285px|thumb|Historic structures in Shady Side, Maryland include the Captain Salem Avery House, which dates to 1860
Shady Side is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,803 at the 2010 census.
History
In the 1790s the area was known as the Great Swamp.
Among the historic structures in Shady Side is the Capt. Salem Avery House. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. The Lula G. Scott Community Center was listed in 2009.
Shady Side was once served by the sidewheel passenger steamer, Emma Giles, that operated from Baltimore, making up to five trips per week.
Geography
Shady Side is located at (38.834965, −76.517326) in southern Anne Arundel County, on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay. It is bordered to the north and west by the West River, a wide tidal inlet of the bay. To the south is the CDP of Deale, and to the west, across the West River, is Galesville. The community is served by Maryland Route 468 (Shady Side Road), which runs south, then west, then north, toward the Annapolis area. The center of Annapolis is north by road and north by water.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 15.57%, is water.
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2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Shady Side had a population of 5,806 and a population density of . The median age was 44.2 years. 20.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.9 males age 18 and over.
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 2,309 households in Shady Side, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 54.7% were married-couple households, 16.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.