Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area
The official OMB-designated Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV Combined Statistical Area, based on the 2000 Census.
A general map of the counties that are a part of the area, based on the 1990 Census.
Urban development of the region between 1792 and 1992
The Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area is a combined statistical area consisting of the overlapping labor market region of the cities of Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.. The region includes Central Maryland, Northern Virginia, and two counties in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. 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-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV CSA. It is composed primarily of two major metropolitan areas, the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA and the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA. In addition, three other smaller urban areas not contiguous to the main urban area but having strong commuting ties with the main area are also included in the metropolitan area. These are the Winchester, VA-WV MSA, the Lexington Park, MD Micropolitan area and the Culpeper, VA Micropolitan area. Some counties and cities 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 Baltimore-Washington Metroplex as of 2007 is 8,241,912.[3][4][5][6][7][8] The most populous city is Baltimore, with a population of 637,455. The most populous county is Fairfax County, Virginia, with a population exceeding 1 million.
Components of the metropolitan area
The counties and independent cities and their groupings that comprise the metropolitan area are listed below with 2004 Census Bureau estimates of their populations.
- Washington Metropolitan Area (5,286,227)
- Bethesda-Frederick-Gaithersburg, MD Metropolitan Division (1,287,005)
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division (4,131,158)
- Washington, D.C.
- Calvert County, Maryland
- Charles County, Maryland
- Prince George's County, Maryland
- Arlington County, Virginia
- Clarke County, Virginia
- Fairfax County, Virginia
- Fauquier County, Virginia
- Loudoun County, Virginia
- Prince William 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-Towson, MD MSA (2,658,405)
- Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV MSA (261,198)
- Washington County, Maryland
- Berkeley County, West Virginia
- Morgan County, West Virginia
- Winchester, VA-WV MSA (118,932)
- Lexington Park, MD Micropolitan Area (98,854)
- Culpeper, VA Micropolitan Area (44,622)
Regional organizations
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
Founded in 1957, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) is a regional organization of 21 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.[9]
The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board, a component of MWCOG, is the federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for the metropolitan Washington area.[10]
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.[11]
The Baltimore Regional Transportation Board is the federally recognized Metropolitan Planning Organization for transportation planning in the Baltimore region.[11]
List of principal cities
See List of cities in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area for a full list.[12]
Baltimore
Washington
Arlington
Baltimore area
Washington area[13]
- Washington, D.C.
- Bethesda, Maryland
- College Park, Maryland
- Frederick, Maryland
- Gaithersburg, Maryland
- Potomac, Maryland
- Rockville, Maryland
- Silver Spring, Maryland
- Upper Marlboro, Maryland
- Alexandria, Virginia
- McLean, Virginia
- Reston, Virginia
Economy
Primary industries
Biotechnology
Not limited to its proximity to the National Institutes of Health, 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 the region to be close to the Pentagon in Arlington. Local defense contractors include Lockheed Martin, the largest, as well as General Dynamics, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), 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
- AES Corporation (Arlington) 158
- Airbus North America (Herndon)
- BearingPoint (McLean)
- Booz Allen Hamilton (McLean)
- CACI (Arlington)
- Capital One (McLean) 145
- Computer Sciences Corporation (Falls Church) 153
- DynCorp International (Falls Church)
- Freddie Mac (McLean) 220
- FNH USA (Fredericksburg)
- Gannett Company (McLean) 371
- General Dynamics (Falls Church) 83
- Hilton Hotels Corporation (McLean)
- Kellogg Brown and Root Services (Arlington)
- Mars, Incorporated (McLean)
- Navy Federal Credit Union (Vienna)
- NII Holdings(Reston)
- NVR Incorporated (Reston) 464
- Orbital Sciences (Dulles)
- Rolls-Royce North America (Reston)
- Science Applications International Corporation (McLean) 266
- Space Adventures (Vienna)
- SLM Corporation (Reston) "Sallie Mae" 331
- USA Today (McLean)
- Verizon Business (Ashburn)
- Volkswagen Group of America (Herndon)
- XO Communications (Herndon)
Transportation
Baltimore-Washington International
National Airport
Dulles International
Metro
Major airports
Rail transit systems
Major highways
Interstates
- Interstate 66
- Interstate 70
- Interstate 81
- Interstate 83
- Interstate 95
- Interstate 97
- Interstate 195
- Interstate 270
- Interstate 295
- Interstate 370
- Interstate 395 (District of Columbia-Virginia)
- Interstate 395 (Maryland)
- Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway)
- Interstate 695 (Baltimore Beltway)
- Interstate 795
- Interstate 895
State Routes
- U.S. Route 1
- U.S. Route 11
- U.S. Route 15
- U.S. Route 29
- U.S. Route 40
- U.S. Route 50
- U.S. Route 340
State Routes
- Maryland Route 2
- Maryland Route 4
- Maryland Route 26
- Maryland Route 32
- Maryland Route 100
- Baltimore–Washington Parkway/Maryland Route 295
- Maryland Route 355
- Virginia State Route 7
- Virginia State Route 9
- Virginia State Route 28
- Virginia State Route 267
- West Virginia Route 9
Notes
See also
State of Maryland |
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Annapolis (capital) |
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Commonwealth of Virginia |
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Richmond (capital) |
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Independent
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State of West Virginia |
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Charleston (capital) |
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Allegheny Mountains · Allegheny Plateau · Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area · Blue Ridge · Charleston Metropolitan Area · Cumberland Plateau · Cumberland Mountains · Eastern Panhandle · Huntington Metropolitan Area · North-Central West Virginia · Northern Panhandle · Potomac Highlands · Ridge-and-valley Appalachians · Shenandoah Valley · Southern West Virginia · Western West Virginia
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Major cities |
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Smaller cities |
Beckley · Bluefield · Clarksburg · Elkins · Fairmont · Martinsburg · Weirton
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Counties |
Barbour · Berkeley · Boone · Braxton · Brooke · Cabell · Calhoun · Clay · Doddridge · Fayette · Gilmer · Grant · Greenbrier · Hampshire · Hancock · Hardy · Harrison · Jackson · Jefferson · Kanawha · Lewis · Lincoln · Logan · Marion · Marshall · Mason · McDowell · Mercer · Mineral · Mingo · Monongalia · Monroe · Morgan · Nicholas · Ohio · Pendleton · Pleasants · Pocahontas · Preston · Putnam · Raleigh · Randolph · Ritchie · Roane · Summers · Taylor · Tucker · Tyler · Upshur · Wayne · Webster · Wetzel · Wirt · Wood · Wyoming
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50 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the United States by population |
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- Denver
- Pittsburgh
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- Cincinnati
- Sacramento
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- Orlando
- San Antonio
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- Las Vegas
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- Memphis
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- Oklahoma City
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- Birmingham
- Salt Lake City
- Raleigh
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