Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area

The Baltimore–Washington 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]

Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area
CSA
Baltimore's Inner Harbor, the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and Downtown Rosslyn in Arlington
Coordinates: 38.97°N 77.32°W / 38.97; -77.32
Country United States
State or area- District of Columbia
- Maryland
- Virginia
- Pennsylvania
- 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
 (2017 est.)
 • CSA
9,764,315 (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.

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 (MSA), 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 also 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 2012 Population Estimates is 9,331,587.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15] The most populous city is Washington, DC, with a population of 681,170.[16] The most populous county is Fairfax County, Virginia, with a population exceeding 1.1 million.

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.[17]

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board, a component of MWCOG, is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for the metropolitan Washington area.[18]

Baltimore Metropolitan Council

The Baltimore Metropolitan Council is the equivalent organization for the Baltimore portion of the combined Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area.[19] 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.[20]

The Baltimore Regional Transportation Board is the federally recognized Metropolitan Planning Organization for transportation planning in the Baltimore region.[20]

List of principal cities

See List of cities in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area for a full list.[21]

Baltimore area

Washington area

[22]

Economy

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
Main article: List of companies headquartered in Northern Virginia

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

Rail transit systems

Major highways

Interstates

U.S. Routes

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 Archived 2020-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Office of Management and Budget. September 14, 2018.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-07-11. Retrieved 2015-07-21.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. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2017-12-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "CO-EST2006-01-11.xls". Census.gov. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  11. "CO-EST2006-01-24.xls". Census.gov. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  12. "EST2006-01-51.xls". Census.gov. Archived from the original on 26 October 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  13. "CO-EST2006-01-54.xls". Census.gov. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  14. Census.gov. 9 February 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060209032148/http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/metro_general/List1.txt. Archived from the original on 9 February 2006. Retrieved 16 November 2017. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. "List6.txt". Census.gov. Archived from the original on 20 April 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  16. "QuickFacts District of Columbia". U.S. Census Bureau. December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  17. "COG & Our Region - Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments". Mwcog.org. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  18. "Transportation Planning Board - Transportation - Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments". Mwcog.org. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  19. O'Leary, __Sara Ann. "Home - Baltimore Metropolitan Council". Baltometro.org. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  20. About BMC – Baltimore Metropolitan Council Archived 2007-05-01 at the Wayback Machine
  21. "U.S. Census Bureau – Principal cities of metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas". Census.gov. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  22. "Metropolitan And Micropolitan Statistical Areas And Principal Cities, November 2007, with codes". Census.gov. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  23. "Whiting-Turner Contracting on the Forbes America's Largest Private Companies List". Forbes.com. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  24. As according to Federal Aviation Administration CY 2011 Enplanement Data, BWI exceeded Dulles by less than 24,000 passengers. As of 2010, however, Dulles has an edge in international traffic.
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