Worcester County, Maryland

Worcester County (pronounced locally as "Wis-ter," "Wuss-ster," or "Wuhr-shter") is the easternmost located in the  of. The county contains the entire length of the state's Atlantic coast line. It is home to the popular vacation resort area of. It was named for an. Its is. It is included in the.

History
Worcester County was created from in.

Law and government
Worcester County was granted home rule in under a state code.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,799 (695 ). 1,226 km² (473 sq mi) of it is land and 574 km² (221 sq mi) of it (31.88%) is water.

The terrain is mostly level and coastal. The lowest elevation is sea level along the and the highest elevation is 49 ft in the northwestern part of the county along State Route 12 just south of the Wicomico county line.

Adjacent Counties

 * (south)
 * (west)
 * (north)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 46,543 people, 19,694 households, and 13,273 families residing in the county. The was 38/km² (98/sq mi). There were 47,360 housing units at an average density of 39/km² (100/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 81.20%, 16.66% or , 0.18% , 0.61% , 0.02% , 0.37% from , and 0.97% from two or more races. 1.28% of the population were or  of any race. 15.7% were of, 13.3% , 12.6% , 11.1% and 6.0%  ancestry according to.

There were 19,694 households out of which 24.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.20% were living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.60% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.79.

In the county the population was spread out with 20.50% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 26.90% from 45 to 64, and 20.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 95.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,650, and the median income for a family was $47,293. Males had a median income of $31,735 versus $24,319 for females. The for the county was $22,505. About 7.20% of families and 9.60% of the population were below the, including 17.00% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns
This county contains the following incorporated municipalities:


 * 1 :
 * (incorporated )
 * 3 s:
 * (incorporated )
 * (incorporated )
 * (incorporated )

Unincorporated areas are also considered as towns by many people and listed in many collections of towns, but they lack local government. Various organizations, such as the, the , and local chambers of commerce, define the communities they wish to recognize differently, and since they are not incorporated, their boundaries have no official status outside the organizations in question. The Census Bureau recognizes the following s in the county:





Notable Persons

 * , Naval Officer
 * , Hollywood actress