Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area

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Map of the current OMB-designated Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area.

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, two 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, the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA and the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV MSA. In addition, six 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, the Easton, MD micropolitan statistical area (µSA), and the Cambridge, MD µSA.

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 the Census Bureau's 2012 Population Estimates is 9,331,587.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] The most populous city is Washington, DC, with a population of 646,449.[11] The most populous county is Fairfax County, Virginia, with a population exceeding 1.1 million.

Components of the metropolitan area[edit]

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[edit]

Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments[edit]

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.[12]

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board, a component of MWCOG, is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for the metropolitan Washington area.[13]

Baltimore Metropolitan Council[edit]

The Baltimore Metropolitan Council is the equivalent organization for the Baltimore portion of the combined Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area.[14] 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.[15]

The Baltimore Regional Transportation Board is the federally recognized Metropolitan Planning Organization for transportation planning in the Baltimore region.[15]

List of principal cities[edit]

See List of cities in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area for a full list.[16]

Baltimore
Washington
Arlington
Rockville

Baltimore area[edit]

Washington area[17][edit]

Economy[edit]

Primary industries[edit]

Biotechnology[edit]

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[edit]

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 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[edit]

Numbers denote Fortune 500 ranking.

Maryland[edit]

Baltimore area:

Washington area:

Washington, D.C.[edit]

Northern Virginia[edit]

Main article: List of companies headquartered in Northern Virginia

Transportation[edit]

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

Major airports[edit]

Rail transit systems[edit]

Major highways[edit]

Interstates

U.S. Routes

State Routes

See also[edit]

Portal icon Baltimore portal
Portal icon Washington, D.C. portal

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ CSA Median household income
  2. ^ Raleigh–Durham area ranks third in U.S. for college degrees
  3. ^ http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/bulletins/2013/b-13-01.pdf
  4. ^ http://www.census.gov/popest/data/metro/totals/2012/tables/CBSA-EST2012-02.xls
  5. ^ CO-EST2006-01-11.xls
  6. ^ CO-EST2006-01-24.xls
  7. ^ EST2006-01-51.xls
  8. ^ CO-EST2006-01-54.xls
  9. ^ List1.txt
  10. ^ List6.txt
  11. ^ "State Totals: Vintage 2012 - U.S Census Bureau". Census.gov. Retrieved 2013-06-04. 
  12. ^ MWCOS.org – About Us
  13. ^ MWCOS.org – Transportation – TPB
  14. ^ © 2011 Baltimore Metropolitan Council
  15. ^ a b About BMC – Baltimore Metropolitan Council
  16. ^ U.S. Census Bureau – Principal cities of metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas
  17. ^ Metropolitan And Micropolitan Statistical Areas And Principal Cities, November 2007, with codes
  18. ^ http://www.forbes.com/companies/whiting-turner-contracting/
  19. ^ 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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