(August 14, 2002 - Baltimore) -- The Baltimore region's population is getting richer in the outer suburbs and some areas of Baltimore City, and poorer in other Baltimore City neighborhoods and the inner suburbs. Those are among conclusions reached by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council's MetroResearch Division on analyzing Census 2000 data for Maryland released August 13th.

The decades-long decline in the number of middle-income families, with median family income (MFI) between $35,000 and $75,000, in Baltimore City continued between 1990 and 2000.  Perhaps more striking was an echo of that pattern in the region’s largest jurisdiction, Baltimore County. With the region’s two largest jurisdictions losing middle-income families, the corresponding gains in Anne Arundel, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties were not sufficient to offset the trend regionwide. A family consists of individuals residing together who are related by blood or marriage.

The number of affluent families, with incomes of $75,000 or more, has increased dramatically in the last decade.  The numbers of wealthy families are growing rapidly in Anne Arundel, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties.  Affluent families are also choosing to live near the waterfront in Baltimore City, in neighborhoods such as Fells Point, Canton and Locust Point.

According to Census 2000, 7.2 percent of families live below the poverty level. Seventy-seven percent of those families include children under 18. These figures represent some slight improvement since 1990, when 7.5 percent of families were living below the poverty level, and 79.3 percent of poor families included children under 18. The Baltimore region’s children tend to live more than ever in communities segregated by income as affluent and poor families live in geographic areas farther and farther apart.

The pattern for median household income (MHI) is similar to that for MFI, with affluent households in the western half of the region stretching from Howard County into northern Baltimore County. A household is defined as an occupied dwelling unit, and may include a family, unrelated persons, or an individual living alone. While affluent families are found in the outer areas of the region, as well as near the waterfront in Baltimore City, affluent households in general are typically found just outside the Baltimore Beltway.

Regional Planning District	Jurisdiction
Clarksville	Howard County
Chestnut Ridge	Baltimore County
Ruxton	Baltimore County
Jacksonville	Baltimore County
West Friendship	Howard County

More Census Maps and Tables.

Low income households are also concentrated around military installations, such as Aberdeen Proving Ground and Fort Meade.

Four of the five areas with the steepest declines in MHI since 1990 are located in Baltimore City, with the remaining area in Baltimore County: