Largo was named after the Largo Plantation that was owned by the Beall family. The plantation is believed to be named after Largo Bay in Scotland. It was sold to John Contee in 1745. Arelis R. Hernández of the Washington Post stated in 2015 that "There has been talk for decades of relocating the government to Largo". In 2015 Rushern Baker, the county executive, expressed a desire to move the county seat from Upper Marlboro to Largo since the latter has a more central location and access to the Washington Metro network. A spokesperson for Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., the President of the Maryland Senate, expressed opposition to this idea.
Transportation
The WMATA, Blue and Silver Lines eastern terminus is Largo Town Centre Station. Largo Town Center Station is served by several regional bus routes operated by both WMATA and Prince Georges County's The Bus.
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,408 people, 3,471 households, and 2,127 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,758.8 people per square mile. There were 3,709 housing units at an average density of 1,217.0/sq mi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 4.27% White, 92.69% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.43% of the population. There were 3,471 households, out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.3% were married couples living together, 22.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.7% were non-families. Of all households 31.9% were made up of individuals, and 3.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.09. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 35.9% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 4.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.7 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $58,130, and the median income for a family was $70,421. Males had a median income of $40,067 versus $37,417 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $26,312. About 3.2% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.6% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.
Government and infrastructure
Even though the county seat is in Upper Marlboro, multiple agencies of the Government of Prince George's County, including the majority of the county's executive branch, reside in Largo. In the 1990s the PG County government purchased some properties and leased others, and county administrative functions were moved to Largo. Circa 2010, five PG County agencies were headquartered in these properties in Largo. Beginning in 2011, four additional county agencies relocated to Largo, and the county government acquired at least eight parcels of land and/or buildings. County Executive Baker held his "Citizen Day" in Largo instead of Upper Marlboro. Prince George's County Police Department District 2 Station in Brock Hall CDP, with a Bowie postal address, serves the community. The U.S. Postal Service operates the Largo Post Office in Lake Arbor CDP, with a Largo postal address.
The community is also home to Prince George's Community College, serving a county population of 850,000 residents.
Public libraries
Largo is served by the Largo-Kettering Branch of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System and is the headquarters location for PGCMLS. The library headquarters, previously adjacent to the Hyattsville Branch, moved to Largo in 2015.
