Baltimore / Columbia
Columbia has 104,338 residents (give or take 2,815) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US2419125, checked 2026-10-19), about 3,267 people per square mile.
Columbia is about 15 miles from the Census center point for Baltimore in a straight line and covers 31.934 square miles of land (Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and land area, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/, checked 2026-10-19).
The quote form takes a ZIP code; for Columbia that is 21044, 21045, 21046 (Census 2020 ZCTA to county subdivision and ZCTA to place relationship files, ZIP areas at least 20% inside the town, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_cousub20_natl.txt and https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_place20_natl.txt, checked 2026-10-19).
Median household income in Columbia is $131,490 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US2419125, checked 2026-10-19); many state and utility heat pump rebate programs set higher incentive tiers for income-qualifying households, so the household income on the application, not the town median, decides which level applies.
3,267 people per square mile puts Columbia in suburban density, where the outdoor unit usually sits in a side yard and the noise is not an issue for neighbors.
39% of Columbia homes are single-family detached, 2% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 33% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US2419125, checked 2026-10-19).
35% of Columbia homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US2419125, checked 2026-10-19), so beside the 39% detached houses there is a real share of jobs where the landlord, not the resident, signs the quote.
Columbia has 11 points fewer detached houses than Howard County overall (50%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US24027, checked 2026-10-19).
Of the 41,143 occupied homes in Columbia, 41% heat with natural gas, 1% with heating oil, 56% with electricity and 1% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US2419125, checked 2026-10-19).
Electricity already heats 56% of Columbia homes, ahead of gas at 41%, and a home on electric baseboard sees the biggest bill change from a heat pump because it replaces resistance heat one for one.
Columbia has 3 points less oil heat than Howard County as a whole, where 4% of homes burn oil, and 6 points more electric heat than the county's 50% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US24027, checked 2026-10-19).
No electric utility is on file for Columbia on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
Columbia has 43,280 housing units, 1% built before 1940 and 43% before 1980, with 14% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US2419125, checked 2026-10-19).
Columbia has 15 points fewer homes built after 2000 than the county's 29% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US24027, checked 2026-10-19).
The median Columbia home was built in 1983 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US2419125, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 6.4 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US2419125, checked 2026-10-19).
Heating design temperature: 12F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Howard County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 55 to 56 of 141 (Revised 11/11/2020), https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/Design%20Temperature%20Limit%20Reference%20Guide%20(2019%20Ed)%20-%20ENERGY%20STAR%20Single-Family%20New%20Homes_Rev11.pdf, fetched 2026-10-19, 99%.
That 12F figure is the Howard County cold-day number a Columbia heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at 12F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Columbia home has 6.4 rooms and was built around 1983, and the count of heads and the tonnage follow the rooms and the insulation, not the square footage.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Columbia. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Columbia yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.