May 26—Frederick County is growing and diversifying as more households have multigenerational families, according to data released this week from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Those are a few findings from the Demographic Profile and Demographic Housing Characteristics, a collection of data gathered in 2020 for the decennial census.

Along with population findings, the dataset also sheds light on county housing situations such as the number of housing units, and how many households are rented or owned.

Data from the 2020 census served as the basis for additional findings captured that same year, but released this week.

The county added 38,332 people between 2010 and 2020, growing by 19.7%.

The 2020 census estimated a total population of 271,717 for Frederick County, compared to 233,385 a decade prior.

That expansion is much larger than Maryland's overall population growth during that same time span — 7%.

Like Maryland, Frederick County's Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino populations both grew while its white population slightly dropped.

In 2010, roughly 84% of Frederick County residents were white, compared to 69.7% in 2020. That accounts for 836 fewer white residents recorded in 2010 than in 2020 — a .4% decrease.

Meanwhile, the county's Black or African American population increased by 38% and its Hispanic or Latino population increased by 87.5%.

Maryland as a whole also saw population gains in those demographics, but a much smaller increase of 7% for Black or African American people and 55% for Hispanic or Latino people.

The latest census includes housing data that reveals a large increase in the number of households occupied by three or more families — known as multigenerational households — in Frederick County.

There was an increase of 38.7% in the number of households classified as multigenerational in Frederick County between 2010 and 2020.

The data also show that the county added fewer housing units between 2010 and 2020 than it did in the decade prior.

Between 2000 and 2010, the county added 17,119 housing units. It only added 13,357 housing units in the decade after.

That change comes as the number of households being rented had a greater increase than those owned.

The number of rented households increased by 22% between 2010 and 2020 in the county. Owned households, meanwhile, increased by 14.1%, though a large majority — three-quarters — of the county's homes are owned.

That data follows a national trend, according to the Census Bureau, as renter-occupied units continue to outpace the growth of owner-occupied units, the same as between 2000 and 2010.