Impact of Boom

A Large Inventory of Affordable Single-Family Homes

The 1950s housing boom nearly doubled the inventory of single-family homes in the County. In just ten years, the number of homes increased from 46,083 to 89,292. Most of the 43,209 new homes built were moderately priced and located in four down-county election districts: Colesville, Bethesda, Rockville, and Wheaton. 51% of the new homes were constructed in the Wheaton Election District, an area that included Takoma Park, Silver Spring, and Wheaton. Only 6% of the new homes were built in the nine up-county election districts.

Source: Montgomery County State and Regional Trends, 1950-1990. Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, 1991

Increased Down-County Density

The housing boom tripled population density in the Colesville and Rockville election districts and doubled population density in the Wheaton district. As the chart and data below indicate, density in the four most populated down-county districts ranged from 517 residents per square mile in the Colesville district to 4,344 residents per square mile in the Wheaton district. The density of the nine up-county districts ranged from 31 residents per square mile in the Poolesville district to 277 residents per square mile in the Gaithersburg district.

Population Density in Montgomery County, MD: 1900-1960

Source: Maryland State Planning Department

A Younger Population

The 1950s population boom produced a much younger County population. The post-war increase in births that began in the late 1940s became the "baby boom" of the 1950s as reflected in the sharp increase in residents under age 20 in the chart below. At the end of the 1950s, 128,195 of the 340,928 residents in the County were under age 18 and 42,843 of these were babies.

Source: Montgomery County, State, and Regional Trends: 1900-1990, Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, 1991

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