A Look into the Silver Spring CDP
By Silver Springer • Jan 10th, 2007 • Category: Uncategorized
On Monday the Silver Spring Scene looked into the U.S. Census Bureau’s state ranking table for median household income. Maryland was ranked 2nd in the nation very close behind New Jeresy to the point of being arguable. Today the Silver Spring Scene will take a closer look at the census data for the Silver Spring CDP (Census Designated Place).
Keep in mind that the Silver Spring CDP does not include all areas using a Silver Spring U.S. Postal address, for example we all know the neighborhood of Forest Glen is part of Silver Spring but it was not included. Just as well the FDA is consolidating in the White Oak neighborhood but they will be using a Silver Spring address. The Silver Spring CDP Beltway includes the immediate areas with the Capital Beltway as a dividing line in somewhat arbitrary fashion. If all areas using a Silver Spring address were included the population would be well over 250,000. So in affect, the local definition was not taken into account. As a whole Silver Spring comprises of; downtown/CBD, North Silver Spring, West Silver Spring, East Silver Spring, Forest Glen, Four Corners, Colesville, White Oak, Fairland, Hillandale, Cloverly, Burtonsville and parts of Aspen Hill, Wheaton-Glenmont and Calverton.
For 2005, the total median household income in the Silver Spring CDP was $59,490 slightly below the state median but well above the U.S. median. The median household income is up from $51,653 in the 2000 Census but one must keep in mind the large margin of error in each subject. We won’t know anything more accurate until the 2010 Census. Median family income was $64,973 up from $60,631 in 2000.
Other good news is the increase in the number of single family owner-occupied homes. This is an increase from 11,713 in 2000 to 12,077 in 2005. Median home value jumped to 425,100 from 187,300 in 2000 . One can only imagine in both respects how great an increase it would be if all the proposed condos are built. Which some can argue borders unhealthy.
Commuting characteristics show that close to 40% of residents worked outside the state, this is contrary to belief of those who say there are enough high quality jobs in the county. The margin of error was only +/- 5.8%. The county needs to do a better job in creating employment instead of focusing so much on residential. When someone wants to propose 700 single family homes require that at least 1 million square feet of office is built or forget it! The imbalance between housing and employment in Montgomery is unhealthy.
EDIT: Add Cloverly to the list of Silver Spring neighborhoods, also portions Wheaton-Glenmont. I remember entering an address for a place in Wheaton but it wouldn’t come up until I change the address to Silver Spring. Thanks to Thecourtyard for the tip.
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Am I reading that table wrong? Does it say that Hispanic and Asian people are so few as to be listed as N (negligible?)?
Interesting…population figures indicate otherwise. Perhaps they couldn’t get an accurate sample of income for those groups. The margins of error are pretty huge though.
You’re right. N could stand for Not Available. It would mean, though, that most of the Asian and Hispanic people they polled didn’t answer the income question.
Cloverly! You forgot Cloverly, which is also very much a part of Silver Spring. And parts of Wheaton-Glenmont, because the only Wheaton addresses I’ve seen tend to be closer to the mall.
Could “N” also stand for “Not Legal”?
A median house hold income of $59,000 for Silver Spring? I thought it would be higher than that. You need an individual salary of $75-$85,000 to afford a condo in Silver Spring. A married couple would need a combined income of $150,000 to afford a decent house in Silver Spring.
Regarding minority population numbers, there is a significant Latino population in the northern and eastern sections of the Silver Spring area. That could explain the drag on reported household incomes in Silver Spring.
The commuting issue. So 40 percent of Silver Spring residents commute to other jurisdictions. That doesn’t surprise me. Many of them commute to downtown DC, which isn’t such a big commute. Those who commute to Virginia have a much longer haul.
You have to remember that many commuters living in Silver Spring bought affordable real estate before the big housing bubble. Houses were more expensive in Virginia (where the jobs are). Ditto for the District. Yes, the lack of employment opportunities in Silver Spring and Montgomery County is one explanation. But I think the blogger under-estimates the attractive lure for residents moving to Silver Spring. Cheap real estate (until about 2002), progressive-liberal community, good schools, and redeveloping downtown area are great incentives.
You don’t hear about Silver Springers complaining about commutes to the District because of availability of public transportation. Virginia is a whole other matter.