Montgomery Planning releases in-depth analysis of the county’s growth – Mocofeed

Community Trends Report examines how 37 communities across Montgomery County have evolved since 2010

Wheaton, Md. – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), released its Community Trends Report, a comprehensive study that provides the most detailed look to date at Montgomery County’s demographic shifts, land use patterns, housing conditions, and community characteristics from 2010 to 2022 across 37 defined Community Trend Areas (CTAs) that cover the entirety of the county’s 507 square miles. Researchers analyzed approximately 300 variables and more than 30,000 data points. The report is accompanied by an interactive online dashboard that has detailed profiles of each CTA, making the findings accessible to residents, government officials, and other stakeholders.

• Visit the Community Trends Report webpage
• Read the Community Trends Report and Executive Summary
• Check out the Community Trends Report dashboard

Home to more than 1 million residents, Montgomery County encompasses a wide range of places, from dense urban centers to established suburban neighborhoods and rural communities. These areas differ in amenities, affordability, and opportunities, and have experienced varying levels of growth and change. The Community Trends Report, produced by Montgomery Planning’s Research & Strategic Projects Division, offers a clearer understanding of these differences and how they are shaping the county’s future.

“Successful planning requires a deep knowledge of the conditions in different communities across the county and the recognition that solutions may not be a one-size-fits-all approach,” said Research & Strategic Projects Division Chief Carrie McCarthy. “This report gives residents, policymakers, and community leaders a new tool to understand local trends and make informed decisions.”

Members of Montgomery Planning’s Research & Strategic Projects Division briefed the Montgomery County Planning Board on the study on Thursday, January 22, 2026. Watch a recording of the briefing.

Montgomery Planning defined the geographic boundaries of the CTAs by reviewing various planning and U.S. Census Bureau boundary data, while also balancing the need to analyze a manageable number of communities with the availability of statistically significant data. Each CTA profile is organized into three themes: place, people, and housing.

Countywide Themes

Although the report focuses on hyperlocal community trends, countywide patterns also emerged. This includes:

Land Use and Built Environment

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• Residential uses account for 30% of county land, with single-family detached homes occupying 91% of that share.
• Since 2010, 47,359 housing units have been built. Of these units, 61% were in multi-family buildings, reflecting the recent trend of more multi-family housing growth relative to single-family unit developments.
• Commercial uses—including 71 million square feet of office space and 37 million square feet of retail—sit on less than 2% of county land.

Demographic and Household Trends

• Growth among residents under 18 was modest—5% countywide from 2010 to 2022—and households with children grew by 2%. In contrast, growth among residents 65 and over was 50%, reflective of a continuing trend of aging.
• Twenty-two communities had a majority population comprising people of color, an increase of four since 2010 and reflective of the county’s overall diversity, with 59% of all residents being persons of color in 2022.
• Montgomery County remains highly educated, with 60% of adults 25 and older holding at least a bachelor’s degree, correlating with higher household incomes.
• Average housing costs for renters have increased 40% from 2010 to 2022, a faster rate than for homeowners and outpacing the inflation rate for this period.

A New Lens on Local Patterns and Changes

While Montgomery Planning regularly conducts studies for master plans and countywide analyses, smaller or less populated areas have often been underrepresented in previous reviews. The Community Trends Report fills this gap by examining geographic patterns and trends over time by CTAs.

Key highlights at the community level include:

• Many communities were aging, and the percentage of residents ages 65 and over doubled from 2010 to 2022 in seven CTAs that span the northern and western parts of the county, including Damascus, Germantown, and Travilah.
• While the percentage of households with children grew from 2010 to 2022 in Wheaton, Takoma Park, and North Bethesda, many others had a shrinking percentage—Damascus had the largest decline from 49% to 33% of all households.
• While communities became more racially diverse, they also varied in racial composition, with higher percentages of Black residents in Fairland, White Oak, and Burtonsville, Asian residents in North Potomac, Clarksburg, and Travilah, and Hispanic residents in Connecticut-Veirs Mill Crossroads, Flower Hill, and Glenmont.
• Communities with the highest educational attainment levels and average household incomes are located in the southwestern part of the county such as Bethesda and Potomac, where more than 75% of adults 25 and older had at least a bachelor’s degree and average incomes greater than $250,000 in 2022.
• Clarksburg had the most single-family housing growth since 2010, adding 5,173 units of this type. Strong multi-family housing growth occurred in Silver Spring and Bethesda, with each adding more than 5,000 multi-family units.
• Average home values span a wide range, reaching over $1.3 million in Bethesda, Travilah, and Chevy Chase in 2022. Leisure World, which is age-restricted and predominantly condos, had the lowest average home value at $305,304, still above the national average of $261,584.
• Among CTAs with more than 25% renter-occupied households, the percentage increase in average gross rent in several communities well exceeded the countywide increase of 40%—these include Redland-Shady Grove (67%), Chevy Chase (57%), and Takoma Park (51%).