Per the City of Gaithersburg: Census data shows that the City of Gaithersburg population grew just over 16% in the past 10 years. Census data shows that the City of Gaithersburg population grew just over 16% in the past 10 years. The official 2020 population is 69,657, compared to 59,933 in 2010. Gaithersburg is now the third largest City in Maryland, behind Baltimore at 585,708, and the City of Frederick at 78,171. There are other unincorporated areas in Maryland that have higher population, including MoCo’s very own Germantown and Silver Spring.
Gaithersburg has also grown in diversity in the past decade. The Hispanic/Latino of any race percentage now stands at 28.5%, up from 24.2% in 2010. The White not Hispanic/Latino population is now at 31.5%, down from 40.0% in 2010. The Asian not Hispanic/Latino population in Gaithersburg is 19.0%, up from 16.9% in 2010, while the Black/African American not Hispanic/Latino population stands at 16.1%, up from 15.5% in 2010. The largest change occurred in those reporting multiple races, which increased from 4.8% in 2010 to 11.4% in 2020.
“We see the changing face of Gaithersburg every day,” said Mayor Jud Ashman, “so it’s no surprise to us that the data quantifies our growing diversity. It’s exciting for us to welcome so many new people into our city, and to continue our longstanding tradition of embracing everyone who wants to live in a welcoming, tolerant community.”
Significant effort was made to ensure a complete count in the 2020 Census. The City’s outreach efforts, bundled as the “I am Gaithersburg, I Count” campaign, required creativity & flexibility during the pandemic. Strategies included frequent & consistent messaging across a variety of platforms, the use of trusted voices within specific communities, the coupling of Census messaging with food distributions during the early stages of the pandemic in 2020, and in-neighborhood campaigns that combined Census messaging with information about COVID-19 testing & social service resources.
More details will be made available about the makeup of the Gaithersburg community as the data is analyzed. Information will be updated here.
September 30th is Census Response Deadline – How Does MoCo Rank in Response Rate?
September 30th, 2020 is the final day that households can respond to the 2020 Census. The Census is a count of the population by the federal government that takes place every ten years. All residents in the United States are counted, including those who are not U.S. citizens.
The Census represents more than a simple tally for record keeping, as it helps to determine several items for future years:
-The number of representatives each state has in the U.S. Congress
-The distribution of nearly $700 billion from the federal government to states to fund education, infrastructure, healthcare, and other programs
-The planning decisions made by local officials and businesses to allocate services, create jobs, and target development
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s self-response rate map data (respondents may reply via phone, mail, or online), Montgomery County has a 77.3% self-response rate, which is up slightly from 2010’s 76.1%. MoCo trails behind Carroll, Howard, Harford, and Frederick counties in response rate.
As a whole, Maryland has a 70.4% self-response rate, which puts Maryland in the top ten of state rankings to date.
If your household has not already responded to the Census, there are three ways to respond to the census: online, via telephone, or via mail. In order to respond online, please visit http://www.2020Census.gov, or call 844-330-2020 to respond via phone.
For more information about the Census in Montgomery County, please visit https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/census/
Featured image courtesy of the Montgomery County MD government website.
Response rate maps courtesy of US Census Bureau’s website.
By Daniel Garay
