Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area

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The official OMB-designated Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV Combined Statistical Area, based on the 2000 Census.
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.
A general map of the counties that are a part of the area, based on the 1990 Census.

The Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area is a consolidated metropolitan 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, and two counties in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.

Officially, the area is designated by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV Combined Statistical Area (CSA). The CSA is composed primarily of two major metropolitan areas, the Baltimore-Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area (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[citation needed]1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The most populated city is Baltimore, with a population of 637,455. The most populated county is Fairfax County, with 1,010,241.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] 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-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA (5,286,227)
Main article: Washington Metropolitan Area
  • Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA (2,658,405)
Main article: Baltimore Metropolitan Area
  • Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV MSA (261,198)

Main Article: Hagerstown Metropolitan Area

[edit] List of cities

See List of cities in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area for a full list.

[edit] Washington area

[edit] Baltimore area

[edit] Economy

[edit] Local industries

[edit] Biotechnology industry

Not limited to its proximity to the National Institutes of Health, Maryland's Washington areas are a major center for biotechnology. Prominent local biotech companies include MedImmune, United Therapeutics, The Institute for Genomic Research, Human Genome Sciences and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

[edit] Defense contracting

Many defense contractors are located in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia to be close to the Pentagon in Arlington. Local defense contractors include, with the largest being Lockheed Martin in Bethesda, Maryland, as well as General Dynamics, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), and Orbital Sciences Corporation.

[edit] Notable company headquarters in the region

(Numbers denote Fortune 500 company ranking.)

[edit] Washington, District of Columbia

[edit] Maryland

[edit] Virginia

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Major airports

[edit] Rail transit systems

[edit] Major highways

[edit] See also

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