Frederick, Howard Counties Saw Increases In Population Rates Since 2010

Maryland also saw increases in Hispanic, Asian Populations, declines in White Population.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Less than half of Maryland’s population identifies as white, according to 2020 U.S. Census data released Thursday, as the state saw an increase in its Hispanic and Asian populations.

Maryland now has a white population of about 47%, compared to 55% in 2010, according to the census. The state’s Black population remained at 29%.

The Hispanic population rose from 8% in 2010 to 12% in 2020, while the state’s Asian population increased from 5.5% to 7%.

Meanwhile, Baltimore’s population continued to decline. The population of the state’s largest city dropped by 5.7%, from 620,961 people in 2010 to 585,708 in 2020.

Jurisdictions in western Maryland and on the Eastern Shore also saw some population decline. In western Maryland, Allegany County’s population dropped by about 9%, from 75,087 to 68,106, and Garrett County’s population dropped by about 4%, from 30,097 to 28,806. On the Eastern Shore, Kent County lost about 5% of its population, with numbers there dropping from 20,197 to 19,198. Somerset County’s population declined by about 7%, slipping from 26,470 to 24,620.

Howard and Frederick counties had the highest-percentage growth, both increasing by about 16%. Howard’s population went from 287,085 to 332,317. Frederick County’s population grew from 233,385 to 271,717.

The Census Bureau on Thursday issued its long-awaited portrait of how the U.S. has changed over the past decade, releasing a trove of demographic data that will be used to redraw political maps across an increasingly diverse country. The data will also shape how $1.5 trillion in federal spending is distributed each year.

The increase in Maryland’s Hispanic population was evident in the state’s most populous jurisdictions in the suburbs of the nation’s capital.

For example, in majority-Black Prince George’s County, the Hispanic population of the state’s second-most populous county rose from about 15% in 2010 to 21%, or from 128,972 to 205,463. The county’s Black population declined from about 64% to 59%.

In Montgomery County, the state’s most populous jurisdiction, the Hispanic population increased from 17% in 2010 to 21% in 2020, or from 165,398 to 217,409.

The Hispanic population also rose in the city of Baltimore, from about 4% in 2010 to 8% in 2020, or from 25,960 to 45,927. In Baltimore County, the Hispanic population also increased from about 5% to 7% during the same period, or from 39,865 to 61,492.

In Anne Arundel County, the Hispanic population went from 6% in 2010 to nearly 10% of the county’s population in 2020.

In Howard County, the Asian population increased from 14% to about 20% over the past decade.

In Charles County, the Black population rose to 49%, compared to 40% in 2010, or from 59,201 to 80,850.

Overall, Maryland’s population increased by 7% over the past decade. The state’s 2020 population was 6.2 million, compared with 5.8 million in the 2010 census.

By The Associated Press