Columbia Association and Columbia have been honored with several awards over the years for outstanding service, benefits to members and team members and excellent facilities. Below is a listing of our most recent awards and accomplishments.

Columbia

AARP’s Most Livable Communities — Mid-Sized Communities

  • 2018 — No. 8

Baltimore Business Journal’s Smartest Communities in the U.S.

  • 2011 — No. 16

CNBC’s 10 Perfect Suburbs

  • 2011 — No. 10

Daily Finance’s Best Neighborhoods for the Money

  • 2010

Forbes Magazine’s Best Places to Raise a Family

  • 2008 — No. 17

Forbes Magazine’s Top Towns to Live Well

  • 2009 — No. 7

League of American Bicyclists

  • 2016, “Bicycle Friendly Community,” bronze award

Match.com’s Best Cities to Date a Nerd

  • 2011 — No. 8

Money Magazine’s Best Places to Live

  • 2006 — No. 4 (jointly with Ellicott City)
  • 2008 — No. 8 (jointly with Ellicott City)
  • 2010 — No. 2 (jointly with Ellicott City)
  • 2012 — No. 8 (jointly with Ellicott City)
  • 2014 — No. 6 (jointly with Ellicott City)
  • 2016 — No. 1
  • 2019 — No. 20

Niche.com’s Best Cities to Live in America

  • 2016 — No. 3
  • 2019 — No. 8

Niche.com’s Best Cities to Raise a Family in America

  • 2019 — No. 5

Niche.com’s Best Suburbs to Live in Maryland

  • 2017 — No. 2

Rolling Stone’s Best Amphitheaters in America

  • 2013 — No. 4, Merriweather Post Pavilion

SecurityChoice.com’s Safest Cities for Women

  • 2017 — No. 3

SmartAsset’s Most Livable Mid-Sized Cities in the U.S.

  • 2017 — No. 6

24/7 Wall St.’s Best Cities to Live In

  • 2017, No. 9

Wallet Hub’s Best Cities for People with Disabilities

  • 2018, No. 5
  • 2019, No. 10

Wallet Hub’s Best Places to Find a Job

  • 2018, No. 15
  • 2019, No. 2
  • 2020, No. 23

Wallet Hub’s Best Places for Summer Jobs

  • 2019, No. 9

Wallet Hub’s Happiest Cities in America

  • 2018, No. 12

Wallet Hub’s Safest Cities in America

  • 2017, No. 4
  • 2018, No. 1
  • 2019, No. 1

Columbia Association

Aquatics International Magazine

  • 2015 — Best in Aquatics Programming

Audubon International

  • 2006-present — Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, Fairway Hills Golf Club (recertification occurs every three years)
  • 2006-present — Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, Hobbit’s Glen Golf Club (recertification occurs every three years)

Baltimore Sun’s Top Workplaces

  • 2013 — No. 14

Department of Energy

  • 2017 — Recognition as one of just 13 “Partners in Better Buildings” through the Better Buildings Alliance’s Interior Lighting Campaign
  • 2018 — Recognition for achieving the Better Buildings Challenge by becoming approximately 20% more energy-efficient

Environmental Protection Agency

  • 2014 — Special Recognition Award honoring CA’s promotion of community energy efficiency and sustainability through ENERGY STAR
  • 2018 — ENERGY STAR Certificate of Recognition for CA’s integration of energy management practices into daily operations and its promotion of energy efficiency in the community
  • 2019 — ENERGY STAR Award for Excellence for important contributions to energy efficiency

Governor’s Crime Prevention Awards

  • 2018: Certificate of Merit for an Outstanding Crime Prevention Program: CheckMates Chess Club at CA’s Youth and Teen Center (alongside the Howard County Police Department)

Healthy Howard’s Healthy Workplaces

  • 2013: Gold Level

Howard County NAACP Youth Council

  • 2015 — Community Servant Award, Safire Windley, program coordinator for CA’s Youth and Teen Center

Howard Magazine’s “Best of Howard County,” 2019

  • Best Golf Course: Hobbit’s Glen Golf Club
  • Honorable Mention, Alternative Wellness Center: Haven on the Lake
  • Honorable Mention, Gym: Columbia Athletic Club
  • Honorable Mention, Gym: Columbia Gym
  • Honorable Mention, Personal Trainer: Bonnie Pace
  • Honorable Mention, Pool for Kids: Hopewell Mini-WaterPark
  • Honorable Mention, Pool for Kids: River Hill Pool

Howard Magazine’s “Best of Howard County,” 2018

  • Best Personal Trainer: Bonnie Pace
  • Best Pool for Kids: Swansfield Mini-WaterPark
  • Honorable Mention, Golf Course:
  • Honorable Mention, Gym: Columbia Gym
  • Honorable Mention, Gym: Supreme Sports Club
  • Honorable Mention, Kids’ Activity: Columbia SportsPark
  • Honorable Mention, Kids’ Activity: SplashDown
  • Honorable Mention, Pool for Kids: River Hill Pool

Howard Magazine’s “Best of Howard County,” 2017

  • Best Golf Course: Hobbit’s Glen Golf Club
  • Best Pool for Kids: Swansfield Mini-WaterPark
  • Best Personal Trainer: Bonnie Pace
  • Honorable Mention, Gym: Columbia Gym
  • Honorable Mention, Gym: Supreme Sports Club
  • Honorable Mention, Kids’ Activity: Columbia SportsPark
  • Honorable Mention, Kids’ Activity: SplashDown
  • Honorable Mention, Pool for Kids: River Hill Pool

Howard Magazine’s “Best of Howard County,” 2016

  • Best Golf Course: Hobbit’s Glen Golf Club
  • Best Gym: Supreme Sports Club
  • Best Pool for Kids: Swansfield Mini-WaterPark
  • Best Personal Trainer: Bonnie Pace
  • Honorable Mention, Gym: Columbia Gym
  • Honorable Mention, Kids’ Activity: Columbia SportsPark
  • Honorable Mention, Kids’ Activity: SplashDown
  • Honorable Mention, Pool for Kids: River Hill Pool

Howard Magazine’s “Best of Howard County,” 2015

  • Best Golf Course: Hobbit’s Glen Golf Club
  • Best Gym: Columbia Gym
  • Best Pool for Kids: Swansfield Mini-WaterPark
  • Best Workout Class: BodyPump at Columbia Association
  • Honorable Mention, First Date: Columbia Lakefront
  • Honorable Mention, Gym: Supreme Sports Club
  • Honorable Mention, Kids’ Activity: Columbia SportsPark
  • Honorable Mention, Kids’ Activity: SplashDown
  • Honorable Mention, Personal Trainer: Bonnie Pace (Columbia Gym)
  • Honorable Mention, Place to Enjoy the Arts: Columbia Art Center
  • Honorable Mention, Pool for Kids: River Hill Pool

Howard Magazine’s “Best of Howard County,” 2014

  • Best Personal Trainer: Bonnie Pace (Columbia Gym)
  • Honorable Mention, Kids Activity: SplashDown
  • Honorable Mention, Kids Activity: Columbia SportsPark
  • Honorable Mention, Place to Enjoy the Arts: Columbia Art Center
  • Honorable Mention, Golf Course: Hobbit’s Glen Golf Club
  • Honorable Mention, Gym: Columbia Gym
  • Honorable Mention, Gym: Supreme Sports Club
  • Honorable Mention, Pool for Kids: River Hill Pool
  • Honorable Mention, Pool for Kids: Swansfield Mini-WaterPark
  • Honorable Mention, Workout Class: BodyPump at Columbia Gym
  • Honorable Mention, Workout Class: BodyPump at Supreme Sports Club
  • Honorable Mention, First Date: Columbia Lakefront

Maryland PLANT Community Awards Program

  • 2018 — Bronze award: “In recognition of your enthusiasm and hard work in planting and caring for trees in your local urban and community forests.”

Mid-Atlantic Club Management Association (MACMA)

  • 2018 — Award of Excellence for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Kids Programming: Tennis Whizz

Moody’s issuer ratings

  • 2015 — aa1

North American Lake Management Society

  • 2018 — Lake Management Success Stories Award for work to improve the water quality and habitat in the Middle Patuxent and Little Patuxent watersheds

Preservation Howard County

  • 2015 — Preservationist of the Year, Barbara Kellner, director of CA’s Columbia Archives

Telly Awards

  • Bronze award for Columbia Matters, Information Category, 2011
  • Bronze award for Columbia Matters, Entertainment Category, 2011

United States Tennis Association

  • 2015 — innovation award for tennis programming
  • 2015 — finalist, organization of the year
  • 2018 — winner, USTA Facility Awards, for Long Reach Tennis Club

Howard County

Country Living’s Best Small Town Main Streets in America

  • 2017 — Ellicott City

Library of the Year

  • 2013, Howard County Library System

Niche.com’s Best School Systems

  • 2014, Howard County Public School System
  • 2017-18, Howard County Public School System

SmartAsset’s Happiest Places in America

  • 2018, No. 10

Sports Illustrated’s Good Sports Communities of the Year

  • 2005, winner out of all of Maryland

24/7 Wall St.’s Best Counties to Live In

  • 2017, No. 5
  • 2018, No. 7

U.S. News and World Report’s Healthiest Communities

  • 2018, No. 20
  • 2019, No. 10