Collin Brady moved to Glen Burnie from Millsboro, Delaware, this year to teach middle school math with Anne Arundel County Public Schools. The 28-year-old said he loves living in Glen Burnie. With its restaurants, variety of grocery stores and proximity to sporting events, Brady is happy to call it home.

“I love the vibe of Glen Burnie. Some parts are a bit rough around the edges, but overall I love living here,” Brady said.

He isn’t the only one. Glen Burnie is the fastest-growing part of Anne Arundel County and second-fastest-growing large place in the state, behind Silver Spring, a Banner analysis of recently released Census data found. The city is home to about 80,000 residents.

Already the largest place in Anne Arundel County, Glen Burnie’s population grew by 8,400 from 2022 to 2023, a rate of 11.8%. It was one of just two places with double-digit-percentage growth in the state last year.

Much of the growth was driven by the Hispanic population as Glen Burnie saw a decline in its white and Black populations. The unincorporated community lost about 2,000 white residents, a drop of around 5.7%, and more than 5,000 Black residents, a decline of 23.5%. That was the fastest-declining Black population in Maryland among Census-recognized places with at least 65,000 residents in 2023, the threshold for places included in the September data release.

In total, Glen Burnie added around 8,100 Hispanic people, a growth of nearly 89%; nearly 4,100 multiracial people (174%); nearly 2,400 Asian residents (118%) and about 1,000 people the Census classifies as “some other race,” a catchall for people who don’t fit into the Census Bureau’s typical race categories.

Is affordable housing driving the growth?

The extent of the growth surprised even local experts who believe affordable housing, closeness to Baltimore and D.C., and jobs are attracting new people.

It is one of the more affordable areas in Anne Arundel County, according to District 2 Councilmember Allison Pickard, who represents the city.

“Glen Burnie ZIP codes hold about 30 to 35% of all rental units in the county,” Pickard said. The city is densely populated and has a large number of apartments. “So it’s naturally a more affordable area for our single-family homes.”

According to RentCafe, the average rent for apartments in Glen Burnie is $1,651, compared to Annapolis with an average rent of $2,284.

Affordable homeownership plays a significant role as well. Currently, there are 68 homes on the market, with 23 priced below $400,000. The median home price in Maryland is between $380,000 and $385,000, said Adam Chubbuck, a real estate agent with Douglas Realty.

“You can still get a nice home in a nice area where people want to raise a family,” Chubbuck said.

Chubbuck said property taxes are also a factor.

The county has the lowest property tax in the region and one of the lowest in the state. This is even after the county approved a budget in June that increased the tax rate for properties outside Annapolis from 98 cents to 98.3 cents per $100 of assessed value.

Pickard said a lot of new housing hasn’t been built over the last year, so this would indicate Glen Burnie has “mature housing stock in a naturally occurring affordable area.”

Older homes tend to be cheaper, according to Realtor.com

“A modern house of the same size and in the same area will cost more than an older one,” the website said.

“The housing stock in Glen Burnie is definitely more of a post-World War II starter home-sized house, which then just makes it more affordable,” Pickard said.

Wes MacQuilliam, Chief Operating Officer of Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp., said he has seen young couples who started off living in Baltimore but wanted to move out as they got older and their lifestyles changed.

“They find Glen Burnie to be a good place to move to because of the affordability,” MacQuilliam said.

Others want to be near Baltimore and Washington so they can go in for museums, restaurants or football and baseball games. It’s a “good central spot” between the cities, Chubbuck said.

“My fiancée and I chose Glen Burnie because it was a middle ground between some of our friends. Some live in Baltimore, and some live by D.C.,” Brady said. “Glen Burnie was perfect. I will say that I like the affordability of the Glen Burnie area and the proximity of Baltimore since I am a huge sports fan.”

What role are jobs playing?

MacQuilliam said jobs could be contributing to the growth in Glen Burnie as well. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center and the industrial warehousing market are big employers.

“Glen Burnie has a really good industrial warehousing market, and we’ve seen a lot of businesses expand recently in the Glen Burnie corridor,” MacQuilliam said. “Amazon has a facility up there; Best Buy has a distribution facility up there. So several new warehousing projects also contributed to the growth.”

Nicole Alimurong, one of the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center’s newer employees, relocated from Pasadena to Glen Burnie this year to take a role as a strategic planning specialist.

She appreciates the city’s diversity and enjoys exploring its food options. Whether connecting with new neighbors or colleagues, Alimurong feels she has “built a community here.”

“I don’t see myself moving from it anytime soon. And I’m with my partner of a couple of years,” Alimurong said. “I have a dog, so it just feels like my role here is also growing for me. That’s really exciting.”

Pickard said a lot of the county’s workforce lives in Glen Burnie.

“You also see there are a lot of teachers, firefighters and police that live in the area, because it’s naturally more affordable than other parts of the county or densely populated [areas] in general,” Pickard said.

Brian Lynch, vice president of human resources at the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center, said the hospital employs about 3,100 team members, with about 57% living in the county and about 22% reporting to live in Glen Burnie, a 1.5% increase from five years ago.

Lynch said the hospital gains about 200 employees year over year. He believes this growth can be attributed to partnerships with local organizations and schools.

The hospital partners with Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corp. and Anne Arundel County Public Schools for a Future Success program, an initiative for high school students throughout the county. It also partners with Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp. and Anne Arundel Community College to present employment opportunities.

The hospital’s media relations manager, Holly Basta, said it not only attracts new residents but helps keep residents in the area with its partnerships.

“I think it’s important to note that, while the hospital is drawing people in, it’s also keeping people here in the area and giving them these pathways to continued education and continued employment opportunities,” Basta said.

No matter the reason people are coming to or staying in Glen Burnie, the city is thriving. Brady, one of the many newcomers, has no plans of leaving soon.

“I see myself staying in Glen Burnie for a couple years until we can afford a house,” he said.