Maryland's 4th congressional district wraps around the eastern edge of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, taking in most of

Prince George's County Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it the second-most populous ...

and a small portion of Montgomery County. It is home to several racially diverse middle-class suburbs, including College Park, Fort Washington,

Greenbelt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or gree ...

, and

Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

. With a median household income of $86,941, it is the wealthiest

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

-majority district in the United States. Like much of the

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV (short for Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is the metropolitan area comprising Washing ...

, the 4th district is substantially influenced by the footprint of the nearby

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

. More than 22% of working adults in this district are employed in the public sector. The

Washington Metro The Washington Metro, often abbreviated as the Metro and formally the Metrorail, is a rapid transit system serving the Washington metropolitan area of the United States. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ...

provides easy access into the nation's capital, where many employees make daily commutes. Various government entities also sit within the 4th district, most notably the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

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Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C., in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959, as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC ...

and the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. The

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

—the state's flagship public institution of higher education—is another major presence. Throughout much of the 20th century, the area within this district was predominately white. But as a thriving black middle class emerged in the region and laws eliminating racial discrimination in housing were passed, many African Americans opted to leave Washington for Prince George's County in search of a better quality of life. By the early 1990s, the county had become majority black, and today white voters comprise just 11% of the 4th district. Recently, the district has experienced large amounts of immigration from

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

, and

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

in Central America, leading to the district having the largest Latino population in Maryland and one of the largest Central American populations out of any district. These racial transformations have turned the district into the most Democratic seat in Maryland and one of the most Democratic in the country, with a

Cook Partisan Voting Index The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated PVI or CPVI, is a measurement of how partisan a U.S. congressional district or U.S. state is. This partisanship is indicated as lean towards either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, com ...

rating of D+39. In 2022, Democrat

Glenn Ivey Glenn Frederick Ivey (born February 27, 1961) is an American politician and attorney serving as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 4th congressional district since 2023. The district covers most of the black-majority areas on the Maryland s ...

was elected to represent it with 90.1% of the vote.

Recent election results from statewide races

Historical boundaries

Maryland's fourth congressional district was one of the about 50 original congressional districts. When it was organized in 1788, it covered

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Baltimore County partly surrounds but does not include the independent city ...

, and Harford County. According to the 1790 census, the fourth district had a population of 53,913, nearly 20% of whom were slaves. In 1792, the fourth district was moved to western Maryland, with its eastern boundary being a north to south line running about the midpoint of

Frederick County, Maryland Frederick County is located in Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 271,717. The county seat is Frederick, Maryland, Frederick. The county is part of the Washington metropolitan area, ...

. The new district had a population of 36,026, with less than 10% of the population being slaves. The 1800 census population was 38,015, and the boundaries remained unchanged in 1802.

Composition

For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and communities:https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd118/cd_based/ST24/CD118_MD04.pdf
/ref> Montgomery County (7) : Ashton-Sandy Spring (part; also

8th Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

), Burtonsville, Calverton (part; also

; shared with Prince George's County), Cloverly (part; also

), Fairland (part; also

), Spencerville (part; also

Takoma Park Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City", is a Tree ...

(part; also

) Prince George's County (64) : Accokeek (part; also 5th), Adelphi, Beltsville, Berwyn Heights, Bladensburg, Brentwood, Calverton (part; also

; shared with Montgomery County), Camp Springs (part; also 5th), Capitol Heights, Cedar Heights, Cheverly, Chillum, Clinton, College Park, Colmar Manor, Coral Hills, Cottage City, District Heights, East Riverdale, Edmonston, Fairmount Heights, Forestville, Friendly, Glenn Dale (part; also 5th), Fairwood (part; also 5th), Forest Heights, Forestville (part; also 5th) Fort Washington, Glassmanor, Glenarden,

, Hillcrest Heights, Hillandale (part; also

; shared with Montgomery County), Hyattsville, Konterra, Lake Arbor (part; also 5th), Landover,

Landover Hills Landover Hills is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,815. The town has a neighborhood named Defense Heights. History La ...

, Langley Park, Lanham,

, Marlow Heights, Maryland Park, Mitchellville (part; also 5th), Morningside,

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier ( ), also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With an off ...

, National Harbor, New Carrollton, North Brentwood, Oxon Hill, Peppermill Village, Riverdale Park, Seabrook, Seat Pleasant, Silver Hill, South Laurel, Springdale,

Suitland Suitland is a suburb of Washington, D.C., approximately one mile (1.6 km) southeast of Washington, D.C. Suitland is a census designated place (CDP), as of the 2020 census, its population was 25,839. Prior to 2010, it was part of the Suitland ...

, Summerfield, Temple Hills, University Park, Walker Mill, West Laurel, Woodlawn

Recent elections

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

List of members representing the district

1789–1835: one seat

1835–1843: two seats

From 1835 to 1843, two seats were apportioned, elected at-large on a

general ticket The general ticket or party block voting (PBV), is a type of block voting in which voters opt for a party or a team of candidates, and the highest-polling party/team becomes the winner and receives 100% of the seats for this multi-member distric ...

1843–present: one seat

Notes

References

External links

Rep. Anthony Brown's official House of Representatives website
{{coord, 39.03, N, 77.0, W, region:US-MD_type:adm2nd, display=title 04 1789 establishments in Maryland Constituencies established in 1789