DC/Baltimore residents heading westward in Maryland? (Frederick, Hagerstown: sex offender, crimes)

[Tiger Beer]

DC/Baltimore residents heading westward?

I'm only basing this on the fact that the white population is getting fewer percentage wise, with black, Latino, and Asian.

Looking at the black population percentages alone, cities like Frederick and Hagerstown is almost 20% black now, up from 10% a decade ago.

Curious if people who live do believe they are DC/Baltimore migrations, or I wonder if coming from further north.

Anything else anyone wants to add as well.

[westsideboy]

It looks like Frederick's city's % of total population that is black went from 14.7% to 18.6%
Hagerstown seemed to go from 10.15% to 17.2%

The Frederick numbers are pretty modest, reflecting the growing diversity of city as a edge city in the DC metro region. You also see large increases in Hispanic and Asian population too, which you would expect from this trend.

Hagerstown you don't see the same large increases in Asian and Hispanic population which would lead me to think that something else is going on there.

In both cases I would suspect most of the new arrivals are going from parts east in Maryland, it would be the logical step out for commuters looking for cheaper housing, and for those on public assistance seeking more bang for their HUD buck. We can't discount the large prison complex in Washington County either. I sure many of the paroles don't make it all the way back to their original stomping grounds.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

We can't discount the large prison complex in Washington County either. I sure many of the paroles don't make it all the way back to their original stomping grounds.

That's interesting...hadn't thought of that.

I also noticed Brunswick almost doubled from 5 to 10% in black population...but quite modestly in latino/asian. Just a small little town as well.

(Also, sorry for my poor grammar on the original post - I was typing one-fingered from an iPhone).

[westsideboy]

The prisoners are "supposed" to be shipped back to their last previous address upon release, but many find faux address in the local towns, either through networking with the locals, or with other releasies who are "setting up shop" in the small cities of the western part of the state.

I used to poo-poo all the talk about the prisons affecting the local community, but I am a believer now. Cumberland has had several high profile crimes committed by ex-cons that never made their way back east, and our own demographic change indicates that either many aren't going home, or that our city is now "on the radar" for city folk of all races that want cheap housing and less competition for their drug wares. It makes me sick. I place the blame not so much on the ex-cons, you expect a snake to act like a snake. I blame it on the locals. A large segment of our poor youth have forgotten who they are and are now just another group of drug addicted, neck-tattoed, wannabe thugs who open their wallets and homes to these people and bring the rest of us down with them.

As for Brunswick, there are many new developments there, I suspect their rise in AA population could just be a function of commuters getting more bang for their buck.

[deandre]

My sister move to Frederick last year and I got some boys up there to. They make their way out fo BMore and trying to get theirs up north.

[htownterp]

The whole prison thing is a blessing and a curse. It provides a lot of jobs, with relatively decent wages, for many people in the Tri State area who didn't go to college or want to learn a trade. At the same time, many of the prisoners get out and stay in the area. They restarted a program to give released prisoners transportation back to where they came from (Baltimore/DC area for the most part), and hopefully it will work. I'm all for diversity and rehabilitation, but we have enough issues in this area that we don't need the thug prison life staying here after getting out.

One example:
Sex offender in warning fliers returned to prison on alleged probation violation - herald-mail.com

Guy rapes a kid in A.A. county at knifepoint, gets 25 years in jail, gets out early and sets up shop here. It's not fair to the citizens and police in this area.

[ki0eh]

Also the Census counts prisoners and college students as local residents.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by ki0eh

Also the Census counts prisoners and college students as local residents.

And that is controversial every 10 years.

[westsideboy]

I am not a big fan of prisoners being counted by the census as resident of the local population because:

1. It is hard to consider them residents simply because their cells happen to be physically located here. They can't leave the prison, they have very limited interaction with local residents and can't vote.

2. It skews the population, demographic, and other statisical indicators for an area. For instance in Allegany County, including the prisoners makes it appear that our population totals are holding steady. Remove the prisoners and the clearer picture of continued population loss becomes clear.

The students.....well, they live half the year in one place, half in another, I don't know which location should be considered their "home." I know when I was in college, I refused to list my campus address, prefering instead to list my home as Cumberland.

[WDCJoe]

I believe that this was the situation as recent as three years ago, however I think that this is changing. With the collapse of the realestate market, people can find plenty of housing that is affordable closer to the general DC area. Couple the drop in housing prices with higher fuel charges and you get a recipe for a shrinking metro foot print. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not stating that areas like Frederick are drying up, hardly. I’m only stating that the general trend of people moving west within the greater CSA is slowing. I don’t think that the past trends in population growth for these communities will continue into the future.
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