Pam 2030 Population and Public Policy October 1, 2008 Homework #1 Ilana Edelman The population of Baltimore, Maryland Overall Baltimore is a very diverse community. Overall the population of Baltimore is wealthier than the average American population. People in Baltimore tend to have received more education than the average American. 88.1% of the population is high school graduates and 34.3% have attended college. The primary language spoken in Baltimore is English and far fewer people speak another language at home than the average American. Among those residents who are five years of age and older only 11.2% speak a language other than English at home. Overall the majority of people living in Baltimore were born within the United States and are not immigrants. Only 8.7% are foreign born whereas a larger percentage The population of Baltimore is 787, 384, which is split 47.5% male and 52.5% female. This is not as even as the U.S. average, which is closer to a 50/50, split male and female. The overwhelming majority of Baltimore residents categorize themselves as one race- 98.5% of people do so. Of this number the majority are white 68.7%, which is close to the national average of 73.9%. The most striking difference between Baltimore and the United States in terms of race is the large proportion of black or African Americans living in Baltimore. The national average is 12.4% and the Baltimore estimate is nearly twice that- 24.4%. While the majority of the population in Baltimore, Maryland is white, there is a significant African American population. The rest of the population mirrors the population of the United States including Asians, American Indians, Alaskan Natives. There are very few people living in Baltimore who categorize themselves as being Hispanic or Latino. There are only 21,005 Hispanic or Latinos, a mere 2.7% of the population compared with the national average of 14.8%. On average families in Baltimore County are wealthier than the average American family, making on average (median) $12,190 more per year ($70,716 compared to $58, 526). The same relationship is seen between the median household incomes, Baltimore residents make $59, 995 compared with just $48,451 earned by the average American household. Overall, when the work force is looked at however Baltimoreans have to travel just slightly further to work than the average American. Few individuals and even fewer families are categorized as living below the poverty level. Only 5.5% of families live below the poverty level compared with nearly 10% of the U.S. population. Baltimoreans tend to live in nicer houses, valued at more money than the average American (valued at $253,600 versus $185,200). The number of people with mortgages and without mortgages exceeds the national average. There are 326,023 housing units in Baltimore and of these the majority are occupied- only 4.4% are vacant.