POPULATION—CENSUS OF 1950

POPULATION OF MARYLAND; APRIL 1, 1950

The total population of Maryland on April 1, 1950, was 2,343,001,
according to final figures for the State released by the Bureau of the
Census, Department of Commerce. During the previous 10 years, the
population of the State increased 621,767, or 28.6 percent, over the
1,821,244 inhabitants enumerated in 1940. Among the States, Maryland
ranked twenty-fourth in population. The 1950 population was more
than seven times as large as its population in 1790 when it was
enumerated in the first Federal census.

According to the new urban definition, Maryland had 1,616,902
persons living in urban territory and 727,099 in rural territory. The
urban population accounted for 69.0 percent of the total population of
the State.

There are 23 counties and I independent city—Baltimore—in Mary-
land. Between 1940 and 1960, 20 of the counties and Baltimore City
increased in population. The rates of change for the counties ranged
from a decline of 3.3 percent for Garrett County to an increase of
117.0 percent for Prince George's County. The largest numerical
increase was experienced in Baltimore County, which had a gain of
114,448. Nearly three-fourths of the increase in the population of the
State was accounted for by Baltimore, Prince George's, and Mont-
gomery counties and Baltimore City. The counties in Maryland ranged
in size from Calvert with a population of 12,100 to Baltimore with a
population of 270,273.

In 1950 there were 149 places incorporated as cities, towns, and vil-
lages in Maryland and 16 unincorporated places of 1,000 inhabitants
or more. There were 1,310,869 persons living in the incorporated
places, 95,611 of whom were in the 118 places of fewer than 2,500
inhabitants. Of the 28,762 inhabitants of the unincorporated places,
20,804 were in the 13 places of 1,000 to 2,500 inhabitants. The incor-
porated places ranged in size from Highland Beach town with a
population of 6 to Baltimore City with a population of 949,708.

Under the urban definition established for use in the 1950 Census,
urban territory has been defined to comprise (a) places of 2,600 inhab-
itants or more incorporated as cities, Boroughs, towns,' and villages;
(b) the densely settled urban fringe, including both incorporated and
unincorporated areas, around cities of 60,000 or more; and (c) unincor-
porated places of 2,600 inhabitants or more outside any urban fringe.
All other territory is classified as rural. According to the definition
used in previous censuses, urban territory was designated as all in-
corporated places of 2,500 inhabitants or more and areas (usually
minor civil divisions) classified as urban under special rules relating
to population size and density.

In both definitions, the most important component of the urban ter-
ritory is the group of incorporated places having 2,600 inhabitants or
more. A definition of urban territory restricted to such places, how-
ever, would exclude a number of equally large and densely settled
places, merely because they were not incorporated places. Under the
old definition, an effort was made to avoid some of the more obvious

'Except In New England, New York, and Wisconsin, where "towns" are minor
civil (divisions of counties and are not necessarilly densely settled centers like the
towns In other States.