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The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. It is part of the larger Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The Washington metropolitan area is one of the most educated and most affluent metropolitan areas in the U.S. The metro area anchors the southern end of the densely populated
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 ...
with an estimated total population of 6,385,162 , making it the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the nation and the largest metropolitan area in the Census Bureau's South Atlantic division.


Nomenclature

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget defines the area as the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV metropolitan statistical area, a metropolitan statistical area used for statistical purposes by the United States Census Bureau and other agencies. The region's three largest cities are the federal city of Washington, D.C., the county (and census-designated place) of Arlington, and the independent city of Alexandria. The Office of Management and Budget also includes the metropolitan statistical area as part of the larger Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area, which has a population of 9,546,579 as of the 2014 Census Estimate. The District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia portions of the metropolitan area is sometimes referred to as the National Capital Region, particularly by federal agencies such as the military, Department of Homeland Security, and some local government agencies. The National Capital Region portion of the Washington Metropolitan Area is also colloquially known by the abbreviation "DMV" which stands for the "District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia." The area in the region that is surrounded by Interstate 495 referred to as being " Inside the Beltway". The city of Washington, which is at the center of the area, is referred to as "the District" because of its status as a federal district, which makes it not part of any state. The Virginian portion of the region is known as Northern Virginia. The Maryland portion of the region is sometimes called the Maryland-National Capital Region by local authorities but rarely by the general public.


Composition

The U.S. Census Bureau divides the Washington metropolitan statistical area into two metropolitan divisions: * Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV Metropolitan Division, comprising the majority of the metropolitan area * Frederick–Gaithersburg–Rockville, MD Metropolitan Division, consisting of Montgomery and Frederick counties


Counties or county equivalents and populations


Regional organizations


Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments

Founded in 1957, the
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) is an independent, nonprofit association where area leaders address regional issues affecting the District of Columbia, suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia. Metropolitan Washington Council ...
(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 The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
. 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.


Consortium of Universities in the Washington Metropolitan Area

Chartered in 1964, the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area is a regional organization of 17 Washington-area local universities and community colleges representing nearly 300,000 students. The consortium facilitates course cross registration between all member universities, and universalizes library access across some of its member universities through the
Washington Research Library Consortium The Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC) was established as a non-profit corporation in 1987 to support and enhance the library and information services of universities in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. It aims to do this through e ...
. It additionally offers joint procurement programs, joint academic initiatives, and campus public safety training. These colleges and universities are:


Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Formed in 1967 as an interstate compact between Maryland, Virginia, and
the District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...
, the
WMATA The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Con ...
is a tri-jurisdictional government agency with a board composed of representatives from Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and the United States Federal government that operates transit services in the Washington Metropolitan Area.


Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) is a multi-jurisdictional independent airport authority, created with the consent of the United States Congress and the legislature of Virginia to oversee management, operations, and capital development of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.


Greater Washington Board of Trade

Founded in 1889, the
Greater Washington Board of Trade The Greater Washington Board of Trade is a network of business and non-profit leaders in Washington, D.C. The Board of Trade invests in the cultural infrastructure of the area and promotes the construction and maintenance of public venues, includi ...
is a network of regional businesses that work to advance the culture, economy, and resiliency of the Washington metropolitan area.


Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington

The
Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington The Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington (CAGW) works to increase appreciation, support, and resources for arts and culture in the Greater Washington, D.C. region with over 300 member organizations. References Non-profit organizations ...
(CAGW) works to increase appreciation, support, and resources for arts and culture in the Washington metropolitan area.


Principal cities

The metropolitan area includes the following principal cities (not all of which are incorporated as cities; one, Arlington, actually is a county, while Bethesda, Silver Spring, and Reston are unincorporated census-designated places.) * Washington, D.C. * Arlington, Virginia * Alexandria, Virginia * Frederick, Maryland * Gaithersburg, Maryland *
Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, and is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fifth-largest community in ...
* Bethesda, Maryland * Silver Spring, Maryland *
Reston, Virginia Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia and a principal city of the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Reston's population was 63,226. Founded in 1964, Reston was influenced by the Garden City movem ...


Demographics


Politics

The Washington metropolitan area has consistently leaned Democratic, only voting Republican once in Richard Nixon's landslide reelection in 1972. Since Bill Clinton was elected in 1992, Democratic candidates have easily won the area by double-digits.


Racial composition

The area has been a magnet for international immigration since the late 1960s. It is also a magnet for internal migration (persons moving from one region of the U.S. to another). Racial composition of the Washington metropolitan area.


2019 American Community Survey

* Non-Hispanic White : 44.7% * Black or African American : 24.9% * Hispanic or Latino : 16.3% * Asian : 10.3% * Mixed and Other : 3.8% :


2010 U.S. Census

: * White : 54.8% * Black : 25.8% *
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
: 9.3% * Hispanic : 13.8% * Mixed and Other : 3.7%


2006

: * White : 51.7% * Black : 26.3% *
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
: 8.4% * Hispanic : 11.6% * Mixed and Other : 2.0%


1980

* White : 67.8% * Black : 26.0% * Asian : 2.5% * Hispanic : 2.8% * Mixed and Other : 0.9%


Social indicators

The Washington metropolitan area has ranked as the highest-educated metropolitan area in the nation for four decades. As of the 2006–2008
American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
, the three most educated places with 200,000 people or more in Washington–Arlington–Alexandria by bachelor's degree attainment (population 25 and over) are Arlington, Virginia (68.0%),
Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...
(58.8%), and
Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...
(56.4%). '' Forbes'' magazine stated in its 2008 "America's Best- And Worst-Educated Cities" report: "The D.C. area is less than half the size of L.A., but both cities have around 100,000 Ph.D.'s." The Washington metropolitan area has held the top spot in the
American College of Sports Medicine The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a sports medicine and exercise science membership organization. Founded in 1954, ACSM holds conferences, publishes books and journals, and offers certific ...
's annual American Fitness Index ranking of the United States' 50 most populous metropolitan areas for two years running. The report cites, among other things, the high average fitness level and healthy eating habits of residents, the widespread availability of health care and facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, and parks, low rates of obesity and tobacco use relative to the national average, and the high median household income as contributors to the city's community health. In the 21st century, the Washington metropolitan area has overtaken the San Francisco Bay Area as the highest-income metropolitan area in the nation. The median household income of the region is US$72,800. The two highest median household income counties in the nation – Loudoun and
Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...
 – are components of the MSA (and #3 is Howard County, officially in
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 ...
's sphere but strongly connected with Washington's); measured in this way, Alexandria ranks 10th among municipalities in the region – 11th if Howard is included – and 23rd in the entire United States. 12.2% of Northern Virginia's 881,136 households, 8.5% of suburban Maryland's 799,300 households, and 8.2% of Washington's 249,805 households have an annual income in excess of $200,000, compared to 3.7% nationally. According to a report by the
American Human Development Project Measure of America is a non-partisan, non-profit initiative of the Social Science Research Council in Brooklyn, New York. It conducts research and analysis primarily on human development data from the United States at the national, state, and coun ...
, women in the Washington metropolitan area are ranked as having the highest income and educational attainment among the 25 most populous metropolitan areas in the nation, while Asian American women in the region had the highest life expectancy, at 92.3 years.


Economy

The Washington metropolitan area has the largest science and engineering work force of any metropolitan area in the nation in 2006 according to the Greater Washington Initiative at 324,530, ahead of the combined San Francisco Bay Area work force of 214,500, and Chicago metropolitan area at 203,090, citing data from U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Claritas Inc., and other sources. The Washington metropolitan area was ranked as the second best High-Tech Center in a statistical analysis of the top 100 Metropolitan areas in the United States by American City Business Journals in May 2009, behind the Silicon Valley and ahead of the
Boston metropolitan area Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern ar ...
. Fueling the metropolitan area's ranking was the reported 241,264 tech jobs in the region, a total eclipsed only by
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as the highest master's or doctoral degree attainment among the 100 ranked metropolitan areas. A Dice.com report showed that the Washington–Baltimore area had the second-highest number of tech jobs listed: 8,289, after the New York metro area with 9,195 jobs. In 2020, the total gross domestic product for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV (MSA) was $561,027,941,000.


Real estate and housing market

Changes in house prices for the Washington metropolitan area are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the Case–Shiller index; the statistic is published by
Standard & Poor's S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is con ...
and is also a component of S&P's 10-city composite index of the value of the U.S. residential real estate market.
McLean MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Goidelic languages, Gaelic surname Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish language, Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John (given name), John). The clan surname is an A ...
ZIP code 22102 had the highest median home prices among ZIP codes within the Washington metropolitan area as of 2013.


Net worth, wealth disparities, and business ownership

The economy of the Washington metropolitan region is characterized by significant wealth disparities, which were heightened by the Great Recession and the 2007–09 housing crisis, which adversely affected black and Hispanic households more than other households.Perry Stein
Net worth of white households in D.C. region is 81 times that of black households
''Washington Post'' (November 2, 2016).
Kilolo Kijakazi et al.
The Color of Wealth in the Nation's Capital
Urban Institute (October 31, 2016).
A 2016 Urban Institute report found that the median net worth (i.e., assets minus debt) for white households in the D.C. region was $284,000, while the median net worth for Hispanic/Latino households was $13,000, and for African American households as $3,500.
Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...
s had the highest median net worth in the Washington area ($220,000 for
Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...
households, $430,000 for Vietnamese American households, $496,000 for Korean American households, and $573,000 for
Indian American Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...
households). Although the median net worth for white D.C.-area households was 81 times that of black D.C.-area households, the two groups had comparable rates of business ownership (about 9%). The Urban Institute report suggests that this "may be driven by the presence of a large federal government and a local district government whose membership and constituents have been largely Black, coupled with government policies designed to increase contracting opportunities for minority-owned businesses."


Primary industries


Biotechnology

The Washington metropolitan area has a significant biotechnology industry; companies with a major presence in the region as of 2011 include
Merck Merck refers primarily to the German Merck family and three companies founded by the family, including: * the Merck Group, a German chemical, pharmaceutical and life sciences company founded in 1668 ** Merck Serono (known as EMD Serono in the Unite ...
, Pfizer, Human Genome Sciences,
Martek Biosciences Martek Biosciences Corporation was a pharmaceutical company based in Columbia, Maryland. It was acquired by Royal DSM NV in 2011, and produces nutritional ingredients for the food, beverage, dietary supplement and early life nutrition industries. ...
, and Qiagen. Additionally, many biotechnology companies such as
United Therapeutics United Therapeutics Corporation is an American publicly-traded biotechnology company listed on the NASDAQ under the symbol UTHR. It develops novel, life-extending technologies for patients in the areas of lung disease and organ manufacturing. Un ...
, Novavax, Emergent BioSolutions,
Parabon NanoLabs Parabon NanoLabs, Inc. is a company based in Reston, Virginia, that develops nanopharmaceuticals and provides DNA phenotyping services for law enforcement organizations. History Parabon NanoLabs, a subsidiary of Parabon Computation, a computin ...
and MedImmune have headquarters in the region. The area is also home to branch offices of many
contract research organization In the life sciences, a contract research organization (CRO) is a company that provides support to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries in the form of research services outsourced on a contract basis. A CRO may provid ...
s. Firms with a presence in the area include Covance, IQVIA,
Charles River Laboratories Charles River Laboratories International, Inc., is an American pharmaceutical company specializing in a variety of preclinical and clinical laboratory, gene therapy and cell therapy services for the Pharmaceutical, Medical device and Biotechnolo ...
, and ICON plc. The area's medical research is driven by government and non-profit health institutions, such as the
Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, fil ...
,
J. Craig Venter Institute The J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) is a non-profit genomics research institute founded by J. Craig Venter, Ph.D. in October 2006. The institute was the result of consolidating four organizations: the Center for the Advancement of G ...
, and the National Institutes of Health.


Consumer goods

Local consumer goods companies include Nestle USA and Mars, Incorporated.


Defense contracting

Many defense contractors are based in the region to be close to the Pentagon in Arlington. Local defense contractors include
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
, the largest, as well as
General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...
,
BAE Systems Inc. BAE Systems Inc. (formerly BAE Systems North America) is an American subsidiary of British defense, security, and aerospace company BAE Systems plc. The American subsidiary operates under a Special Security Agreement which allows it to work o ...
, Northrop Grumman, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC),
CACI CACI International Inc. (originally California Analysis Center, Inc., then Consolidated Analysis Center, Inc.) is an American multinational professional services and information technology company headquartered in Northern Virginia. CACI provi ...
,
ManTech International ManTech International Corporation is an American defense contracting firm that was co-founded in 1968 by Franc Wertheimer and George J. Pedersen. The company uses technology to help government and industry clients. The company name "ManTech" is ...
, DynCorp, and Leidos.


Hospitality

The Washington metropolitan area contains the headquarters of numerous companies in the hospitality and hotel industries. Major companies with headquarters in the region include
Marriott International Marriott International, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging including hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. T ...
,
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addit ...
,
Hilton Worldwide Hilton Worldwide (legally Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.) is an American multinational hospitality company that manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and resorts. Founded by Conrad Hilton in May 1919, the corporation is now led b ...
,
Park Hotels and Resorts Park Hotels & Resorts is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on hotel properties, based in Tysons, Virginia. It was formed in 2017 as a spin-off from Hilton Worldwide. History Hilton Worldwide CEO Christopher Nassetta stated in June 2 ...
, Choice Hotels,
Host Hotels and Resorts Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in hotels. As of February 19, 2021, the company owned 80 upscale hotels containing approximately 46,500 rooms in the United States, Brazil, and Canada. History I ...
, and HMSHost.


Mass media

The media industry is a significant portion of metropolitan Washington's economy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Washington DC region has the second largest concentration of journalists and media personnel in the United States after the New York metropolitan area. Washington's industry presence includes major publications with national audiences such as '' The Washington Post'', '' U.S. News & World Report'', and '' USA Today'', as well as new media publishers such as Vox Media,
RealClearPolitics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political ...
, Axios, and Politico. A secondary portion of this market is made up of periodicals such as '' National Affairs'', those by The Slate Group, ''
Foreign Policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...
'', ''
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
'', '' The American Prospect'', and those by Atlantic Media, including '' The Atlantic''. There are also many smaller regional publications present, such as ''
The Washington Diplomat An independent media company that for over 26 years has served as the premier source of news and information for the diplomatic and international communities in Washington, D.C., New York and the global community. Their reach includes distribu ...
'', ''
The Hill ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
,'' ''
Hill Rag The ''Hill Rag'' is a community newspaper based in Washington, D.C.'s Capitol Hill neighborhood. It is published monthly. In addition to Capitol Hill, it provides coverage of the Southwest Waterfront, H Street Northeast, and Navy Yard neighbor ...
'', '' Roll Call'', '' Washington City Paper'' and the '' Washington Examiner''.


Telecommunications

Anchored by the Dulles Technology Corridor, the telecommunications and tech industry in DC spans a diverse range of players across internet infrastructure, broadcasting, satellite communications, and datacenters. Firms headquartered in the area include Cogent Communications, GTT Communications, Hughes Network Systems,
iCore Networks iCore Networks is an American network as a service provider with headquarters in McLean, Virginia. It specializes in platforms for VoIP networks. Founded in 2001, the company is known as the largest hosted unified applications and communications ...
, Iridium Communications,
Intelsat Intelsat S.A. (formerly INTEL-SAT, INTELSAT, Intelsat) is a multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States. Originally formed as In ...
, Ligado Networks,
NII Holdings NII Holdings, Inc. (formerly Nextel International) was an American holding company that, through its subsidiary Nextel Telecomunicações Ltda., provided mobile communications services under the Nextel brand in Brazil. NII operated 3G UMTS/HSDPA ...
, Oceus Networks, OneWeb,
Tegna Inc. Tegna Inc. (stylized in all caps as TEGNA) is an American publicly traded broadcast, digital media and marketing services company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia. It was created on June 29, 2015, when the Gannett Company split into tw ...
, Transaction Network Services, Verisign,
WorldCell WorldCell is an American-based corporation that provides international mobile service to federal agencies, international businesses, and individual travelers. History WorldCell was formed in 1996. The privately owned company was founded by Blake ...
, and XO Communications.


Tourism

Tourism is a significant industry in the Washington metropolitan region. In 2015, more than 74,000 tourism-sector jobs existed in the District of Columbia, a record-setting 19.3 million domestic tourists visited the city, and domestic and international tourists combined spent $7.1 billion.Perry Stein
D.C. breaks tourist record in 2015 with visitors spending $7.1 billion
''Washington Post'' (May 3, 2016).
The convention industry is also significant; in 2016, D.C. hosted fifteen "city-wide conventions" with an estimated total economic impact of $277.9 million. Tourism is also significant outside the District of Columbia; in 2015, a record-setting $3.06 billion in tourism spending was reported in Arlington, Virginia, and $2.9 billion in
Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...
. A 2016 National Park Service report estimated that there were 56 million visitors to national parks in the National Capital Region, sustaining 16,917 and generating close to $1.6 billion in economy impact.


Largest companies


History

The
2005 Base Realignment and Closure The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission preliminary list was released by the United States Department of Defense on May 13, 2005. It was the fifth Base Realignment and Closure ("BRAC") proposal generated since the process was created in ...
resulted in a significant shuffling of military, civilian, and defense contractor employees in the Washington metropolitan area. The largest individual site impacts of the time are as follows: * Fort Belvoir gained 11,858 employees, primarily as a result of the relocation of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) into a massive new headquarters within the fort. * Fort Meade gained 5,361 employees, primarily as a result of the expansion of the National Security Agency. * Walter Reed Army Medical Center lost 5,630 employees as part of its realignment. It was later closed and consolidated into
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), formerly known as the National Naval Medical Center and colloquially referred to as the Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed, or Navy Med, is a United States' tri-service military medi ...
. BRAC 2005 was the largest infrastructure expansion by the Army Corps of Engineers since World War II, resulting in the Mark Center, tallest building they have ever constructed, as well as National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Campus East, which at 2.4 million square feet is the largest building the Corps have constructed since the
Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simpl ...
.


Transportation

'WMATA'-indicated systems are run by Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and always accept Washington Metro fare cards, others may or may not.


Commercial service airports

* Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), located in Dulles, Virginia  * Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), located in Arlington County, Virginia – the closest to Washington *
Baltimore–Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport , commonly referred to as BWI or BWI Marshall, is an international airport in the Eastern United States serving mainly Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. With Dulles Internatio ...
(BWI), located in Linthicum, Maryland (outside of but serving the Washington metropolitan area) *
Hagerstown Regional Airport Hagerstown Regional Airport ( Richard A. Henson Field) is in Washington County, Maryland, five miles north of Hagerstown, Maryland and a half mile (800 m) from the Maryland/Pennsylvania border. The airport is off Interstate 81 at exit 10 and ...
(HGR), located in Washington County, Maryland – serves western Maryland, the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, and portions of south-central Pennsylvania and north-western Virginia along the Interstate 81 corridor


Rail transit systems

*
Washington Metro The Washington Metro (or simply Metro), formally the Metrorail,Google Books search/preview
 – DC, MD, VA ( rapid transit) (
WMATA The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Con ...
) * MARC Train – DC, MD, WV ( commuter rail) *
Virginia Railway Express Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is a commuter rail service that connects outlying small cities of Northern Virginia to Union Station in Washington, D.C. It operates two lines which run during weekday rush hour only: the Fredericksburg Line from ...
 – DC, VA (commuter rail) * Amtrak – US (commuter rail, inter-city rail)


Bus transit systems

* DC Circulator – Washington, D.C. (DDoT,
WMATA The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Con ...
) * Metrobus – Washington metropolitan area (
WMATA The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Con ...
) * Metroway – Arlington County, Virginia and Alexandria, Virginia (
bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
) (
WMATA The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Con ...
) *
Ride On Ride On may refer to: Music * ''Ride On'' (Christy Moore album), an album (and song) by Christy Moore * ''Ride On'' (Izzy Stradlin album), an album by Izzy Stradlin * ''Ride On'' (Texas Hippie Coalition album), an album (and song) by American red d ...
 –
Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...
* TheBus –
Prince George's County, Maryland ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobroo ...
* ART – Arlington County, Virginia *
DASH The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
 – Alexandria, Virginia * Fairfax Connector –
Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...
*
CUE Bus CUE Bus (City-University-Energysaver) is a bus service operated by the City of Fairfax, Virginia, and is completely separate from the Fairfax Connector bus service run by Fairfax County. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday ...
 – Fairfax, Virginia *
Loudoun County Transit Loudoun County Transit is a public-transportation service provided by the Loudoun County, Virginia government. The buses operate from Dulles, Leesburg, and Purcellville to Washington Metro stations as well as directly to Rosslyn, Virginia, Th ...
 – Loudoun County, Virginia * PRTC – Prince William County, Manassas and
Manassas Park Manassas Park is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 17,219. Manassas Park is bordered by the city of Manassas, Virginia, Manas ...
* TransIT –
Frederick County, Maryland Frederick County is located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Maryland. At the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 271,717. The county seat is Frederick. Frederick County is included in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ...
* VanGO – Charles County, Maryland *
Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland, locally referred to as the RTA, is a transit organization developed to establish a more effective and efficient public transportation system across Central Maryland. The RTA is made up of multi ...
 – Howard County, Anne Arundel County, Prince George's County, Laurel, Maryland * Maryland Transit Administration – Washington, D.C.,
Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...
, Prince George's County,
Frederick County, Maryland Frederick County is located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Maryland. At the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 271,717. The county seat is Frederick. Frederick County is included in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ...
, Charles County, Maryland,
Calvert County, Maryland Calvert County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 92,783. Its county seat is Prince Frederick. The county's name is derived from the family name of the Barons of Baltimore, the proprietors of t ...
, Howard County, Anne Arundel County,
Saint Mary's County, Maryland St. Mary's County, established in 1637, is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 113,777. Its county seat is Leonardtown. The name is in honor of Mary, the mother of Jesus. St. Mary's County c ...
*
Eastern Panhandle Transit Authority Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air L ...
 – Jefferson County, West Virginia, Berkeley County, West Virginia *
Virginia Regional Transit Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are s ...
 – Loudoun County, Virginia, Culpeper County, Virginia, Fauquier County, Virginia, Warren County, Virginia *
Fredericksburg Regional Transit Fredericksburg Regional Transit or FRED is a bus transit system that operates in and around Fredericksburg, VA. It provides year-round bus service to Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg, with commuter shuttles to the Fredericksburg station for connect ...
 – Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania County and Stafford County


Major roads


Interstates

* * * * * * * * – the Capital Beltway * – signed as US 50 *


U.S. Highways

* * * * * *


Bicycle sharing

* Capital Bikeshare – Washington, D.C., Arlington, Virginia, Alexandria, Virginia,
Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...
,
Prince George's County, Maryland ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobroo ...
, and
Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...


Culture


Sports teams

Listing of the professional sports teams in the Washington metropolitan area:


Media

The Washington metropolitan area is home to DCTV, '' USA Today'',
C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...
, PBS, NPR, '' Politico'', BET, TV One and Discovery Communications. The two main newspapers are '' The Washington Post'' and '' The Washington Times''. Local television channels include WRC-TV 4 (NBC), WTTG 5 (FOX), WJLA 7 (ABC),
WUSA WUSA or wusa may refer to: * Women's United Soccer Association (defunct), the world's first women's professional association football league, based in the United States * ''WUSA'' (film), a 1970 drama film * WUSA (TV), a television station (chann ...
9 (CBS), WDCA 20 (MyNetworkTV), WETA-TV 26 (PBS), WDCW 50 (CW), and
WPXW WPXW-TV (channel 66) is a television station licensed to Manassas, Virginia, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Washington, D.C. area. The station is owned by Ion Media, and maintains business offices in Fairfax Stati ...
66 ( Ion). WJLA 24/7 News is a local news provider available only to cable subscribers. Radio stations serving the area include:
WETA-FM WETA (90.9 FM) is a non-commercial, public FM radio station licensed to serve Washington, D.C., broadcasting a classical music format. Its studios are located in Arlington, Virginia and its broadcast tower is located near Arlington at (). WE ...
, WIHT, WSBN, and WTOP.


Area codes

* 202 & 771 (Starting November 2021) – Washington, D.C. * 571/703 – Northern Virginia including the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church as well as Arlington, Fairfax, Stafford, Prince William, and Loudoun counties (571 created March 1, 2000; 703 in October 1947). * 240/301 – portions of Maryland in the Washington metropolitan area, southern Maryland, and western Maryland * 540 – Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania/Warrenton * 304/681 – Jefferson County, West Virginia


Sister cities


See also

* List of people from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area *
List of U.S. metropolitan statistical areas in Virginia The United States currently has 19 Statistical area (United States), statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On March 6, 2020, the OMB delineated four combined statistical areas, 11 metropolitan ...
*
Potomac primary The Potomac primary (named after the river that splits the region), also called Chesapeake Tuesday, the Beltway primary, and the Crabcake primary, is the confluence of three Democratic presidential primaries and three Republican presidential pri ...
*
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 ...


References


External links


OMB Bulletin No. 05-02
* ttp://www.bls.gov/oes/2005/may/oes_47894.htm May 2005 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates; Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV Metropolitan Divisionbr>Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV MSA Population and Components of Change
{{Coord, 38, 53, 24, N, 77, 02, 48, W, region:US-MD, display=title Capital districts and territories Washington metropolitan area * * Metropolitan areas of Maryland Metropolitan areas of Virginia Metropolitan areas of West Virginia Regions of Maryland Regions of Virginia Regions of West Virginia