County Council District 5 had the second highest rate of population growth from 2010-2016, according to a new demographic report released by the county’s Planning Department.
Councilmember Tom Hucker (D) represents the district, which includes the Source’s Silver Spring-Takoma Park coverage area and continues up the U.S. 29 corridor, along the border with Prince George’s County up to the Howard County line.
The district’s population grew by 6.5 percent to an estimated 206,638 people during the period covered in the report. That represents 20.1 percent of the county’s total estimated population of 1,026,371.
District 2 (upcounty, north of Gaithersburg along I-270 to the Frederick County line) grew the most, at a 6.7 percent pace. The county’s total estimated population grew by 5.6 percent.
Data for the demographic profiles was compiled from the 2012-2016 American Community Survey from the United States Census Bureau.
“These Council district profiles provide useful and illuminating data not only for the County Council, but also for community members, local organizations, businesses and other stakeholders who can use this data to inform services to the communities of Montgomery County,” said Caroline McCarthy in a press release. McCarthy leads Montgomery Planning’s Research and Special Projects Division, which prepared the profiles.
The population of each district is important because that drives the boundaries of each council district. The Charter of Montgomery County “requires the Council Districts to be compact, contiguous and substantially equal in population.”
The boundaries are redrawn every 10 years following the U.S. Census, which will be next be conducted in 2020.
District 5 also has the lowest average monthly homeowner housing cost of $1,981, compared to $2,270 countywide. The average monthly mortgage cost was $2,377, compared to an average cost for renters of $1,497.
However, the report also noted that 42.6 percent of renters in the district spent more than 35 percent of household income on housing costs. As a general rule of housing affordability, households are advised not to spend more than 30 percent of gross monthly income on total housing costs (e.g., including utilities for renters; property tax and maintenance for owners).
The average income for District 5 households in 2016 was an estimated $103,761, the lowest among the five districts and below the countywide average of $135,849.
Unsurprisingly, the highest average household income of $211,073 was reported for District 1, which includes Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac, Poolesville and the rest of the western portion of the county up to Frederick County.
The report also includes information about race and ethnicity, educational attainment, type of workers, places of work, types of housing, and other data.
Screenshot of a portion of the new demographic report from the Planning Department.