Prince William population knocking at 400,000

As of June, 392,900 people reside in Prince William, and by 2010, that number will surpass 400,000, according to statistics compiled by county demographers.

The numbers for this second quarter county demographic fact sheet were taken from U.S. Commerce Department and U.S. Census Bureau reports, as well as Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments forecasts.

The prediction for 2010 represents a substantial growth, especially when compared to numbers from 1990, when only 215,686 lived in the county, according to the fact sheet. In 2000, the county’s population grew to 280,813. And that means in this one decade that the population for Prince William rose by just over 30 percent.

Only Chesapeake saw a greater percentage growth rate for this time frame, at a bit more than 31 percent.

By actual population count, Prince William was third out of 10 on a list of the largest jurisdictions in Virginia in 2000. Topping the list was Fairfax County, which saw its residential count grow from 818,584 in 1990 to 969,749 in 2000 — an 18.5 percent jump.

Second was Virginia Beach, with an actual population that rose over the decade from 393,069 to 425,257, which translates to an estimated 8 percent hike. And following came Prince William and its 65,127 more residents in 2000 than in 1990.

“According to the 2000 Census,” county demographers wrote in this fact sheet, “Prince William County is the third most populous jurisdiction in Virginia. Nearly 4 percent of Virginia’s total population is located in … [the] county. More than 65,000 people were added to the county’s population during the 1990s, ranking it third in Virginia … for most population added during that time period.”
The county’s growth is largely attributed to the influx of minorities, demographers found.

“In recent decades, the population of [the county] has become racially and ethnically diverse,” demographers report. “Between 1990 and 2000, the population of African Americans more than doubled, from 25,078 to 52,691, and the population of persons of Hispanic origin nearly tripled, from 9,662 to 27,338.”

By 2010, Prince William’s population is expected to hit 415,763, according to the fact sheet. In 2015, that number will reach 463,343, and by 2025, the county’s residential count will surpass half-a-million, to 523,668. And growth won’t slow from there, either, according to projections.

In 2030, the fact sheet states, the county’s population will sit at 555,012.

Staff writer Cheryl Chumley can be reached at 703-670-1907.