Black residents leaving the District are fueling the growth of the minority population in Maryland, according to a Maryland planning official.
“The state gains nonwhite migration from the District of Columbia, principally African-Americans from the District of Columbia,” said Mark Goldstein, an economist with the Maryland planning department.
Goldstein’s analysis is based on Census population estimates by race, Hispanic origin and age for counties and states released today. The estimates indicate the number of minorities, especially Hispanics, continue to grow around the country, with local growth outpacing growth nationally.
While minority populations have been growing consistently over the last 20 years, the speed at which they are growing is surprising, Goldstein said.
“Almost 96 percent of the growth in the state is due to minority population growth,” Goldstein said, while “there was a decline in white population in the state over the last few years.”
The increase in blacks from the District coincides with a drop in the amount of affordable housing in the national capital. Steven Wade, program associate with the Washington Regional Network for Livable Communities, said many low-wage minority workers are being forced out of the city.
“We are seeing more and more low-wage workers being displaced to Baltimore or the far-flung suburbs,” he said.
“The options for finding housing that’s both affordable and decent in the District of Columbia [have] become smaller and smaller,” said Ed Lazier, executive director of the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute.
Despite Maryland’s gains and affordable housing losses, the minority population in the District continues to grow. Of children under age 5 in the District, 81 percent are minorities. The District also has the largest minority population in the country, with minorities making up 58 percent of the population.
Regional minority population growth has also been quick. Maryland has the fourth fastest growing minority population, while Virginia has the sixth fastest growing.
dfrancis@dcexaminer.com
