Harford County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area and the Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state.

History In 1608 the area was inhabited by Massawomecks and Susquehannocks. The first European to see the area was John Smith in 1608 when he traveled up the Chesapeake Bay from Jamestown. In 1652, the English and Susquehannocks signed a treaty at what is now Annapolis for the area now called Harford County.

Harford County was created from the eastern part of Baltimore County by an act of the Maryland General Assembly that was signed into law on December 17, 1773. The county government began operating on March 22, 1774, when the county court met for the first time at Bush Town. On March 22, 1775, Harford County hosted the signers of the Bush Declaration, a precursor document to the American Revolution. On January 22, 1782, Bel Air became the county seat.

Havre de Grace, a city incorporated in 1785 within Harford County, was once under consideration to be the capital of the United States rather than Washington, D.C. It was favored for its strategic location at the top of the Chesapeake Bay; this location would facilitate trade while being secure in time of war. Today, the waterways around Havre de Grace have become adversely affected by silt runoff, which is one of the primary environmental issues of Harford County. While today the site is a Maryland National Guard military reservation, the land was used as the Havre de Grace Racetrack where racehorse Man o' War ran in 1919 and 1920.

During the 1900s the Bata Shoe Company employed numerous Eastern European refugees at the Belcamp factory. In the 1940s the Susquehanna River tributary Broad Creek was dammed to form the at what is now the Broad Creek Memorial Scout Reservation.Lake Straus: In June 1972 Hurricane Agnes overflowed the dam and flooded areas in many states.Flooding: On the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, "prior to the 2016 report ... Harford's yearly rankings typically fell between ninth and 10th place, primarily because of the percentage of county residents who were obese or who smoked." Scenes from Tuck Everlasting, From Within, and House of Cards were all filmed in Harford County.

In 2011 the Office of National Drug Control Policy deemed Harford County a designated High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.

The county was named for Henry Harford (c. 1759–1834), the illegitimate son of Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore. Henry Harford was born to Calvert's mistress, Hester Whelan, whose residence still stands as part of a private residence on Jarretsville Pike, in Phoenix, Maryland. Harford served as the last Proprietary Governor of Maryland but, because of his illegitimacy, did not inherit his father's title. There are 79 properties and districts listed on the National Register in the county, including one National Historic Landmark called Sion Hill.

Environmental history Harford County has environmental issues in three major areas: land use, water pollution/urban runoff, and soil contamination/groundwater contamination.

As the county sits at the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay along the Susquehanna River, it plays a key role in controlling sediment and fertilizer runoff into the bay as well as fostering submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) regrowth. The county has had to balance the needs of land owners to practice agriculture and/or pave land (creating impervious surfaces) with effects of runoff into the bay.

Harford County has been burdened by soil contamination and groundwater contamination since the creation of the Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1917. The military installation performs research for the U.S. Army, including weapons testing, and has released various chemical agents into soil and groundwater, including mustard gas and perchlorate. The bordering towns of Aberdeen, Edgewood and Joppatowne have been affected by this contamination.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Philadelphia. "Aberdeen Proving Ground (Edgewood Area Site) – Current Site Information." EPA Superfund Site ID No. MD2210020036. May 2008.EPA. "Aberdeen Proving Ground (Michaelsville Landfill) – Current Site Information." EPA Superfund Site ID No. MD3210021355. May 2008.

Aberdeen Proving Ground contains three Superfund priority sites . Groundwater contamination by MTBE, a mandatory gasoline additive, has also affected Fallston.Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). Baltimore. "Fact Sheet – Drinking Water Well Impact: Fallston Presbyterian Church/Fallston Pre-Kindergarten, 600 Fallston Road, Fallston, Maryland." August 27, 2004.MDE. "Fact Sheet – Drinking Water Well Impact: Fallston Service Center, 602 Fallston Road, Fallston, Harford County, Maryland 21047." MDE Case No. 9-0816HA. December 1, 2004.

The former Scarboro Landfill, near Street, was an unlined municipal landfill that received waste from approximately 1956 to 1986. It now occupies part of the Harford Waste Disposal Center, a lined sanitary landfill that opened in 1987. Groundwater contamination detected at the former landfill led to state investigations and a 1994 administrative consent order requiring groundwater remediation and long-term monitoring. Harford County continues to maintain the site's groundwater treatment system under requirements of the state consent order and permit conditions.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (17%) is water.

Harford County straddles the border between the rolling hills of the Piedmont Plateau and the flatlands of the Atlantic Coastal Plain along the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The county's development is a mix of rural and suburban, with denser development in the larger towns of Aberdeen and Bel Air and along Route 40 and other major arteries leading out of Baltimore. The highest elevations are in the north and northwest of the county, reaching 805 ft. near the Pennsylvania border in the county's northwestern corner. The lowest elevation is sea level along the Chesapeake Bay.

Adjacent counties York County, Pennsylvania (north) Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (northeast) Cecil County (east) Kent County (south) Baltimore County (west)

National protected area Susquehanna River National Wildlife Refuge

Communities

Cities

Aberdeen Havre de Grace

Town Bel Air (county seat)

Unincorporated communities Aldino Benson Berkley Cardiff Castleton Churchville Clayton Constant Friendship Creswell Dublin Darlington Emmorton Fairview Forest Hill Fountain Green Glenwood Hess Hickory Hopewell Village Joppa Kalmia Level Madonna Norrisville Shawsville Street Taylor Whiteford

Census-designated places

Aberdeen Proving Ground Abingdon Bel Air North Bel Air South Darlington Edgewood Fallston Jarrettsville Joppatowne Perryman Pleasant Hills Pylesville Riverside (Belcamp)

Populated place Glenville

Climate The January freezing isotherm runs across the northern part of the county and divides it into a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) and a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa.) Average monthly temperatures in Bel Air range from 32.6 °F in January to 76.6 °F in July, while in Aberdeen they range from 33.5 °F in January to 77.2 °F in July.

Politics and government Voter registration and party enrollment as of June 2026 Republican Democratic Unaffiliated Green Other parties Total

Harford County is, like the Pennsylvania Dutch Country to its north, a strongly Republican region. No Democratic presidential candidate has carried Harford County since Lyndon Johnson’s landslide of 1964, although recent trends have shown the county voting less Republican over the past few elections. In the period before World War II Harford leaned strongly Democratic as it had sizeable Confederate sympathies, but during and since World War II the county has turned away from its traditional allegiances.

Harford County was granted a charter form of government in 1972. This means that the county is run by a County Executive and Council President, both elected at large, as well as Council Members, elected from districts. Currently, there are six districts in Harford County. Also elected at large is the Sheriff, who runs the Harford County Sheriff's Office, the State's Attorney, who prosecutes all crimes in the county, the Register of Wills, and the Clerk of the Circuit Court.

Executive

The Harford County Executive is Bob Cassilly (Republican). Primary law enforcement in the county is handled by the Harford County Sheriff's Office, which has precincts in Jarrettsville, Edgewood and Bel Air. The current Sheriff is Jeffrey Gahler (R). The Maryland State Police also have a barrack located in Bel Air which serves the citizens of Harford County. Municipal police needs are provided by the Bel Air Police Department, the Aberdeen Police Department and the Havre De Grace Police Department. The current State's Attorney is Alison Healey, the first woman to hold the post. Directors are nominated by the Executive and approved by the council. The Volunteer Fire & EMS Association department is led by Russell Eyre.

2022-2026 +

Harford County Council District Councilmember Party Council President Patrick Vincenti Republican District A Nolanda Robert Democrat District B Aaron David Penman Republican District C Tony "G" Giangiordano Republican District D Jim Reilly Republican District E Jessica Boyle-Tsottles Republican District F Jacob D. Bennett Democrat

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Harford County, Maryland – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)130,347160,988187,548194,004186,98489.32%88.39%85.80%79.24%71.66%Black or African American alone (NH)12,05815,33520,00730,33436,8378.26%8.42%9.15%12.39%14.12%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)2924504515004420.20%0.25%0.21%0.20%0.17%Asian alone (NH)1,3072,4463,2945,7748,0940.90%1.34%1.51%2.36%3.10%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census115171178xx0.05%0.07%0.07%Other race alone (NH)175922452801,2110.12%0.05%0.11%0.11%0.46%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census2,7615,15013,171xx1.26%2.10%5.05%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,7512,8214,1698,61314,0071.20%1.55%1.91%3.52%5.37%Total145,930182,132218,590244,826260,924 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 260,924. The median age was 40.8 years, 22.5% of residents were under 18, and 16.9% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.2 males. 79.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 20.9% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 72.9% White, 14.5% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.1% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.1% from some other race, and 7.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.4% of the population.

There were 98,282 households in the county, of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 24.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.