Shifting Migration Patterns Alter Portrait of Pr. George's

Prince George's officials who have read the report seem unfazed.

"We in the county leadership say the out-migration of . . . people is inconsequential compared to what is going to happen and where this county is going," said David J. Byrd, an administrator responsible for economic development.

Rising along the Potomac River is National Harbor, a $2 billion retail and tourism development and one of the most ambitious projects on the East Coast.

Billions more are being spent elsewhere in the county, where the cost of a new home can start in the $700,000s. Hyattsville is being transformed into an arts district, and major retail projects are planned in Landover, Laurel and Glenarden.

The county's chief prosecutor, Glenn F. Ivey (D), is among those who think economic development is solid in Prince George's, particularly in terms of the availability of buildable land. Right now, he said, the county "is the best game in the region."

The county government commissioned a study last year that estimated average household income will increase by about 12 percent from 2005 to 2010.

"We don't see a trend -- not from the amount of new construction -- that you're seeing an exodus of any group of people coming into or out of the county," said Jim Keary, spokesman for County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D).

A Middle-Class Destination

As people are leaving Prince George's and others are moving in, the county is becoming firmly established as a path to the middle class.

The Brookings report found that those moving to the county -- many from Montgomery County and the District -- are more likely to be foreign-born than those leaving. Census data show that the proportion of the county's population that is foreign born grew from 13.8 percent in 2000 to 18.7 percent in 2005, and many of these new residents are Hispanics and African nationals.

The concentration of Latinos, particularly Salvadorans and Guatemalans, is changing the faces of some of the county's northern communities, as it has changed others in the region. In Edmonston, a town of 1,300 about two miles past the District line, the Hispanic population is poised to overtake the black population, census data show.

Historic North Brentwood has been a mostly black hamlet since it was settled by African American Civil War troops, but it has become 25 percent Hispanic.

Meanwhile, African nationals, many from Nigeria and Ghana, are moving to communities across the county. Larry Akinlosotu opened a real estate company in Lanham four years ago to serve the influx of people from Africa. Today, he has about 60 agents.