New population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau Thursday indicate Montgomery County added about 10,500 new residents last year.
The latest data estimates the county’s population was 1,058,810 as of July 1, 2017—an increase from the estimate of 1,048,332 in July 2016.
The county’s population has increased each year since the last official census was done in 2010. In that year, the bureau determined 976,140 residents lived in the county.
County spokesman Patrick Lacefield said the estimated population growth means “people find the county an attractive place to be.”
“You always want to see your jurisdiction gaining population,” Lacefield said. He added the county is working to develop the infrastructure—schools, roads and utilities—to make sure it can support the additional population growth. He noted the county’s Planning Department has long forecasted population growth and attempted to meet the resulting infrastructure demands.
“It’s not really any sort of a surprise that we’re growing and will grow more,” Lacefield said.
Neighboring Prince George’s County saw its population estimate rise by about 1,600—from about 911,100 residents in 2016 to 912,700 residents in 2017.
Montgomery County’s estimated population growth last year encompassed nearly half of the estimated population growth in Maryland. The bureau determined Maryland’s population grew by about 27,500 residents in the past year—from about 6,024,700 residents in 2016 to 6,052,200 residents in 2017.
Those numbers include an estimated loss of population in the city of Baltimore. The city lost more than 5,300 residents, according to the new estimates. Meanwhile Howard County’s population grew by about 4,100 new residents and Baltimore County grew by about 1,000 residents, according to The Baltimore Sun.
As Montgomery County has experienced population growth over the previous decade, its demographics have shifted. For example, the 2010 Census found about 57.5 percent of the county’s population identified as white, in 2016 the American Community Survey, a limited version of the census, found about 55.2 percent of the population identified as white.
Meanwhile, the county’s Hispanic or Latino population has grown from about 165,400 residents in 2010—about 17 percent of the population—to 190,550—or about 18.6 percent of the population. The county’s black population has also risen from about 167,300 in 2010 to 201,000 in 2016.
The county’s population is majority minority based on the amount of whites without any Hispanic or Latino ancestry, which number about 471,400 or about 46 percent of the county’s 2016 population, according to the Bureau’s most recent estimates.