Maryland Population 2024

Situated on the eastern tip of the USA, Maryland is one of the smallest states in the country. However, what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in population numbers and density. Overall, this is one of the busiest and most bustling areas in the union.

The last set of confirmed population figures occurred during the 2010 Census, showing there were 5,773,552 people living in Maryland -- a rise of 9% from the figures declared in 2000. Further estimates continue to suggest that the population of Maryland in 2016 is 6,006,401. Maryland also has a healthy population growth rate of 0.96%, which ranks 20th in the country.

Maryland Area and Population Density

With a surface area of just 12,407 square miles, (32,133 square kilometers), Maryland is only the 42nd largest state in the USA in terms of land mass. It is, however, one of the most populous and most densely populated states in the whole country. A 2016 estimate of the population places just over 6 million people in the state, which makes it the 19th most populous state in the country.

Looking at those numbers, it isn’t hard to establish that this must be a very densely populated area indeed. In fact, there are about 594 people per square mile in Maryland. This population density makes Maryland the 5th most densely populated state in the USA.

Montgomery County is the most populated county in the state with 1.04 million residents, while Kent County was the least populated with just 19,787 residents, according to the 2015 Census estimates. Southern Maryland has grown faster than the rest of the region with a 21% increase between 2000 and 2010, compared to just 9% for the state as a whole. Most of the state's population lives in the central area of the state in the Washington and Baltimore metropolitan areas, while the Eastern Shore remains rural.

The most populated city in Maryland is Baltimore with over 600,000 individuals residing there.

Maryland Gender and Religion Statistics

The median age in Maryland is approximately 38.3 years of age. The state's gender ratio is 51.6% females and 48.4% males.

In terms of religious preferences, the state population is divided at 69% affiliated with a Christian based faith, 8% identifying with non-Christian based faiths, and 23% are not affiliated with any faith.

Maryland Boundary, Census, and Statehood History

Maryland was one of the 13 original States. It helped form the District of Columbia in 1791; its boundaries have been substantially unchanged since then, although the Maryland-West Virginia boundary was in dispute as late as 1910.

Census coverage has included the entire State from 1790 on. The 1790 population includes the present area of the District of Columbia, separated from Maryland in 1791. The 1840 results for Montgomery County are from a re-enumeration of the population as of 1840, conducted in 1841.

Maryland Population History

As early settlers began to arrive in the New World, the eastern states began to be colonized first, and Maryland was no exception. In the first set of recorded figures available, it was shown that in 1790, 319,728 people were already living in the state. By comparison, many states on the western edge of the US recorded population numbers that barely breached four figures.

From this point, the population of Maryland grew by healthy and steady percentages on a census by census basis. By the time that the 1800s faded away, the 1900 census recorded that the population had comfortably exceeded 1 million, with a final, confirmed figure of 1,188,044.

Unlike other states, however, that growth failed to ever settle down and continued to show significant rises, taking us to the present day wherein 2016, Maryland's population has surpassed 6 million.

Maryland Population Growth

Figures relating to natural growth tell the story of Maryland’s ever-expanding population, and in 2006, statistics were released that showed a net gain of 319,221 people since the Census of 2000. This included 464,251 births in the six year period, 275,093 deaths and a net migration of 116,713.

Maryland Population Projections

Based on these growth levels, the state predicts its population will reach 6.3 million by 2020.

Maryland is one of the top four states with the smallest population of whites. Maryland's population of blacks is also the 4th highest in the nation, falling only behind Mississippi, Louisiana, and Georgia.

In 2006, it was estimated that 645,000 residents of Maryland were foreign born, mostly from Asia and Latin America. Around 4% of the state's population are undocumented immigrants. Hispanics and Latinos of any race make up about 9.5% of the state's total population. As of 2011, a full 58% of the population under the age of 1 were classified as non-white. With its population of Hispanics, Asians, and Africans, Maryland has the 5th largest proportions of minorities in the United States.

Maryland also has communities of Irish Americans located in the Baltimore area, Western Maryland and the suburbs of Washington D.C. These residents celebrate their culture with festivals and other events.

• Eighty-two percent of Marylanders work at service jobs.
• Maryland is the home to King Williams School (now named St Johns College), which was the first "free" school in the country. It opened its doors in 1696.
• Since colonial times, the Chesapeake Bay has been used to boost the state's economy. The amount of seafood caught in the Bay is worth about $50 million per year.
• Workman's compensation laws -- the first statewide laws of their kind in the country -- were enacted in Maryland in 1902.
• The first railroad, dental school and umbrella factory were all located in Maryland.
• Maryland has 23 counties. Sixteen of these counties border tidal water.
• Maryland gave up a portion of its land to form what is now Washington, D.C.