The Washington–Baltimore combined metropolitan statistical area is a statistical area, including the overlapping metropolitan areas of Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. 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-most populous combined statistical area in the United States behind New York City–Newark, NJ and Los Angeles–Long Beach.
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, Maryland Metropolitan Statistical Area. Five 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:"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. Hagerstown–Martinsburg, Maryland–West Virginia MSA, the Chambersburg–Waynesboro, Pennsylvania MSA, the Winchester, VA–WV MSA, the California–Lexington Park, Maryland MSA, and the Easton, Maryland micropolitan statistical area (μSA).
Some counties, such as Caroline and King George County, Virginia, are not officially designated by 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 2020 census was 9,973,383. The area's most-populous city is Washington, D.C., with a population of 689,545, and the area's most populous county is Fairfax County, Virginia, with a population of 1,150,309.
Components of the combined statistical area The counties and independent cities and their groupings that comprise the 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) Arlington–Alexandria–Reston, VA–WV Metropolitan Division Arlington County, Virginia Clarke County, Virginia Culpeper County, Virginia Fairfax County, Virginia Fauquier County, Virginia Loudoun County, Virginia Prince William County, 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 Frederick–Gaithersburg–Bethesda, MD Metropolitan Division (1,244,291) Frederick County, Maryland Montgomery County, Maryland Washington, DC–MD Metropolitan Division (4,616,051) Washington, District of Columbia Charles County, Maryland Prince George's County, Maryland Baltimore–Columbia–Towson, MD Metropolitan Area (2,753,149) 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 Morgan County, West Virginia Chambersburg, 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) Calvert County St. Mary's County Easton, MD Micropolitan Area (38,098) Talbot County, Maryland Lake of the Woods, VA Micropolitan Area Orange County, Virginia Cambridge, MD Micropolitan Area Dorchester 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, 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.About BMC – Baltimore Metropolitan Council
The Baltimore Regional Transportation Board is the federally recognized Metropolitan Planning Organization for transportation planning in the Baltimore region.
Principal cities
Major cities Baltimore, Maryland Washington, D.C.
Baltimore area Baltimore Aberdeen, Maryland Annapolis, Maryland Arbutus, Maryland Bel Air, Maryland Brooklyn, Maryland Brooklyn Park, Maryland Catonsville, Maryland Cockeysville, Maryland Columbia, Maryland Curtis Bay, Maryland Dundalk, Maryland Eldersburg, Maryland Elkridge, Maryland Ellicott City, Maryland Essex, Maryland Fullerton, Maryland Glen Burnie, Maryland Halethorpe, Maryland Linthicum, Maryland Lutherville-Timonium, Maryland Middle River, Maryland North Laurel, Maryland Owings Mills, Maryland Overlea, Maryland Parkville, Maryland Pasadena, Maryland Perry Hall, Maryland Pikesville, Maryland Randallstown, Maryland Reisterstown, Maryland Savage, Maryland Severna Park, Maryland Towson, Maryland Westminster, Maryland Woodlawn, Maryland
Washington, D.C. area Washington, D.C. Bethesda, Maryland Bowie, Maryland Chevy Chase, Maryland College Park, Maryland Frederick, Maryland Gaithersburg, Maryland Germantown, Maryland Greenbelt, 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
Outlying areas California, Maryland Cambridge, Maryland Centreville, Maryland Easton, Maryland Frederick, Maryland Hagerstown, Maryland Hancock, Maryland Lexington Park, Maryland Thurmont, Maryland Chambersburg, Pennsylvania McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania Waynesboro, Pennsylvania Culpeper, Virginia Warrenton, Virginia Winchester, Virginia Charles Town, West Virginia Martinsburg, West Virginia
Economy
Primary industries
Biotechnology 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), Orbital Sciences Corporation, and AAI Corporation.
Notable company headquarters in the region Numbers denote Fortune 500 ranking.
Maryland Baltimore area: AAI Corporation (Hunt Valley) Advertising.com (Baltimore) Allegis Group (Hanover) Black & Decker (Towson) Ciena Corporation (Hanover) Colfax Corporation (Annapolis Junction) Constellation Energy (Baltimore) Corporate Office Properties Trust (Columbia) The Cordish Companies (Baltimore) CoverGirl (Hunt Valley) Fila USA (Sparks) Firaxis Games (Sparks) First Friday's Group (Baltimore) Legg Mason (Baltimore) McCormick & Company (Hunt Valley) 482 MICROS Systems (Columbia) Millennial Media (Baltimore) Nielsen Audio (Columbia) Pandora Jewelry USA (Baltimore) T. Rowe Price (Baltimore) 447 Transamerica Corporation (Baltimore) Sinclair Broadcast Group (Hunt Valley) 465 Sourcefire (Columbia) Sylvan Learning (Baltimore) Under Armour (Baltimore) W.R. Grace & Co. (Columbia) The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company (Towson)
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)
Northern Virginia
AES Corporation (Arlington) 194 Amazon (Crystal City) Appian Corporation (Tysons Corner) Airbus North America (Herndon) BAE Systems Inc. (Arlington) Bechtel (Reston) Bloomberg Industry Group (Arlington) Boeing (Arlington) 58 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) Vivmark Residential (Arlington) Volkswagen Group of America (Herndon) VSE Corporation (Alexandria, Virginia) XO Communications (Herndon)
Washington, D.C. &pizza APCO Worldwide Atlantic Media Black Entertainment Television Blackboard Inc. Bluemercury Carlyle Group