Changing Demographics In Prince George’s County

[WASHINGTON POST]  CENSUS SHOWS INCOMES RISING, MARRIAGES DECLINING FOR BLACKS IN PRINCE GEORGE’S

The days of the suburban home (husband, wife and two kids) may be over for a large portion of Prince George’s county residents.  The changing demographics experienced here can be seen among African Americans across the nation.  In 2008, about half of the black households in the county made incomes of more than $75,000 a year, more than a quarter had college degrees and the unmarried female population outweighs those that are married. 

Kris Marsh is a prime example of the new Prince Georgian, in that she is a professional, educated female living alone.  She moved to a large, single-family home in Bowie last year after moving from Los Angeles for a job as a sociologist at the University of Maryland. She decided to buy in Prince George’s because she had heard that it was “the promised land for educated, successful African Americans.”  She said that “I found a community I’m in love with. Just because I didn’t have a partner or a husband, it wasn’t going to prevent me from living in the area.”  Many of her neighbors in her middle-class neighborhood are single, black professional women as well.  Coincidentally, she has done research on how the single woman has aided the growth of the black middle class community.

New statistics from the Census Bureau show that the black population has made major strides over the past decade leading to higher growth in education levels and incomes in comparison to the whole U.S. population.  From 2000 to 2008, African Americans with bachelor’s or advanced degrees increased from 19% to 20% and  black households earning $75,000 or more increased by 42% since 1999.

Prince George’s median income increased from $58,000 to $72,000 between 2002 and 2008, the last year for which figures were available.  Also, 42% of the county’s black adults have never married, while 46% of blacks in the nation have never married.  Today there are also more unmarried African American women than married black women.  Marsh believes that this is due to black women waiting to have children and get married later in life, if at all.

According to Elaine Zammett, who is a 59 year old homeowner that works as a legislative director for a state delegate says that “my parents could never envision what I have now.  I just think that this generation and the one prior to mine has had better access to education and more opportunity to get better jobs. Even though the glass ceiling is there, we’re going higher.”

To find out more about Prince George’s changing demographics, read this Washington Post article.



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