Washington–Baltimore metropolitan area

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Washington–Baltimore Metropolitan Area
CSA
Monuments at the National Mall.jpg
Baltimore Harbor from rest.jpg
Rosslyn aerial view, September 2018.JPG
The National Mall in Washington, D.C., Baltimore's Inner Harbor, and Rosslyn in Arlington
Coordinates: 38°58′N 77°19′W / 38.97°N 77.32°W / 38.97; -77.32Coordinates: 38°58′N 77°19′W / 38.97°N 77.32°W / 38.97; -77.32
CountryFlag of United States.svg United States
State or area- Flag of Washington, D.C..svg District of Columbia
- Flag of Maryland.svg Maryland
- Flag of Virginia.svg Virginia
- Flag of Pennsylvania.svg Pennsylvania
- Flag of West Virginia.svg West Virginia
Constituent Metropolitan & Micropolitan AreasCore Areas:

- Washington Metropolitan Area
- Baltimore Metropolitan Area

Outlying Areas:
- Hagerstown–Martinsburg Metropolitan Area
- Chambersburg–Waynesboro, PA Metropolitan Area
- Winchester, VA–WV Metropolitan Area
- California–Lexington Park, MD Metropolitan Area
- Easton, MD Micropolitan Area

- Cambridge, MD Micropolitan Area
Principal citiesWashington, D.C.
Arlington, VA
Alexandria, VA
Baltimore, MD,
Annapolis, MD
Bethesda, MD
Chambersburg, PA
Columbia, MD
Easton, MD
Fairfax, VA
Falls Church, VA
Frederick, MD
Fredericksburg, VA
Gaithersburg, MD
Hagerstown, MD
Lexington Park, MD
Manassas, VA
Manassas Park, VA
Martinsburg, WV
Rockville, MD
Reston, VA
Silver Spring, MD
Towson, MD
Tysons, VA
Waynesboro, PA
Winchester, VA
Population
 (2020)
 • CSA
9,973,383 (4th)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Map of the current OMB-designated Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area.

The Washington–Baltimore metropolitan area is a combined statistical area consisting of the overlapping labor-market region of the cities of Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland. The region includes Central Maryland, Northern Virginia, three counties in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, and one county in South Central Pennsylvania. It is the most educated, highest-income, and fourth-largest combined statistical area in the United States.[1][2]

Officially, the area is designated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the Washington–Baltimore–Arlington, DC–MD–VA–WV–PA Combined Statistical Area. It is composed primarily of two major metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs): the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV MSA and the Baltimore–Columbia–Towson, MD MSA. In addition, five other smaller urban areas not contiguous to the main urban area but having strong commuting ties with the main area are included in the metropolitan area.[3] These are: the Hagerstown–Martinsburg, MD–WV MSA, the Chambersburg–Waynesboro, PA MSA, the Winchester, VA–WV MSA, the California–Lexington Park, MD MSA, and the Easton, MD micropolitan statistical area (µSA).

Some counties, such as Caroline and King George County, Virginia, are not officially designated by the OMB as members of this metropolitan area, but still consider themselves members anyway.[4][5][6][7][8] This is mostly due to their proximity to the area, the size of their commuter population, and by the influence of local broadcasting stations. The population of the entire Washington–Baltimore Combined Statistical Area as of the Census Bureau's 2020 data is 9,973,383. The most populous city is Washington, D.C., with a population of 689,545. The most populous county is Fairfax County, Virginia, with a population of 1,150,309.[9]

Components of the metropolitan area[]

The counties and independent cities and their groupings that comprise the metropolitan area are listed below with their 2012 population estimates. Central counties/cities (designated as such by OMB) for each MSA are shown in italics.

  • Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV Metropolitan Area (5,860,342)
    Main article: Washington metropolitan area
    • Silver Spring–Frederick–Rockville, MD Metropolitan Division (1,244,291)
      • Frederick County, Maryland
      • Montgomery County, Maryland
    • Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV Metropolitan Division (4,616,051)
      • Washington, District of Columbia
      • Calvert County, Maryland
      • Charles County, Maryland
      • Prince George's County, Maryland
      • Arlington County, Virginia
      • Clarke County, Virginia
      • Culpeper County, Virginia
      • Fairfax County, Virginia
      • Fauquier County, Virginia
      • Loudoun County, Virginia
      • Prince William County, Virginia
      • Woodbridge, Virginia
      • Rappahannock County, Virginia
      • Spotsylvania County, Virginia
      • Stafford County, Virginia
      • Warren County, Virginia
      • Alexandria, Virginia
      • Fairfax, Virginia
      • Falls Church, Virginia
      • Fredericksburg, Virginia
      • Manassas, Virginia
      • Manassas Park, Virginia
      • Jefferson County, West Virginia
  • Baltimore–Columbia–Towson, MD Metropolitan Area (2,753,149)
    Main article: Baltimore metropolitan area
    • Baltimore City
    • Anne Arundel County
    • Baltimore County
    • Carroll County
    • Harford County
    • Howard County
    • Queen Anne's County
  • Hagerstown–Martinsburg, MD–WV Metropolitan Area (256,278)
    • Washington County, Maryland
    • Berkeley County, West Virginia
  • Chambersburg–Waynesboro, PA Metropolitan Area (151,275)
    • Franklin County, Pennsylvania
  • Winchester, VA–WV Metropolitan Area (130,907)
    • Frederick County, Virginia
    • Winchester city, Virginia
    • Hampshire County, West Virginia
  • California–Lexington Park, MD Metropolitan Area (108,987)
  • Easton, MD Micropolitan Area (38,098)
    • Talbot County, Maryland

Regional organizations[]

Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments[]

Founded in 1957, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) is a regional organization of 23 Washington-area local governments, as well as area members of the Maryland and Virginia state legislatures, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives. MWCOG provides a forum for discussion and the development of regional responses to issues regarding the environment, transportation, public safety, homeland security, affordable housing, community planning, and economic development.[10]

The , a component of MWCOG, is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for the metropolitan Washington area.[11]

Baltimore Metropolitan Council[]

The Baltimore Metropolitan Council is the equivalent organization for the Baltimore portion of the combined Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area.[12] The BMC, which was created in 1992 as the successor to the Regional Planning Council and Baltimore Regional Council of Governments, consists of the Baltimore region's elected executives, representing Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties.[13]

The is the federally recognized Metropolitan Planning Organization for transportation planning in the Baltimore region.[13]

List of principal cities[]

See List of cities in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area for a full list.[14]

Baltimore area[]

Washington area[]

[15]

  • Washington, District of Columbia
  • Bethesda, Maryland
  • Bowie, Maryland
  • Chevy Chase, Maryland
  • College Park, Maryland
  • Frederick, Maryland
  • Gaithersburg, Maryland
  • Germantown, Maryland
  • Laurel, Maryland
  • Potomac, Maryland
  • Rockville, Maryland
  • Silver Spring, Maryland
  • Upper Marlboro, Maryland
  • Alexandria, Virginia
  • Annandale, Virginia
  • Arlington, Virginia
  • Ashburn, Virginia
  • Chantilly, Virginia
  • Fairfax, Virginia
  • Falls Church, Virginia
  • Fredericksburg, Virginia
  • Great Falls, Virginia
  • Herndon, Virginia
  • Langley, Virginia
  • Leesburg, Virginia
  • Manassas, Virginia
  • Manassas Park, Virginia
  • Massaponax, Virginia
  • McLean, Virginia
  • Mt. Vernon, Virginia
  • Reston, Virginia
  • Springfield, Virginia
  • Tysons, Virginia
  • Vienna, Virginia
  • Charles Town, West Virginia
  • Martinsburg, West Virginia

Economy[]

Primary industries[]

Biotechnology[]

Not limited to its proximity to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland's Washington suburbs are a major center for biotechnology. Prominent local biotechnology companies include MedImmune, United Therapeutics, The Institute for Genomic Research, Human Genome Sciences and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Defense contracting[]

Many defense contractors are based in Northern Virginia and Montgomery County, Maryland to be close to the Pentagon in Arlington. Local defense contractors include Lockheed Martin, the largest, as well as Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, BAE Systems Inc., Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Booz Allen Hamilton, Leidos, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), and Orbital Sciences Corporation.

Notable company headquarters in the region[]

Numbers denote Fortune 500 ranking.

Maryland[]

Baltimore area:

Washington area:

  • 2U (company) (Lanham, Maryland)
  • ASRC Aerospace Corporation (Greenbelt, Maryland)
  • Bethesda Softworks (Rockville)
  • Clark Construction (Bethesda)
  • Choice Hotels (Rockville)
  • Coventry Health Care (Bethesda)
  • EagleBank (Bethesda)
  • Enviva (Bethesda)
  • Federal Realty Investment Trust (Rockville)
  • GEICO (Chevy Chase)
  • Host Hotels & Resorts (Bethesda) 472
  • Hughes Network Systems (Germantown)
  • Inovalon (Bowie, Maryland)
  • JBG Smith (Chevy Chase)
  • Lockheed Martin (Bethesda) 49
  • Marriott International (Bethesda) 293
  • MedImmune (Gaithersburg)
  • New Enterprise Associates (Chevy Chase)
  • Novavax (Gaithersburg)
  • Radio One (Lanham)
  • Ritz-Carlton (Chevy Chase)
  • Travel Channel (Chevy Chase)
  • TV One (Silver Spring)
  • United Therapeutics (Silver Spring)

Washington, D.C.[]

Northern Virginia[]

Main article: List of companies headquartered in Northern Virginia
  • AES Corporation (Arlington) 194
  • Amazon (Crystal City)
  • Appian Corporation (Tysons Corner)
  • AvalonBay Communities (Arlington)
  • Airbus North America (Herndon)
  • BAE Systems Inc. (Arlington)
  • Bechtel (Reston)
  • Bloomberg Industry Group (Arlington)
  • Boeing Defense, Space & Security (Arlington)
  • Booz Allen Hamilton (McLean) 481
  • CACI (Arlington)
  • Capital One (McLean) 100
  • Carfax (Centreville, Virginia)
  • Computer Sciences Corporation (Falls Church) 379
  • Communications Satellite Corporation (Herndon)
  • Comscore (Reston)
  • Cvent (Tysons Corner)
  • DynCorp International (Falls Church)
  • Freddie Mac (McLean) 39
  • FNH USA (Fredericksburg)
  • FLIR Systems Government and Defense (Arlington)
  • Graham Holdings (Arlington)
  • Gannett Company (McLean)
  • General Dynamics (Falls Church) 90
  • GTT Communications (Tysons Corner)
  • Hilton Hotels Corporation (McLean) 241
  • ICF International (Fairfax)
  • Iridium Communications (McLean)
  • Stride, Inc. (Herndon)
  • Kellogg Brown and Root Services (Arlington)
  • Leidos (Reston) 381
  • Ligado Networks (Reston)
  • Mars, Incorporated (McLean)
  • M.C. Dean, Inc. (Dulles)
  • MicroStrategy (Tysons Corner)
  • Naviance (Arlington)
  • Navy Federal Credit Union (Vienna)
  • NII Holdings (Reston)
  • Northrop Grumman (Falls Church) 114
  • NVR Incorporated (Reston) 446
  • Orbital Sciences (Dulles)
  • Park Hotels & Resorts (Tysons Corner)
  • Parsons Corporation (Centreville)
  • Rolls-Royce North America (Reston)
  • Rosetta Stone (Arlington)
  • Science Applications International Corporation (McLean)
  • SLM Corporation (Reston) "Sallie Mae"
  • Strategic Education, Inc. (Herndon)
  • Space Adventures (Vienna)
  • Tegna Inc. (Tysons Corner)
  • The Motley Fool (Alexandria, Virginia)
  • The Teaching Company (Chantilly)
  • Verisign (Reston)
  • Verizon Business (Ashburn)
  • Volkswagen Group of America (Herndon)
  • VSE Corporation (Alexandria, Virginia)
  • XO Communications (Herndon)

Sports[]

Table of professional teams and venues[]

Club Sport League Founded Venue
Washington Capitals Hockey NHL 1974 Capital One Arena
Washington Nationals Baseball MLB 2005[a] Nationals Park
Baltimore Orioles Baseball MLB 1954[a] Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Washington Wizards Basketball NBA 1973[a] Capital One Arena
Baltimore Ravens Football NFL 1996 M&T Bank Stadium
Washington Commanders Football NFL 1937[a] FedExField
D.C. United Soccer MLS 1996 Audi Field
Washington Mystics Basketball WNBA 1998 St. Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena
Washington Spirit Soccer NWSL 2011[b] Maryland SoccerPlex (primary)
Audi Field (secondary)
Segra Field (secondary)
Old Glory DC Rugby Union Major League Rugby 2018 Segra Field
  1. ^ a b c d Year team moved to current location
  2. ^ Founded as D.C. United Women; rebranded as Washington Spirit in 2012 and started NWSL play in 2013.

Transportation[]

Baltimore–Washington International
Reagan National Airport
Dulles International
Washington Metro
The Capital Beltway (I-495) in Northern Virginia
The Baltimore Metro subway

Major airports[]

Airport IATA code ICAO code County State Note
Baltimore/Washington International Airport BWI KBWI Anne Arundel County Maryland Closest to Baltimore and busiest in region[17]
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport DCA KDCA Arlington Virginia Closest to Washington, DC
Dulles International Airport IAD KIAD Dulles Virginia Most international traffic in region

Rail transit systems[]

  • Amtrak
  • Washington Metro
  • Virginia Railway Express
  • MARC Train
  • Baltimore Light Rail
  • Metro Subway
  • DC Streetcar
  • Purple Line (future light rail)

Major highways[]

Interstates

  • I-66.svg Interstate 66
  • I-70.svg Interstate 70
  • I-81.svg Interstate 81
  • I-83.svg Interstate 83
  • I-95.svg Interstate 95
  • I-97.svg Interstate 97
  • I-195.svg Interstate 195
  • I-270.svg Interstate 270
  • I-295.svg Interstate 295
  • I-370.svg Interstate 370
  • I-395.svg Interstate 395 (District of Columbia-Virginia)
  • I-395.svg Interstate 395 (Maryland)
  • I-495.svg Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway)
  • I-595.svg Interstate 595 (Unsigned)
  • I-695.svg Interstate 695 (District of Columbia)
  • I-695.svg Interstate 695 (Baltimore Beltway)
  • I-795.svg Interstate 795
  • I-895.svg Interstate 895

U.S. Routes

  • US 1.svg U.S. Route 1
  • US 11.svg U.S. Route 11
  • US 15.svg U.S. Route 15
  • US 29.svg U.S. Route 29
  • US 40.svg U.S. Route 40
  • US 50.svg U.S. Route 50
  • US 301.svg U.S. Route 301
  • US 340.svg U.S. Route 340

State Routes

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "CSA Median household income". Greaterbaltimore.org. Archived from the original on 7 December 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Raleigh-Durham area ranks third in U.S. for college degrees". Triangle.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  3. ^ OMB BULLETIN NO. 18-04: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas . Office of Management and Budget. September 14, 2018.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-07-11. Retrieved 2015-07-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "- Washington DC South". washingtondcsouth.com. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  6. ^ "King George County Department of Economic Development". King George County Department of Economic Development. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  7. ^ Gardner, D'Vera Cohn and Amy (16 March 2006). "3 Virginia Exurbs Near Top of U.S. in Growth". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  8. ^ "FAMPO Technical Committee - FAMPO". Fampo.gwregion.org. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  9. ^ "2020 Population and Housing State Data". U.S. Census Bureau. August 12, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  10. ^ "COG & Our Region - Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments". Mwcog.org. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Transportation Planning Board - Transportation - Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments". Mwcog.org. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  12. ^ O'Leary, __Sara Ann. "Home - Baltimore Metropolitan Council". Baltometro.org. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  13. ^ a b About BMC – Baltimore Metropolitan Council Archived 2007-05-01 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau – Principal cities of metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas". Census.gov. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  15. ^ "Metropolitan And Micropolitan Statistical Areas And Principal Cities, November 2007, with codes". Census.gov. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  16. ^ "Whiting-Turner Contracting on the Forbes America's Largest Private Companies List". Forbes.com. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  17. ^ As according to Federal Aviation Administration CY 2011 Enplanement Data[permanent dead link], BWI exceeded Dulles by less than 24,000 passengers. As of 2010, however, Dulles has an edge in international traffic.
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