Silver Spring: Where the Young Folks Live

With so much talk about downtown Silver Spring's walkability and it should be no surprise that the area is home to a higher-than-average percentage of young folks. Nearly half of the residents in some parts of the neighborhood are ages 20 to 34, according to data from the 2010 Census and analyzed by transit blog Greater Greater Washington. 

In Montgomery County, where fewer young people choose to live than other parts of the Washington region, according to The Washington Post, only about 19 percent of the population is 20 to 34.

Three census tracts in downtown Silver Spring have populations of younger people far above the county average.

The portion of downtown closest to the Silver Spring Metrorail station has a majority of residents ages 20 to 34—52 percent of that area's population.

In the census tract bounded by East-West Highway on the west and Fenton Street on the east, 42.87 percent of the residents are 20 to 34.

In the census tract that's west of 16th Street and East of Grubb Road, 48.46 percent of the residents are 20 to 34.

According to the blog, the data may be helpful in considering how to attract "Millennials," a buzzword for people born between 1982 and 2000, to the county. These young adults and soon-to-be young adults want walkable, transit-oriented neighborhoods, Greater Greater Washington said. 

Head to Greater Greater Washington for the full analysis. See the author's maps on Flickr.  

What do you think? Will young people continue to flock to Silver Spring? Are you under 34? What made you choose Silver Spring?