Columbia International Affairs Online
CIAO DATE: 8/5/2007
A Pathway to the Middle Class: Migration and Demographic Change in Prince George's County
2007 April
Abstract
The Washington area is growing and decentralizing. From 1990 to 2000, the District of Columbia’s population declined while the number of people living in surrounding suburbs increased. Prince George’s County was among the suburban jurisdictions that experienced population growth, increasing by 10 percent from about 729,000 residents in 1990 to over 800,000 in 2000.1 Prince George’s continues to grow, with an estimated 840,000 residents in 2005.2
A dynamic county in a rapidly changing region, Prince George’s County has experienced significant demographic transformation during the last 15 years. The county, which was half black in 1990, has become increasingly black while its foreign-born population has also grown.
During this period of growth, Prince George’s has maintained its middle-class character; the majority of its households were middle-income in 1989 and 1999.3 Still, it is not as well off as its neighboring Maryland jurisdictions. Some are concerned that the region’s rapid economic development and rising housing costs—particularly in Washington, D.C.— have resulted in many of the area’s lowest-income residents moving to Prince George’s County. In light of both this concern and the county’s changing demographics, this paper examines the characteristics of the people and households migrating into and out of Prince George’s County between 1993 and 2004.4
Following a discussion of data and methods, the paper describes the demographic and economic characteristics of Prince George’s total population, and compares the county to nearby jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia and Montgomery, Anne Arundel, Howard, and Charles counties. After providing an overview of the total population, the paper examines how migration in and out of Prince George’s County has contributed to changes in population, income distribution, and racial/ethnic composition.
