Washington–Baltimore metropolitan area

Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area
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 the 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)
 • CSA9,973,383 (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 third-largest combined statistical area in the United States, behind only New York-Newark and Los Angeles-Long Beach.

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 Metropolitan Statistical Area. 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. 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. 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.

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.

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.

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board, a component of MWCOG, is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for the metropolitan Washington area.

Baltimore Metropolitan Council

The Baltimore Metropolitan Council is the equivalent organization for the Baltimore portion of the combined Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. 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.

The Baltimore Regional Transportation Board is the federally recognized Metropolitan Planning Organization for transportation planning in the Baltimore region.

List of principal cities

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

Baltimore area

Washington area

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:

Washington, D.C.

Northern Virginia

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 Nationals Park
Baltimore Orioles Baseball MLB 1954 Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Washington Wizards Basketball NBA 1973 Capital One Arena
Baltimore Ravens Football NFL 1996 M&T Bank Stadium
Washington Commanders Football NFL 1937 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 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
Capable of handling up to Group V aircraft
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport DCA KDCA Arlington Virginia Closest to Washington, DC
Capable of handling up to Group IV aircraft
Dulles International Airport IAD KIAD Dulles Virginia Most international traffic in region
Capable of handling Group VI aircraft

Rail transit systems

Major highways

Interstates

U.S. Routes

State Routes

See also


This page was last updated at 2022-09-07 17:18 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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