The Baltimore–Columbia–Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as Central Maryland, is a
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in
Maryland as defined by the United States
Office of Management and Budget (OMB). As of the
2010 Census, the combined population of the seven counties is 2,710,489. The MSA has the fourth-highest median
household income in the United States, at $66,970 in 2012.
Composition
The area includes the following counties:
*
Anne Arundel County
*
Baltimore City
*
Baltimore County
*
Carroll County
*
Harford County
Harford County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is al ...
*
Howard County
*
Queen Anne's County
Queen Anne's County is located on the Eastern Shore of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,874. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensville i ...
Principal communities
The metropolitan area includes the following principal communities:
*
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...
*
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
*
Towson
It also includes several other communities (not necessarily incorporated as cities or towns):
*
Aberdeen
*
Annapolis
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
*
Bel Air
*
Catonsville
Catonsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 41,567 at the 2010 census. The community lies to the west of Baltimore along the city's border. Catonsville contains the majority of th ...
*
Dundalk
*
Eldersburg
*
Ellicott City
*
Edgewood
*
Glen Burnie
Glen Burnie is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. The population of Glen Burnie was 67,639 at ...
*
Hanover
*
Havre de Grace
*
Jessup
*
Joppatowne
*
Owings Mills
Owings Mills is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. Per the 2020 census, the population was 35,674. Owings Mills is home to the northern terminus of ...
*
Westminster
In addition to its technical metropolitan area, Baltimore also receives a large number of commuters from cities such as
York, Pennsylvania and the
Washington Metropolitan Area.
History
Companies in metropolitan Baltimore
Four
Fortune 1000 companies are headquartered in Greater Baltimore:
Grace Chemicals (in Columbia),
Legg Mason,
T. Rowe Price
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. is an American publicly owned global investment management firm that offers funds, subadvisory services, separate account management, and retirement plans and services for individuals, institutions, and financial inter ...
, and
McCormick & Company (in Hunt Valley). Other companies headquartered in Greater Baltimore include
AAI Corporation (in Hunt Valley),
Adams Express Company, Brown Advisory, Alex Brown, First Home Mortgage Corporation, FTI Consulting,
Petroleum & Resources Corporation, Vertis,
Prometric,
Sylvan Learning,
Laureate Education
Laureate Education, Inc. is a corporation based in Miami, Florida, United States. The firm owns and operates Laureate International Universities, with campuses in Mexico and Peru.
The company is publicly traded on the Nasdaq.
Corporate history ...
,
Under Armour,
DAP
DAP or Dap may refer to:
Science
* DAP (gene), human gene that encodes death-associated proteins, which mediate programmed cell death
* Diamidophosphate, phosphorylating compound
* Diaminopimelic acid, amino acid derivative of lysine
* Diamin ...
, 180s,
DeBaufre Bakeries,
Wm. T. Burnett & Co,
Old Mutual Financial Network,
Firaxis Games (in Sparks),
Sinclair Broadcast Group (in Hunt Valley), and
Fila
Fila Holdings Corp. is a sportswear brand of shoes and apparel. The company was founded by Ettore and Giansevero Fila in 1911 in Coggiola, near Biella, Piedmont, Italy. In 2003, it was sold to United States-based Sports Brand International. Sub ...
USA (in Sparks).
Government and infrastructure
The capital of Maryland and the agencies of the Maryland state government are located in the Baltimore MSA, mainly in Annapolis and Baltimore City. The area is also home to the
National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters in
Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County, as well as the
Social Security Administration and the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in
Woodlawn in Baltimore County.
Sports teams in metropolitan Baltimore
*
Baltimore Orioles –
Major League Baseball (since 1954)
*
Baltimore Ravens –
National Football League (since 1996)
*
Baltimore Burn –
Women's Spring Football League
The United States Women's Football League (USWFL) is a full-contact women's American football minor league that opened with exhibition play in 2010 and subsequently played its first regular season in 2011.https://www.uswfl.net/copy-of-schedule-n ...
(since 2001)
*
Baltimore Nighthawks –
Independent Women's Football League (since 2008)
*
Charm City Roller Girls
Charm City Roller Derby (CCRD), is a flat track roller derby league in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 2005, Charm City is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).
History and league structure
The league was established in 2 ...
–
Women's Flat Track Derby Association (since 2006)
*
Coppin State Eagles
*
Johns Hopkins Blue Jays
The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays are the 24 intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Johns Hopkins University, located in Baltimore, Maryland. They compete in the NCAA Division III, except for their lacrosse teams, which compete in Division I. ...
, competes in Division I for men's and women's lacrosse only
*
Loyola Greyhounds
*
Morgan State Bears
The Morgan State Bears are the twelve varsity sports teams representing Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, tennis and track and field; women's-only bow ...
In Baltimore County:
*
Towson Tigers, in
Towson
*
UMBC Retrievers
The UMBC Retrievers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, located in Catonsville, Maryland, in intercollegiate athletics as a member of the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...
, in
Catonsville
Catonsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 41,567 at the 2010 census. The community lies to the west of Baltimore along the city's border. Catonsville contains the majority of th ...
*
Baltimore Blast –
Major Arena Soccer League (since 2014)
In Anne Arundel County:
*
Navy Midshipmen
The Navy Midshipmen are the athletic teams that represent the United States Naval Academy. The academy sponsors 33 varsity sports teams and 12 club sport teams.[Annapolis
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...]
*
Chesapeake Bayhawks, in Annapolis
*
Maryland Black Bears, in
Odenton
See also
*
Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area
*
Mid-Atlantic states
*
Northeast megalopolis
The Northeast megalopolis, also known as the Northeast Corridor, Acela Corridor, Boston–Washington corridor, or BosWash, is the world's largest megalopolis in terms of economic output and the second most populous megalopolis in the United St ...
*
Delmarva
Notes
{{Coord, 39, 16, 59.86, N, 76, 36, 27.6, W, type:landmark_region:US-MD, display=title
*
Metropolitan areas of Maryland
Regions of Maryland