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County Demographics

Baltimore County is situated in the geographic center of Maryland, surrounding Baltimore City almost entirely. Baltimore City and Baltimore County are separate political units. Baltimore County is the third-most populous county in Maryland, with a population of 828,431 in 2018. The population is projected to grow by two percent to 847,000 by 2020.

The County is the third-largest land area of any political subdivision in the state of Maryland, with 612 square miles and an additional 28 square miles of water. Over the past few decades, the predominant land use in the County has changed from rural to an urban and rural mix. Baltimore County is comprised of 29 unincorporated communities.

Explore key demographics below.

Population
Population by Race-Ethnic Origin
Population by Age
Housing and Households
Educational Attainment
Veteran, Disability and Citizenship Status

Population

Year	Baltimore County	Baltimore Metro *	State
2000	754,292	2,552,994	5,296,486
2010	805,029	2,710,489	5,773,552
2020 **	847,000	2,881,500	6,224,550

Source: U.S. Census; Maryland Department of Planning.
* Baltimore Metro encompasses Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, Howard, and Queen Anne’s counties.
** Projections

Population by Race-Ethnic Origin

Origin	2000	Percentage	2010	Percentage
Total Population	754,292	100	805,029	100
One Race	754,292	98.6	785,745	97.6
White	561,132	74.4	520,185	64.6
Black or African American	151,600	20.1	209,738	26.1
American Indian-Alaska Native	1,923	0.3	2,625	0.3
Asian	23,947	3.2	40,077	5
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	242	0	319	0

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2000, 2010 and 2017 data).

Population by Age (2017)

Age Group	Population	Percentage
Total Population	832,468
Persons under five	49,222	5.9
Persons 5 to 19 years	152,785	18.3
20 to 44 years	267,747	32.2
45 to 64 years	223,835	26.9
65 years and older	138,879	16.7
Total	832,468	100

Median Age: 39.5

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2017 American Community Survey One-Year Estimates).

Housing and Households

Type	Total
Housing Units (2017)	336,873
Owner-Occupied Housing Unit Rate (2013 to 2017)	65.8
Occupied Units (2013 to 2017)	312,859
Median Value of Owner-Occupied Housing Units (2013 to 2017)	$249,600
Median Gross Rent (2013 to 2017)	$1,224
Households (2013 to 2017)	312,859
Persons per Household (2013 to 2017)	2.58

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2013-2017 American Community Survey Five-Year Estimates).

Educational Attainment

Baltimore County saw a significant increase in the number of residents with higher education credentials over the past four years. The number of residents with a bachelor's degree increased by 5.7 percent; those with graduate or professional degrees grew by 7.8 percent.

Educational Attainment	2017 Estimate	Percentage
Total population 25 years and over	578,536
Less than 9th grade	17,319	3.0
9th to 12th grade, no diploma	33,495	5.8
High school graduate (includes equivalency)	159,168	26.0
Some college, no degree	113,332	19.6
Associate's degree	38,246	6.6
Bachelor's degree	130,034	22.5
Graduate or professional degree	95,942	16.6
Percentage high school graduate or higher		91.2
Percentage bachelor's degree or higher		39.1

Source: American Community Survey One-Year Estimates (2014 and 2017).

Veteran, Disability and Citizenship Status

Veteran Status	2017 Estimate	Percentage
Civilian population 18 years and over	651,956
Civilian veterans	42,819	6.6

Disability Status of the Civilian Non-institutionalized Population	2017 Estimate	Percentage
Total civilian non-institutionalized population	824,193
Total civilian non-institutionalized population with a disability	92,385	11.2
Under 18 years	179,369
Under 18 years with a disability	5,630	3.1
18 to 64 years	511,057
18 to 64 years with a disability	45,707	8.9
65 years and over	133,767
65 years and over with a disability	41,048	30.7

U.S. Citizenship Status	2017 Estimate	Percentage
Foreign-born population	110,909
Naturalized U.S. citizen	60,375	54.4
Not a U.S. citizen	50,534	45.6

Source: American Community Survey (2017) One-Year Estimates.

Disclaimer of Data Accuracy

Data shown are based on currently available County, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), State and national datasets. If you have any questions related to the data presented, we encourage you to e-mail datasupport@baltimorecountymd.gov.

Revised June 19, 2019

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