Deadly Violence Rare in Top-Ranked Community

Shooting deaths like those being investigated in Ellicott City during the weekend are rare in Howard County, but not unheard of.

Last week Police charged 34-year-old Damon Willie White, of Columbia, with murder and arson after police say he stabbed his ex-wife to death and then set her apartment on fire. 

There were two reported homicides in the county in 2009, the latest year that crime statistics are available. There were 437 aggravated assaults, 262 robberies and 1,207 burglaries.

The low crime rate in the county, and particularly Ellicott City, is one of the factors cited in Money magazine's recent ranking of the combination of Columbia and Ellicott City as second on its annual inventory of best small cities in the country.

Columbia/Ellicott City, with a combined population of 155,000, ranked just after Eden Prairie, Minn., and just ahead of Newton, Mass., in the survey. The magazine called the combined cities "an economic powerhouse" with an enviable jobless rate due, in part, by growth at the nearby National Security Agency and Fort Meade Army base.

The foreclose rate is low but homes are affordable, at least by standards in the Northeast, schools are highly ranked and the population is diverse.

In 2008, Columbia/Ellicott City was rated No. 8 on the list.

In response to the new ranking, County Executive Kenneth Ulman issued a news release, saying, "We have it all, great education, public safety and the lowest unemployment rate in the state. This is truly a special place."

Last month personal finance magazine Kiplinger gave Ellicott City its top recommendation as a good community in which to raise a family. The article cited Ellicott City schools -- giving them a 9 out of 10 rating – proximity to Baltimore City and Washington, D.C., and safety as reasons families fare well in the community.

Second on the Kiplinger list was Ann Arbor, Mich.