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Baltimore County, Maryland

Baltimore County is a suburban county located in the northern portion of U.S. State of Maryland. As of 2000, the population is 754,292. Its county seat is Towson. The name of the county was derived from the barony of the Proprietor of the Maryland colony, in County Longford[?], Ireland. It should be noted that Baltimore County does not include the City of Baltimore, which was split off as an independent city in 1851.

Table of contents

1 History

2 Law and Government

3 Geography

4 Demographics

5 Colleges and Universities

6 Cities and Towns

History The origin of Baltimore County is not known but it definitely existed by January 12, 1659/60, when a writ was issued to its sheriff.

In 1674, a portion of Baltimore County, as well as a portion of Kent County, was split off to form Cecil County. In 1748, a portion of Baltimore County, as well as a portion of Prince George's County, was split off to form Frederick County. In 1773, Harford County was split off from Baltimore County. In 1837 a part of Baltimore County was combined with a part of Frederick County to form Carroll County. As mentioned above, in 1851 the city of Baltimore was detached from Baltimore County.

Law and Government Baltimore County was granted a charter form of government in 1956.

Geography Baltimore County has no incorporated municipalities except that a small portion of the town of Hampstead (most of which is in Carroll County) extends into the county.

Unincorporated areas are also considered as towns by many people, but they lack local government. The United States Census Bureau recognizes the following Census-Designated Places in Baltimore County:

Arbutus
Carney
Catonsville
Cockeysville
Dundalk
Edgemere
Essex
Garrison
Hampton
Kingsville
Lansdowne-Baltimore Highlands
Lutherville[?]-Timonium[?]
Mays Chapel
Middle River
Milford Mill
Overlea
Owings Mills
Parkville
Perry Hall
Pikeville
Randallstown
Reisterstown
Rosedale
Rossville
Towson
White Marsh
Woodlawn (Note: this is also the name of a CDP in Prince George's County!)

Other entities, such as the United States Postal Service, use a different selection of local place names. In all these cases, since the places are unincorporated, the boundaries are determined by the classifying authority.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,766 km² (682 mi²). 1,550 km² (599 mi²) of it is land and 216 km² (83 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 12.23% water.

Demographics As of the census of 2000, there are 754,292 people, 299,877 households, and 198,518 families residing in the county. The population density is 487/km² (1,260/mi²). There are 313,734 housing units at an average density of 202/km² (524/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 74.39% White, 20.10% African American, 0.25% Native American, 3.17% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.62% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. 1.83% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 299,877 households out of which 30.20% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.40% are married couples living together, 12.80% have a female householder with no husband present, and 33.80% are non-families. 27.30% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.10% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.46 and the average family size is 3.00.

In the county the population is spread out with 23.60% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 29.80% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 90.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county is $50,667, and the median income for a family is $59,998. Males have a median income of $41,048 versus $31,426 for females. The per capita income for the county is $26,167. 6.50% of the population and 4.50% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 7.20% are under the age of 18 and 6.50% are 65 or older.

Colleges and Universities The University of Maryland[?] has a branch campus in Baltimore County (known as UMBC - University of Maryland in Baltimore County).

Also located in the county:

Goucher College[?] (in Towson)
Towson State University[?] (formerly known as Towson State Teachers' College) (in Towson)

Cities and Towns

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