| Official Name: | Potomac Heights, Maryland |
| Settlement Type: | Census-designated place |
| Mapsize: | 250x200px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Maryland |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Charles |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 3.42 |
| Area Land Km2: | 2.78 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.64 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 1.32 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 1.07 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.25 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 1036 |
| Population Density Km2: | 372.73 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 965.52 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation M: | 18 |
| Elevation Ft: | 59 |
| Coordinates: | 38.6014°N -77.1322°W |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 24-63375 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0591058 |
Potomac Heights is a census-designated place (CDP) in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,117 at the 2010 census.[2] It has a volunteer fire department and numerous older rambler homes built for workers at the nearby U.S. Navy munitions plant in Indian Head (now known as the Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center).
Potomac Heights is located at 38.6014°N -77.1322°W (38.601268, -77.132316).[3]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 1.3sqmi, of which 1.1sqmi is land and 0.2sqmi, or 15.04%, is water.
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 1,154 people, 543 households, and 312 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1016.8sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 569 housing units at an average density of 501.4sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the CDP was 93.07% White, 5.55% African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.61% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.95% of the population.
There were 543 households, out of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.5% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.5% were non-families. 39.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 21.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.7 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $35,556, and the median income for a family was $45,833. Males had a median income of $34,837 versus $29,722 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $19,656. About 5.2% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.0% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.
In 1947, the residents of Potomac Heights formed a co-operative and purchased the entire community from the previous owners (the US government). It was built in 1940–1943 to provide housing for defense workers. Today, to obtain the right to occupy one of the co-op residences, one must first apply for and be accepted for membership in the co-operative. To gain acceptance one must meet the criteria established by voting members of the co-op.
Potomac Heights is one of many housing co-operatives in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, three of which were converted from government sponsored housing. The largest co-operative, Greenbelt, located in adjoining Prince George's County, evolved from one of three planned communities (Greendale, Wisconsin, and Greenhills, Ohio) and developed as a federally supervised experiment in cooperative living under the New Deal during the Roosevelt administration. Hillwood Square Mutual in Falls Church, Virginia, was built to house workers at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria.