Baltimore, Maryland Population 2023

Baltimore is located in central Maryland along the Patapsco River. Baltimore is an independent city that is also called Baltimore City. The population of Baltimore is believed to have risen to 622,000, a very slight but promising increase for the city, which has lost more than one-third of its population in the last sixty years.

This is the first time Baltimore's population has grown since it reached a peak of 949,700 in 1950. Downtown Baltimore and surrounding areas have seen improvement as more young professionals and immigrants move to the region. There is also growing international migration as well as fewer people leaving Baltimore. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced in December 2011 that she would make it her goal to increase Baltimore's population by "10,000 families" within ten years. In 2018, the numbers didn't seem to be cooperating with her goal - the population of Baltimore is currently estimated to be at 611,648. This drop indicates a loss of 1.5% of the city population.

The Baltimore metropolitan area is much larger, however, with a population estimated at 6.7 million. This makes it the 20th largest metro area in the country.

Baltimore Population Statistics

Baltimore was the second city in the U.S. to reach a population of 100,000, after New York City, and it remained the second-largest city until 1850. Up until 1890, Baltimore was one of the top 10 most populous cities in the country with a post-World War II population approaching one million.

While Baltimore's population has been in decline since 1950, the number of families in the downtown area has grown significantly over the last decade, with this core region growing 130% in the previous ten years. Since 2010, new construction has turned many old commercial buildings into residences, while the average household income has increased from $45,900 to $64,100.

Baltimore still has a growing homeless population, particularly among young people.

Baltimore Population Growth

In 2011, Baltimore's population grew for the first time in 60 years, after losing more than one-third of its population. Baltimore has struggled to gain and retain citizens like many cities built on an outdated economy. According to one demographer, Baltimore is becoming more popular for younger people than it ever has been.

In breaking its six-decade-long population loss, Maryland added new residents in 17 counties, as well as Baltimore City. The mayor of Baltimore has encouraged Hispanic immigration, which seems to be working as immigrants are one of the leading reasons for the increase, which was under 1%.

Baltimore is named for Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore, who was the founding proprietor of the Maryland Colony. The Port of Baltimore was created in 1706 for the tobacco trade, with the town founded in 1729. In its early history, Baltimore played a central role in many events of the American Revolution, and it was the capital of the United States from December 1776 through February 1777.

The Battle of Baltimore also took place here during the War of 1812, after Washington, D.C. was burned, and the British attacked the city in 1814. Baltimore's harbor was defended successfully. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer from Maryland, was aboard one of the British ships while negotiating for the release of a prisoner when he witnessed the attack on the city. As he saw a massive American flag raised on the morning after the attack, he wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner," which became the country's official national anthem in 1931.

Baltimore grew quickly after the battle and became a major shipping and manufacturing center. During the Civil War, Maryland remained a part of the Union, despite being a slave state and support for secession in many regions, including Baltimore, which benefited from tobacco and slave trades. When Union soldiers marched through Baltimore at the beginning of the war, Confederate sympathizers attacked and led to a riot.

Today, efforts are being made to revitalize the city, including the construction of the Baltimore World Trade Center, Harborplace, the National Aquarium and the Maryland Science Center.