Charles County, Maryland

A county in Maryland, ranked 10 of 24 by population.

CountyFIPS 24017

Within Maryland

Charles County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks La Plata, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population: 176,593; +9,859 (+5.9%) since 2020
Land area: 457.8; square miles. A further 28.8% of the total area is water
Population density: 386; people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat: La Plata; Seat of county government.
Established: 1658; 367 years ago
Largest city: La Plata town; Population 12,137.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Charles County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Charles County, Maryland from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined — Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 759 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Charles County ranks

Position among the 24 counties of Maryland, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

Measure	Value	In Maryland	Nationally
Population	176,593	10th of 24	397th of 3,144
Land area	457.8 sq mi	8th of 24	2,238th of 3,144
Population density	386 per sq mi	11th of 24	354th of 3,144
Median household income	$122,816	5th of 24	48th of 3,143

Full data for Charles County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
Measure	Value	Source and vintage
Population	176,593	Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 2020	166,734	Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?	166,609	Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area	457.8 sq mi	2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area	185.1 sq mi	2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area	642.9 sq mi	2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?	386 per sq mi	Computed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income	$122,816	American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value	$428,500	American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age	38.9	American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households	60,875	American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units	63,813	American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths: +248; 1,628 births, 1,380 deaths
Net migration: +1,860; More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 8 areas bordering Charles County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering area	State	Shared border	Population
Prince George's County	Maryland	36 mi	970,374
St. Mary's County	Maryland	34 mi	116,692
King George County	Virginia	26 mi	29,646
Fairfax County	Virginia	12 mi	1,167,873
Stafford County	Virginia	12 mi	170,803
Westmoreland County	Virginia	12 mi	19,715
Prince William County	Virginia	8.5 mi	502,966
Calvert County	Maryland	2.9 mi	94,484

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 24 counties of Maryland

Open the interactive Maryland county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.