Fastest-growing counties in Maryland

Written by:
February 23, 2021
TownCreative // Wikimedia Commons

Fastest-growing counties in Maryland

From 2018 to 2019, the U.S. population grew by .48%, its slowest rate in 100 years. Declining births, increasing deaths largely due to the graying Baby Boomer population, and a crackdown on immigration have contributed to many states seeing net population losses in recent years.

But in other pockets of the country, populations are growing. These shifts can be due to job opportunities, high quality of life, easy commutability to job centers, low rents, or any combination of these or other factors. Stacker compiled a list of the fastest-growing counties in Maryland using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the highest population growth from 2010 to 2019, based on 5-year estimates.

A county typically sees population growth as a “bedroom community” (a municipality with an atypically large commuting population) to a large city. These communities are typically quieter than their feeder cities, offer lower rents and a higher quality of living, and are remote enough to be immune to the feeder city’s crime, traffic, and crowds. Keep reading to see if your home county made the list.

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Famartin // Wikicommons

#24. Baltimore

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -11,506
--- #3,134 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -1.9%
--- #20 among counties in Maryland, #1,965 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 609,032
--- #4 largest county in Maryland, #108 largest county nationwide
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Acroterion // Wikicommons

#23. Allegany County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -3,193
--- #3,046 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -4.3%
--- #24 among counties in Maryland, #2,484 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 71,445
--- #16 largest county in Maryland, #755 largest county nationwide
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Skye Marthaler // Wikimedia Commons

#22. Garrett County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -910
--- #2,628 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -3.0%
--- #23 among counties in Maryland, #2,241 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 29,235
--- #22 largest county in Maryland, #1,449 largest county nationwide
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jerryinocmd // Wikimedia Commons

#21. Somerset County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -682
--- #2,479 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -2.6%
--- #22 among counties in Maryland, #2,145 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 25,729
--- #23 largest county in Maryland, #1,572 largest county nationwide
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Delta1989 // Wikimedia Commons

#20. Kent County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -482
--- #2,294 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -2.4%
--- #21 among counties in Maryland, #2,097 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 19,536
--- #24 largest county in Maryland, #1,850 largest county nationwide
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Shopkins91 // Wikimedia Commons

#19. Talbot County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -194
--- #1,882 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -0.5%
--- #19 among counties in Maryland, #1,669 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 37,167
--- #19 largest county in Maryland, #1,244 largest county nationwide
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Eli Pousson // Wikimedia Commons

#18. Dorchester County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -149
--- #1,788 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -0.5%
--- #18 among counties in Maryland, #1,648 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 32,138
--- #21 largest county in Maryland, #1,379 largest county nationwide
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Acroterion // Wikimedia Commons

#17. Caroline County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +244
--- #1,304 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +0.7%
--- #16 among counties in Maryland, #1,422 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 33,049
--- #20 largest county in Maryland, #1,357 largest county nationwide
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Farragutful // Wikimedia Commons

#16. Carroll County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +491
--- #1,159 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +0.3%
--- #17 among counties in Maryland, #1,497 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 167,699
--- #9 largest county in Maryland, #386 largest county nationwide
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Linda Roy Walls // Wikimedia Commons

#15. Worcester County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +632
--- #1,106 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +1.2%
--- #15 among counties in Maryland, #1,333 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 51,765
--- #17 largest county in Maryland, #963 largest county nationwide
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Smallbones // Wikimedia Commons

#14. Cecil County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +2,413
--- #722 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +2.4%
--- #14 among counties in Maryland, #1,144 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 102,552
--- #13 largest county in Maryland, #590 largest county nationwide
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JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ, M.D. // Wikimedia Commons

#13. Queen Anne's County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +2,687
--- #695 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +5.7%
--- #9 among counties in Maryland, #722 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 49,632
--- #18 largest county in Maryland, #990 largest county nationwide
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Preservation Maryland // Wikimedia Commons

#12. Calvert County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +3,620
--- #615 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +4.1%
--- #10 among counties in Maryland, #899 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 91,511
--- #15 largest county in Maryland, #641 largest county nationwide
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Vpuliva // Wikimedia Commons

#11. Washington County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +3,780
--- #606 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +2.6%
--- #13 among counties in Maryland, #1,118 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 150,109
--- #11 largest county in Maryland, #439 largest county nationwide
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Eric Fischer // Wikicommons

#10. Wicomico County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +5,588
--- #516 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +5.8%
--- #8 among counties in Maryland, #719 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 102,539
--- #14 largest county in Maryland, #591 largest county nationwide
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Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD // Wikimedia Commons

#9. Harford County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +9,334
--- #410 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +3.8%
--- #11 among counties in Maryland, #934 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 252,222
--- #7 largest county in Maryland, #268 largest county nationwide
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Pubdog // Wikimedia Commons

#8. St. Mary's County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +10,204
--- #388 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +10.0%
--- #4 among counties in Maryland, #405 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 112,290
--- #12 largest county in Maryland, #543 largest county nationwide
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Pubdog // Wikimedia Commons

#7. Charles County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +15,516
--- #309 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +10.8%
--- #2 among counties in Maryland, #356 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 159,428
--- #10 largest county in Maryland, #408 largest county nationwide
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Acroterion // Wikimedia Commons

#6. Frederick County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +22,217
--- #243 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +9.7%
--- #5 among counties in Maryland, #418 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 251,422
--- #8 largest county in Maryland, #270 largest county nationwide
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JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ, M.D. // Wikimedia Commons

#5. Baltimore County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +28,823
--- #189 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +3.6%
--- #12 among counties in Maryland, #969 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 828,018
--- #3 largest county in Maryland, #71 largest county nationwide
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Zrmachuga // Wikimedia Commons

#4. Howard County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +39,489
--- #129 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +14.1%
--- #1 among counties in Maryland, #217 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 318,855
--- #6 largest county in Maryland, #216 largest county nationwide
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Charlie Stinchcomb // Flickr

#3. Anne Arundel County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +44,255
--- #117 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +8.4%
--- #6 among counties in Maryland, #505 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 571,275
--- #5 largest county in Maryland, #116 largest county nationwide
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MamaGeek // Wikimedia Commons

#2. Prince George's County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +53,948
--- #97 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +6.3%
--- #7 among counties in Maryland, #663 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 908,670
--- #2 largest county in Maryland, #60 largest county nationwide
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TownCreative // Wikimedia Commons

#1. Montgomery County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +96,300
--- #47 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +10.2%
--- #3 among counties in Maryland, #393 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 1,043,530
--- #1 largest county in Maryland, #42 largest county nationwide

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