Residents overwhelmingly believe that Montgomery County is heading in the right direction by a nearly 2-to-1 ratio. They love its diversity. They generally feel safe. They give generally high marks to its schools and relish its restaurants.
Those are the rosy takes from a new poll from The Banner conducted by OpinionWorks.
But the poll also shows that just under the surface, anxieties are rising for residents of the wealthiest county in Maryland, which has long struggled with high housing costs and has lately been rattled by federal budget cuts. Many respondents who want to stay in Montgomery County wonder if they’ll be priced out.
The poll takes the temperature of Montgomery County residents at a critical time and measures residents’ feelings about the place they live. Here are its most significant findings.
About half of the survey‘s respondents said they believed “things in Montgomery County are heading in the right direction,” and 49% said they approved of the job County Executive Marc Elrich, a Democrat, is doing. About the same proportion approved of the County Council. These approval rates are considered “positive but soft,” according to OpinionsWorks president Steve Raabe.
The complaints? Inflation and the cost of living: 57% cited both as a “very serious problem.” Another 53% said the same of housing costs.
North Bethesda resident Robert Coyner and his wife both lost their jobs with federal agencies this year because of cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency. Coyner, who was a contractor with USAID, found new work with the county government, but took a $15,000 pay cut.
Then his wife lost her job with the State Department.
“We’ve had to pull back on everything. We haven’t been able to afford to visit our family members that live in other states,” Coyner said. “We have to be much more careful, and much more frugal.”
Coyner‘s situation reflects that of 36% of residents who said they were worse off compared to four years ago. A third said they worry about money every day, and 80% said they worry about money frequently.
More respondents — 22% — named the cost of living as the issue they would most want to change about the county. Other top concerns included housing costs, traffic and taxes.
The cost of living in most parts of Montgomery County is 30% higher than in Baltimore and nearly 16% higher than in Charles County, according to BankRate.com, which uses data from from the Council for Community and Economic Research’s Cost of Living Index.
Montgomery County’s cost of living is comparable to that of Arlington County, which is 2% higher according to the index.
While Montgomery County residents have long grappled with these economic pressures, the poll may reflect heightened anxieties since President Donald Trump took office.
“Montgomery County has weathered many storms over the years ... but this Trump administration is like nothing we’ve ever experienced before,” said County Council President Kate Stewart, a Democrat. “It is a federal administration that is actively looking at undermining our community.”
The poll shows that 70% of respondents said they were either personally affected or knew someone affected by the mass layoffs of federal workers since Trump’s inauguration in January.
Maryland lost 12,000 jobs, 7% of all federal government jobs in the state, between February and July.
Prior to January, more than 54,000 county residents worked for the federal government, according to state data. This number does not include employees who live in other jurisdictions but work at county-based agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Silver Spring. Across the state, 1 in 10 workers is employed by the federal government.
Less than half of poll respondents — 38% — said their elected representatives are responding appropriately to federal cuts.
Stewart said the county has tried to blunt their force, with, among other initiatives, a new federal worker career center and by giving preference to displaced federal workers applying for county government jobs.
Approval ratings for county officials differ across racial groups and geography, according to the poll. White respondents were more critical than other racial groups: 30% said the county was on “the wrong track.” In contrast, 18% of Black respondents, 20% of Hispanic respondents and 23% of Asian respondents felt the county was headed in the wrong direction.
And people in the upcounty region and the Bethesda and Chevy Chase areas were also more likely to say the county was on the wrong track compared to residents elsewhere in the county.
More angst for Black and Hispanic residents
Black and Hispanic respondents to the poll expressed more worry about money than other racial groups, with more than 85% saying they worry about money at least sometimes.
Large minorities of Black and Hispanic respondents — 41% and 44%, respectively — said they worry about money every day, compared to 26% of white respondents.
Yomaira Zamora, 39, a Latina woman who lives in Burtonsville, said finances “are a very big stressor.”
She lives with her mother, and together they pay their $1,100 mortgage with Zamora’s disability checks and her deceased father’s retirement benefits. Recently, Zamora said, she worked out a payment plan to deal with a $600 three-month water bill.
“Bills are pretty expensive here,” said Zamora, who worked as a paralegal before becoming disabled. “It’s one of the big drawbacks about living in Montgomery County.”
James Alvear, 39, a Hispanic fitness trainer who lives in Montgomery Village, said he is worse off than four years ago and that inflation and a lack of well-paying jobs are “very serious” problems.
“The cost of living, the day-in, day-out, stuff — it’s just too expensive,” Alvear said.
He’s staying, though, because his family also lives in Montgomery County.
Most people like Montgomery County’s mass transit. They’re not as sure about the Purple Line.
Sixty-two percent of Montgomery County residents gave public transportation in Montgomery County positive reviews, according to the survey. About half said they use the county’s mass transit often or sometimes.
The region offers several transit options, including the Metrorail, Metrobus and the Ride On bus system, the latter of which became fare-free in June. Gloria McFadden, who has lived in Gaithersburg for 29 years, said she finds the county’s public transportation convenient and fairly clean.
“I get where I need to go,” said McFadden, who rides the bus to attend church in Derwood.
Sharmeca Bush was among 9% of poll respondents who considered the county’s transportation poor. The Germantown resident commutes two hours and transfers six times to get to and from work in Gaithersburg. She said the buses are frequently late, and sometimes do not show up at all.
Some early mornings during the winter she has stood — there is no bench — for an hour and a half waiting for a bus to arrive.
“I just want them to care more,” Bush said. “A lot of these people have to explain to their boss why they’re late — and some bosses don’t want to hear that.”
The Purple Line, a 16-mile light rail that will stretch from New Carrollton in Prince George’s County to Bethesda, is expected to be completed in 2027. Since its approval in 2016, the project has been delayed multiple times and incensed critics who cite its ballooning costs and disruption to local businesses.
Opinion remains divided over it. Almost half of poll respondents said the Purple Line is worth its estimated $9.5 billion price tag (which is primarily funded by the state, with some federal dollars). About 30% weren’t sure. And about 41% indicated they would use the light rail service often or sometimes.
Alex Tuvin, who lives in Potomac and graduated from the University of Maryland in 2010, said he was excited about the Purple Line and plans to use it to visit College Park for sporting events.
“I know it’s been controversial, but I do think at the end of the day, hopefully it’ll relieve some of the car traffic and it will give an alternative way to get from Bethesda to College Park and beyond,” Tuvin said.
MCPS gets high marks
Just over half of Montgomery County residents would grade the public school system an A or B, according to the survey. Among the parents of MCPS students, that figure rises to 70%.
Frank Hanrahan decided to raise his family in Montgomery County specifically because of its schools’ vaunted reputation.
With three kids moving through the system, Hanrahan said he’s impressed, and finds that school leaders embrace diversity, communicate clearly and offer a bevy of academic programs.
“They do a really nice job of making everybody feel connected,” the Takoma Park resident said.
Raabe said the positive feedback from parents is an encouraging sign for MCPS, the largest school district in the state, enrolling roughly 160,000 students. But he also warned that its reputation may be at risk.
Twice as many poll respondents — 34% — said they believe the public schools are declining, compared to roughly 17% who think they’re improving.
Those who expressed concerns about MCPS pointed to a number of issues. Some perceived too much political ideology in its schools, which gained national attention earlier this year when a case about MCPS incorporating LGBTQIA+ themed books into schools reached the Supreme Court. Others said they worried about a lack of rigor and a rigid bureaucracy. Some said they had heard about fighting and drug use among students.
“There is definitely a sense out there in the general public that the schools are slipping somewhat,” Raabe said.
Still, just 12% of respondents gave the schools a strongly negative grade of D or F.
MCPS students continue to score above state averages in reading and math, according to the latest Maryland standardized test results. Roughly 57% of students were considered proficient in English, while 35.7% of students hit that threshold in math.
The fun factor
Montgomery County residents deeply appreciate its varied dining scene and outdoor recreation options, according to the survey. More than 80% said the “quality and variety of restaurants” and “access to parks, trails, sports fields, and other outdoor recreation” was either “excellent” or “good.”
“We’re so happy with the different types of cuisine,” said Caitlin Carnes, a 33-year-old Wheaton resident. “Whether we go a short drive to Rockville or in downtown Wheaton, there’s so many different things to try.”
Her parents recently moved to the county from California’s Bay Area, and Carnes said it’s been fun to expose them to different food cultures, including Ethiopian and Salvadoran.
A smaller majority of respondents — 63%— said the arts and culture scene, which includes “concerts, theater and other live performances,” was “excellent” or “good.” About half said they were usually satisfied with offerings in the county when they were looking for a night out.
But many are also looking over the county line for entertainment. A third said they often go to Washington, D.C., or neighboring counties for arts and culture.
And in line with concerns about Montgomery County’s high cost of living, some poll respondents expressed concerns about their ability to afford the county’s entertainment offerings.
Coyner, the former federal worker, was one of them. He said that he and his wife used to frequently attend performances at the Strathmore in North Bethesda and dine at local restaurants. Since losing their federal jobs, they’ve had to cut back.
They’re not essential to his life, Coyner said. But he’s concerned, he said, that restaurants and entertainment venues that rely on federal workers are getting hit hard.
“We used to go to a local ice cream shop, and last summer, there would always be a line out the door,” Coyner said. “But this year, you could just go up and walk right in. Not as many people are buying ice cream.”
The County Council, Stewart said, understands the financial pressures burdening constituents, and has tried not to add to them.
This spring, she noted, the council decided against raising taxes on its residents.
Stewart predicted continuing challenges for the county as it assesses the impact of Trump administration policies. But she also strikes a hopeful note.
“One thing that does give me sleep at night is that we have a good foundation in Montgomery County.”
Methodology: The Banner poll, conducted by OpinionWorks, surveyed 910 Montgomery County residents. Responses were gathered via telephone and online survey during Aug. 16-23. The statistical margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
Talia Richman, Antonio Planas, Hau Chu and Nina Giraldo contributed to this report.
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