Montgomery County, Maryland


Montgomery County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat is Rockville, while its most populous place is Germantown. The county is adjoined to Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area and the Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area. Most of the county's residents live in Silver Spring, Bethesda, Germantown, and the incorporated cities of Rockville and Gaithersburg.
The average household income in Montgomery County is the 20th-highest among U.S. counties as of 2020.
The county has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate degrees. Like other counties in the Washington metropolitan area, the county has several U.S. government offices, scientific research and learning centers, and business campuses.

Etymology

The Maryland state legislature named Montgomery County after Richard Montgomery; the county was created from lands that had at one point or another been part of Frederick County. On September 6, 1776, Thomas Sprigg Wootton from Rockville, Maryland, introduced legislation, while serving at the Maryland Constitutional Convention, to create lower Frederick County as Montgomery County. The name, Montgomery County, along with the founding of Washington County, Maryland, after George Washington, was the first time in American history that counties and provinces in the Thirteen Colonies were not named after British referents.
The name use of Montgomery and Washington County were seen as further defiance to Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. The county's nickname of "MoCo" is derived from "Montgomery County", in use as early as 2001.
The county's motto, adopted in 1976, is "Gardez Bien", a French phrase meaning "Watch Well". The county's motto is also the motto of its namesake's family.

History

Prior to 1688, the first tract of land in what is now Montgomery County was granted by Charles I in a charter to the first Lord Baltimore, the head of the Calvert family. The county's creation was a focus of Thomas S. Wootton who, on August 31, 1776, introduced a measure to form a new county from Frederick County, Maryland to aid area residents in simplifying their business affairs. The measure passed, creating the new political entity of Montgomery County in what was then the colonial-era Province of Maryland.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Montgomery County lies entirely inside the Piedmont plateau. The topography is generally rolling. Elevations range from a low of near sea level along the Potomac River to about 875 feet in the northernmost portion of the county north of Damascus. Relief between valley bottoms and hilltops is several hundred feet. Earthquakes are rare; the most recent one, on June 24, 2024, had a 1.8 magnitude and was centered near Spencerville, Maryland.
When Montgomery County was created in 1776, its boundaries were defined as "beginning at the east side of the mouth of Rock Creek on Potomac river , and running with the said river to the mouth of Monocacy, then with a straight line to Par's spring, from thence with the lines of the county to the beginning".
The county's boundary forms a sliver of land at the far northern tip of the county that is several miles long and averages less than 200 yards wide. In fact, a single house on Lakeview Drive and its yard is sectioned by this sliver into three portions, each separately contained within Montgomery, Frederick and Howard counties. These jurisdictions and Carroll County meet at a single point at Parr's Spring on Parr's Ridge.

Adjacent counties


Climate

Montgomery County lies within the northern portions of the humid subtropical climate. It has four distinct seasons, including hot, humid summers and cool winters.
Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, with an average of of rainfall. Thunderstorms are common during the summer months, and account for the majority of the average 35 days with thunder per year. Heavy precipitation is most common in summer thunderstorms, but drought periods are more likely during these months because summer precipitation is more variable than winter.
The mean annual temperature is. The average summer afternoon maximum is about while the morning minimums average. In winter, these averages are and. Extreme heat waves can raise readings to around and slightly above, and arctic blasts can drop lows to to. For Rockville, the record high is in 1954, while the record low is.
Lower elevations in the south, such as Silver Spring, receive an average of of snowfall per year. Higher elevations in the north, such as Damascus, receive an average of of snowfall per year. During a particularly snowy winter, Damascus received during the 2009–2010 season.

Demographics

Since the 1970s, the county has had in place a Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit zoning plan that requires developers to include affordable housing in any new residential developments that they construct in the county. The goal is to create socioeconomically mixed neighborhoods and schools so the rich and poor are not isolated in separate parts of the county. Developers who provide for more than the minimum amount of MPDUs are rewarded with permission to increase the density of their developments, which allows them to build more housing and generate more revenue. Montgomery County was one of the first counties in the U.S. to adopt such a plan, and many other areas have since followed suit.
Montgomery County is by far one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse counties in the United States; four of the ten most culturally diverse cities and towns in the U.S. are in Montgomery County: Gaithersburg, ranking second; Germantown, ranking third; Silver Spring, ranking fourth; and Rockville, ranking ninth. Gaithersburg, Germantown, and Silver Spring all rank as more culturally diverse than New York City, San Jose, and Oakland. Maryland overall is one of nine majority-minority states.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,062,061. The median age was 39.5 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.5 males age 18 and over. 97.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 2.7% lived in rural areas.
The racial makeup of the county was 43.1% White, 18.6% Black or African American, 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 15.4% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 11.0% from some other race, and 11.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 20.5% of the population.
There were 386,931 households in the county, of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 28.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 404,423 housing units, of which 4.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 63.7% were owner-occupied and 36.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.5%.

Racial and ethnic composition

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 971,777 people, 357,086 households, and 244,898 families living in the county. The population density was. There were 375,905 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 57.5% White, 17.2% Black or African American, 13.9% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 7.0% from other races, and 4.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 17.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 10.7% were German, 9.6% were Irish, 7.9% were English, 4.9% were Italian, 3.5% were Russian, 3.1% were Polish, 2.9% were American and 2% were French. People of Central American descent made up 8.1% of Montgomery County, with Salvadoran Americans constituting 5.4% of the county's population. Over 52,000 people of Salvadoran descent lived in Montgomery County, with Salvadoran Americans comprising approximately 32% of the county's Hispanic and Latino population. People of South American descent make up 3.8% of the county, with Peruvian Americans being the largest South American community, constituting 1.2% of the county's population.
Of the 357,086 households, 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.4% were non-families, and 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.22. The median age was 38.5 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $93,373 and the median income for a family was $111,737. Males had a median income of $71,841 versus $55,431 for females. The per capita income for the county was $47,310. About 4.0% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census, there were 873,058 people living in the county. The racial makeup of the county was 65.0% white, 15.1% Black or African American, 11.3% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 5.0% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 11.5% of the population.
There were 324,565 households, of which 35% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. Of all households, 24.4% were made up of individuals, and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.19.
25.4% of the population was under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.
In 2000, there were 334,632 housing units at an average density of.
Montgomery County has the tenth-highest median household income in the United States, and the second highest in the state after Howard County as of 2011. The median household income in 2007 was $89,284 and the median family income was $106,093. Males had a median income of $66,415 versus $52,134 for females. The per capita income for the county was $43,073. About 3.3% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.