Montgomery County, Maryland Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Montgomery 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 Montgomery County, Maryland. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Montgomery County, Maryland. The estimated population of Montgomery County, Maryland is 1,057,201 people, with a median age of 39.6.

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

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
1,057,201
+0.91%
+1.73%
2020
1,047,661
+0.4%
-
2019
1,043,530
+0.33%
-
2018
1,040,133
+0.09%
-
2017
1,039,198
 - -

Population of Montgomery 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
42.3%
45%
 -6.00%
Black/African American
18%
17.6%
 +2.27%
Native
0.1%
0.1%
 0.00%
Hispanic
19.7%
19%
 +3.68%
Asian
15.1%
14.7%
 +2.72%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
3.9%
3.1%
 +25.81%
Other
0.8%
0.5%
 +60.00%

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 Montgomery 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 39.6 +0.51% 38.4 +0.79% 40.7 0%
2020 39.4 +0.51% 38.1 +0.53% 40.7 +0.49%
2019 39.2 +0.51% 37.9 +0.8% 40.5 +0.25%
2018 39 +0.52% 37.6 +0.53% 40.4 +0.25%
2017 38.8 - 37.4 - 40.3 -

The median age of Montgomery 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 69,153 -3.47% 65,471 -1.77% 66,776 64,308
10 to 19 66,882 +6.57% 64,712 +3.32% 71,364 66,862
20 to 29 62,612 -3.72% 62,151 -2.8% 60,314 60,425
30 to 39 71,121 -1.85% 74,621 -0.15% 69,813 74,491
40 to 49 68,967 +2.41% 76,037 -3.68% 70,630 73,280
50 to 59 70,662 +0.78% 77,348 -1.49% 71,195 76,198
60 to 69 51,515 +11.16% 59,648 +7.03% 57,504 63,950
70+ 40,659 +14.1% 57,639 +9.68% 46,696 63,395

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Montgomery County, Maryland is $117,345.00.

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 Montgomery County.

  • Under 25
    $54,565.00
  • 25 to 44
    $111,599.00
  • 45 to 64
    $142,059.00
  • 65 and over
    $94,370.00

Average Household Income

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

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Montgomery 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 Montgomery County, Maryland is currently $161,149.00.

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.

25.35% of households in Montgomery 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 Montgomery County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    8.59%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    11.13%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    11.86%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    11.13%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    18.87%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    13.06%
  • $200,000 or more
    25.35%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Montgomery County is $59,384.00.

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

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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
    30.75%
  • Bachelor's degree
    42.61%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    5.61%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    18.40%
  • Less than high school diploma
    2.64%

Employment

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

The total population of Montgomery County over the age of 16 is 839,477.

Of those people, a total of 70.90% 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 Montgomery County is 67.10%.

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 51,586 31.10% 18.30%
20 to 24 years 58,724 76.70% 9.70%
25 to 29 years 62,015 87.80% 5.40%
30 to 34 years 68,986 88.20% 5.20%
35 to 44 years 146,600 88.90% 4.00%
45 to 54 years 146,534 89.20% 3.30%
55 to 59 years 73,487 84.70% 3.10%
60 to 64 years 66,449 72.00% 5.00%
65 to 74 years 95,713 41.30% 3.30%
75 years and over 69,383 11.80% 4.80%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Montgomery 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 426,785 68.70% 3.50%
Black or African American 151,482 73.90% 8.10%
American Indian and Alaska Native 3,234 69.60% 5.20%
Asian 133,199 69.50% 4.20%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 357 57.40% 0.00%
Other 75,089 76.60% 6.40%
Two or more races 49,331 76.10% 4.80%
Hispanic or Latino 150,755 76.90% 5.70%
Not Hispanic or Latino 376,012 67.60% 3.30%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Montgomery 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 Montgomery County is 562,955, with median earnings of $60,795.00.

Women in Montgomery County, Maryland earning approximately 77.20% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 562,955 $60,795.00
Male 290,070 $68,875.00
Female 272,885 $53,204.00

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 75,263 $110,951.00
Business and Financial 50,554 $94,135.00
Computer and Mathematical 43,734 $108,479.00
Architecture and Engineering 13,772 $107,337.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 25,737 $104,903.00
Community and Social Service 11,008 $55,183.00
Legal 19,646 $156,012.00
Educational and Library 38,064 $53,026.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 19,123 $62,961.00
Healthcare Practitioners 32,722 $82,491.00
Healthcare Support 13,853 $31,002.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 4,946 $42,477.00
Law Enforcement 3,425 $86,932.00
Food Preparation and Serving 21,971 $20,562.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 19,687 $25,020.00
Personal Care and Service 17,422 $21,217.00
Sales 41,770 $34,720.00
Office and Administrative Support 46,673 $40,791.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 443 $23,194.00
Construction and Extraction 21,706 $40,325.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 10,299 $46,937.00
Production 9,601 $40,304.00
Transportation and Material Moving 13,514 $31,448.00

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 40,827 $122,681.00 34,436 $102,698.00
Business and Financial 24,390 $104,212.00 26,164 $88,077.00
Computer and Mathematical 31,653 $110,702.00 12,081 $104,448.00
Architecture and Engineering 10,850 $111,297.00 2,922 $89,097.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 13,516 $117,815.00 12,221 $89,719.00
Community and Social Service 4,160 $49,840.00 6,848 $58,267.00
Legal 10,930 $175,220.00 8,716 $120,951.00
Educational and Library 10,801 $63,851.00 27,263 $49,073.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 8,859 $64,264.00 10,264 $61,856.00
Healthcare Practitioners 10,276 $117,425.00 22,446 $71,915.00
Healthcare Support 2,401 $33,588.00 11,452 $30,429.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 3,818 $44,157.00 1,128 $38,256.00
Law Enforcement 2,721 $91,964.00 704 $79,082.00
Food Preparation and Serving 10,522 $24,709.00 11,449 $17,369.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 8,581 $30,717.00 11,106 $21,377.00
Personal Care and Service 3,952 $20,842.00 13,470 $21,324.00
Sales 21,948 $47,559.00 19,822 $25,801.00
Office and Administrative Support 14,243 $44,270.00 32,430 $39,249.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 240 $35,833.00 203 $4,574.00
Construction and Extraction 21,142 $40,275.00 564 $43,427.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 9,958 $47,080.00 341 $41,719.00
Production 6,397 $48,632.00 3,204 $28,547.00
Transportation and Material Moving 12,110 $32,215.00 1,404 $23,494.00

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 383,308 households in Montgomery County, with an average household size of 2.74 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 267,285 families in Montgomery County with an average family size of 3.28 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 207,655 16,067 43,563 116,023
Average Household Size 3.38 3.36 3.34 1.27
Total Families 207,655 16,067 43,563 0
Average Household Size 3.34 2.97 3.14 0

Poverty

Of the 267,285 families in Montgomery County, 4.80% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Montgomery 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 401,942 housing units in Montgomery County, Maryland.

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

Total Percentage
Occupied 383,308 95.36%
Vacant 18,634 4.64%

32.09% of the total 401,942 housing units in Montgomery County are rental units. This is approximately 128,981 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 250,746 are occupied by the owner - or 62.38% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Montgomery County is $1,844.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Montgomery 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
    3,581
  • Less than $500
    3,928
  • $500 to $999
    5,592
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    21,559
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    48,566
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    27,038
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    11,482
  • $3,000 or more
    10,816

Property Value

The median value of a property in Montgomery County is $508,600.00.

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

  • Less than $50,000
    2,773
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    1,695
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    4,675
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    6,801
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    24,135
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    83,001
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    98,056
  • $1,000,000 or more
    29,610

Property Age

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

  • 1939 or earlier
    17,703
  • 1940 to 1949
    20,216
  • 1950 to 1959
    46,414
  • 1960 to 1969
    57,056
  • 1970 to 1979
    60,641
  • 1980 to 1989
    79,782
  • 1990 to 1999
    48,352
  • 2000 to 2009
    41,335
  • 2010 to 2013
    29,938
  • 2014 or later
    505

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 Montgomery County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    28,188
  • 1 vehicle available
    130,969
  • 2 vehicles available
    150,256
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    73,895

Commuting to Work

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

33.8 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Montgomery 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
    5,115
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    20,205
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    35,445
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    49,253
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    54,258
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    31,392
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    74,729
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    20,129
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    31,728
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    63,068
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    55,781
  • 90 or more minutes
    15,011

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Montgomery 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 Montgomery County, Maryland

We have data for 69 places in Montgomery County, Maryland. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.