Here on the campus of the United States Naval Academy, you're within a small, distinct place carved out of Anne Arundel County, Maryland. This small, distinctive CDP recorded a population of 4,802 at the 2010 census, a community that fills just 0.85 square miles (2.2 km2). Of that, 0.54 square miles (1.4 km2) is land and 0.31 square miles (0.8 km2) — fully 36.85% — is water, so you feel the presence of the harbor in every direction.
Ten years earlier, at the 2000 census, there were 4,264 people, 249 households, and 225 families here, a dense place then measured at 7,706.5 inhabitants per square mile (2,975.5/km2). The 2000 counts also recorded 263 housing units at an average density of 475.3 per square mile (183.5/km2). The recorded makeup in 2000 noted 87.10% White, 5.49% African American, 0.33% Native American, 2.95% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 1.83% from other races, and 2.18% from two or more races, with 6.94% Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Households then commonly included children — 65.1% had youngsters — and 87.1% were married couples. Picture the harbor pressing in on nearly two-fifths of this place, water shaping the edges of this small campus community.