonical: https://money.com/collection-post/columbia-ellicott-city-maryland-best-places-to-live/
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![201410_BPL_ELLICOTTCITY](https://img.money.com/2014/09/201410_bpl_06ellicottcity.jpg)

Ellicott City has quaint older homes and a charming downtown. Columbia is a planned community stocked with pools and sports facilities, plus lots of big-box shopping and other practical amenities. Though the two unincorporated places have their own unique feel, they function as a single city in many respects. For residents, that means shared access to parks, rec facilities, and a diverse and outstanding school district. The area is also rife with good jobs—many of which require only a short commute. Lorien Health Systems (Ellicott City) and Howard Community College (Columbia) are right there, and the NSA and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab are less than a 25-minute drive.

While Baltimore and Washington, D.C., are close, public transportation is limited, as is local nightlife.

*[See homes for sale in Columbia & Ellicott City, Md.](http://www.trulia.com/for_sale/Columbia,MD/popularity;d_sort)*

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