Baltimore County, Maryland Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Baltimore County, Maryland, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Baltimore County, Maryland. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Baltimore County, Maryland. The estimated population of Baltimore County, Maryland is 850,702 people, with a median age of 39.4.

We can look at the total population in Baltimore County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
850,702
+2.72%
+2.66%
2020
828,193
+0.02%
-
2019
828,018
+0.05%
-
2018
827,625
 -0.12% -
2017
828,637
 - -

Population of Baltimore County, Maryland by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
55.4%
58.7%
 -5.62%
Black/African American
29.1%
27.5%
 +5.82%
Native
0.2%
0.2%
 0.00%
Hispanic
5.8%
5.1%
 +13.73%
Asian
6.1%
5.9%
 +3.39%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
3.1%
2.2%
 +40.91%
Other
0.4%
0.2%
 +100.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Baltimore County, Maryland by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 39.4 -0.25% 38 +0.53% 40.9 -0.49%
2020 39.5 +0.25% 37.8 +0.53% 41.1 +0.24%
2019 39.4 +0.25% 37.6 0% 41 +0.24%
2018 39.3 +0.26% 37.6 +0.27% 40.9 +0.25%
2017 39.2 - 37.5 - 40.8 -

The median age of Baltimore County, Maryland gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 50,661 +0.19% 49,446 +1.65% 50,758 50,239
10 to 19 51,661 +7.07% 49,834 +6.07% 55,304 52,885
20 to 29 55,192 -5.56% 57,424 -4.61% 52,185 54,809
30 to 39 50,579 +8.09% 56,803 +5.54% 54,774 60,002
40 to 49 49,348 -2.15% 53,763 -0.69% 48,255 53,364
50 to 59 55,349 -4.47% 62,165 -4.02% 52,854 59,683
60 to 69 43,538 +13.23% 52,454 +9.01% 49,581 57,303
70+ 36,602 +12.01% 53,818 +6.7% 41,196 57,510

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Baltimore County, Maryland is $81,846.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Baltimore County.

  • Under 25
    $39,027.00
  • 25 to 44
    $87,937.00
  • 45 to 64
    $99,254.00
  • 65 and over
    $58,707.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Baltimore County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Baltimore County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Baltimore County, Maryland is currently $109,376.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

11.26% of households in Baltimore County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Baltimore County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    12.52%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    16.95%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    16.60%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    13.21%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    18.91%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    10.55%
  • $200,000 or more
    11.26%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Baltimore County is $43,290.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Baltimore County by the total population of Baltimore County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Baltimore County, Maryland, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Baltimore County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    19.33%
  • Bachelor's degree
    34.58%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    10.12%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    33.02%
  • Less than high school diploma
    2.96%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Baltimore County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Baltimore County over the age of 16 is 685,912.

Of those people, a total of 66.20% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Baltimore County is 62.60%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 44,396 38.40% 15.50%
20 to 24 years 51,269 73.80% 11.40%
25 to 29 years 55,725 85.60% 8.00%
30 to 34 years 58,300 87.10% 4.80%
35 to 44 years 106,477 87.70% 3.60%
45 to 54 years 106,974 86.30% 4.00%
55 to 59 years 57,181 77.50% 4.30%
60 to 64 years 59,735 64.20% 2.70%
65 to 74 years 84,263 32.80% 3.00%
75 years and over 61,592 7.90% 3.90%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Baltimore County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 412,918 63.10% 4.40%
Black or African American 194,482 71.90% 7.10%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1,788 55.30% 5.30%
Asian 41,211 68.10% 4.30%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 555 87.90% 0.60%
Other 11,808 69.20% 4.90%
Two or more races 23,150 68.90% 8.20%
Hispanic or Latino 32,650 70.20% 5.20%
Not Hispanic or Latino 399,923 62.90% 4.40%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Baltimore County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Baltimore County is 429,259, with median earnings of $51,050.00.

Women in Baltimore County, Maryland earning approximately 78.90% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 429,259 $51,050.00
Male 213,429 $56,768.00
Female 215,830 $44,772.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 46,801 $83,603.00
Business and Financial 30,272 $76,677.00
Computer and Mathematical 20,429 $90,354.00
Architecture and Engineering 8,635 $85,992.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 6,408 $73,161.00
Community and Social Service 8,333 $53,185.00
Legal 7,559 $100,819.00
Educational and Library 28,780 $53,026.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 8,429 $53,504.00
Healthcare Practitioners 32,538 $71,261.00
Healthcare Support 13,257 $31,384.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 6,357 $40,839.00
Law Enforcement 4,937 $73,006.00
Food Preparation and Serving 18,799 $15,764.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 11,628 $27,046.00
Personal Care and Service 11,455 $20,650.00
Sales 40,745 $35,633.00
Office and Administrative Support 51,165 $41,853.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 494 $21,678.00
Construction and Extraction 15,337 $48,614.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 12,479 $54,242.00
Production 13,465 $43,808.00
Transportation and Material Moving 15,946 $40,729.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 25,739 $92,786.00 21,062 $76,971.00
Business and Financial 13,483 $86,542.00 16,789 $70,165.00
Computer and Mathematical 14,300 $93,349.00 6,129 $85,977.00
Architecture and Engineering 7,135 $93,898.00 1,500 $73,500.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 3,205 $79,675.00 3,203 $67,135.00
Community and Social Service 2,909 $53,702.00 5,424 $52,798.00
Legal 3,725 $133,792.00 3,834 $79,032.00
Educational and Library 7,176 $65,409.00 21,604 $50,395.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 4,514 $61,154.00 3,915 $50,165.00
Healthcare Practitioners 7,386 $100,670.00 25,152 $67,351.00
Healthcare Support 2,379 $39,545.00 10,878 $30,388.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 4,289 $45,774.00 2,068 $29,385.00
Law Enforcement 3,602 $78,877.00 1,335 $66,582.00
Food Preparation and Serving 8,672 $17,031.00 10,127 $14,806.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 7,722 $29,832.00 3,906 $23,240.00
Personal Care and Service 3,171 $21,237.00 8,284 $20,380.00
Sales 21,252 $46,483.00 19,493 $27,212.00
Office and Administrative Support 11,517 $44,560.00 39,648 $40,955.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 275 $40,521.00 219 $20,801.00
Construction and Extraction 14,879 $49,478.00 458 $31,571.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 12,066 $54,686.00 413 $37,243.00
Production 9,690 $50,544.00 3,775 $30,623.00
Transportation and Material Moving 13,223 $44,420.00 2,723 $30,401.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 326,932 households in Baltimore County, with an average household size of 2.54 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 210,223 families in Baltimore County with an average family size of 3.18 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 146,296 15,853 48,074 116,709
Average Household Size 3.27 3.2 3.27 1.23
Total Families 146,296 15,853 48,074 0
Average Household Size 3.24 2.86 3.08 0

Poverty

Of the 210,223 families in Baltimore County, 6.20% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Baltimore County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 348,239 housing units in Baltimore County, Maryland.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 326,932 93.88%
Vacant 21,307 6.12%

30.68% of the total 348,239 housing units in Baltimore County are rental units. This is approximately 106,828 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 217,247 are occupied by the owner - or 62.38% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Baltimore County is $1,387.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Baltimore County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    2,857
  • Less than $500
    4,406
  • $500 to $999
    11,558
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    48,580
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    28,454
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    10,143
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    2,056
  • $3,000 or more
    1,631

Property Value

The median value of a property in Baltimore County is $277,500.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Baltimore County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    5,453
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    5,106
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    15,739
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    28,372
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    67,977
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    63,141
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    27,556
  • $1,000,000 or more
    3,903

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Baltimore County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Baltimore County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    27,716
  • 1940 to 1949
    23,482
  • 1950 to 1959
    66,900
  • 1960 to 1969
    46,312
  • 1970 to 1979
    46,375
  • 1980 to 1989
    47,080
  • 1990 to 1999
    47,886
  • 2000 to 2009
    29,120
  • 2010 to 2013
    13,155
  • 2014 or later
    213

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Baltimore County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    25,598
  • 1 vehicle available
    117,076
  • 2 vehicles available
    120,495
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    63,763

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Baltimore County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Baltimore County that commute to work in a particular way.

29.1 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Baltimore County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    6,095
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    21,828
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    39,549
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    51,973
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    57,637
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    30,567
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    64,924
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    15,122
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    19,277
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    39,410
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    23,992
  • 90 or more minutes
    11,141

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Baltimore County, Maryland in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Baltimore County, Maryland

We have data for 45 places in Baltimore County, Maryland. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.