The city has a relatively young population and due to this the city government has built a community activity sport building, new park, and new half-sized Olympic swimming pool. A new high school, along with elementary school have also been built. Another new high school is slated to open in 2010 along Walker Ave and Randolph Ave. The city also provides a free WiFi internet system to computer users along Slauson and Atlantic Blvds. to benefit the young people and businesses. The new pool, the Maywood River Park, and the new Maywood High School were built to accommodate the young families of the city.
The city has been at the forefront of illegal immigration debates. The city, 97% of which is Latino, became a sanctuary city causing a backlash from groups like the Minutemen Project.
As of the census of 2000, there were 28,083 people, 6,469 households, and 5,699 families residing in the city. The population density was 9,188.9/km² (23,887.2/mi²). It is the most densely populated municipality in California, as well as the most densely populated in the U.S. outside the New York City metropolitan area. There were 6,701 housing units at an average density of 2,192.6/km² (5,699.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 42.99% White, 0.36% African American, 1.14% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 50.48% from other races, and 4.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 96.33% of the population.
There were 6,469 households out of which 62.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.8% were married couples living together, 16.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 11.9% were non-families. 8.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.33 and the average family size was 4.47.
In the city the population was spread out with 37.0% under the age of 18, 13.2% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 13.0% from 45 to 64, and 4.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 104.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $43,000, and the median income for a family was $40,522. Males had a median income of $43,646 versus $40,397 for females.