) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes =

240 __NOTOC__ Year 240 ( CCXL) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sabinus and Venustus (or, less frequently, year 993 ''Ab u ...

301 __NOTOC__ Year 301 (Roman numerals, CCCI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Postumius and Nepotianus (or, less freque ...

, founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for =

Prince George of Denmark Prince George of Denmark ( da, Jørgen; 2 April 165328 October 1708) was the husband of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. He was the consort of the British monarch from Anne's accession on 8 March 1702 until his death in 1708. The marriage of Georg ...

, leader_title = Executive , leader_name =

Angela D. Alsobrooks Angela Deneece Alsobrooks (born February 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she was elected county executive of Prince George's County, Maryland, in 2018 after serving two terms as state's attorney fo ...

( D)
, seat wl = Upper Marlboro , largest city wl = Bowie , area_total_sq_mi = 499 , area_land_sq_mi = 483 , area_water_sq_mi = 16 , area percentage = 3.2 , census yr = 2020 , pop = 967201 , pop_est_as_of = 2021 , population_est = , density_sq_mi = 1900 , district = 4th , district2 = 5th , time zone = Eastern , web = www.princegeorgescountymd.gov Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the U.S. state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

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 county in Maryland, behind

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Mon ...

. The 2020 census counted an increase of nearly 104,000 in the previous ten years. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

is Upper Marlboro. It is the largest and the second most affluent African American-majority county in the United States, with five of its communities identified in a 2015 top ten list. Prince George's County is included in the Washington metropolitan area. The county also hosts many federal governmental facilities, such as

Joint Base Andrews Joint Base Andrews (JBA) is a United States military facility located in Prince George's County, Maryland. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 316th Wing, Air Force District of Washington (AFDW). The base was e ...

and the United States Census Bureau headquarters.

Etymology

The official name of the county, as specified in the county's charter, is "Prince George's County, Maryland". The county is named after

(1653–1708), the consort of

Anne, Queen of Great Britain Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 8 March 1702 until 1 May 1707. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, the kingdoms of England and Scotland united as a single sovereign state known ...

, and the brother of King Christian V of Denmark and Norway. The county's

demonym A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...

is Prince Georgian, and its motto is '' Semper Eadem'' ( en, "Ever the Same"), a phrase used by Queen Anne. Prince George's County is frequently referred to as "PG" or "PG County", an abbreviation which is the subject of debate, some residents viewing it as a pejorative and others holding neutral feelings toward the term or even preferring the abbreviation over the full name.

History

The

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

Era brought dinosaurs to the area that left fossils now preserved in a park in Laurel. The site, which among other finds has yielded fossilized teeth from '' Astrodon'' and '' Priconodon'' species, has been called the most prolific in the eastern United States. In the mid to late Holocene era, the area was occupied by Paleo-Native Americans and then, later, Native Americans. When the first European settlers arrived, what is now Prince George's County was inhabited by people of the Piscataway Indian Nation. Three branches of the tribe are still living today, two of which are headquartered in Prince George's County.

17th century

Prince George's County was created by the English Council of Maryland in the

Province of Maryland The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S. state of Maryland ...

in April 1696 from portions of

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

and Calvert counties. The county was divided into six districts referred to as "Hundreds": Mattapany, Petuxant, Collington, Mount Calvert, Piscattoway and New Scotland.

18th century

A portion was detached in 1748 to form Frederick County. Because Frederick County was subsequently divided to form the present Allegany,

Garrett Garrett may refer to: Places ;United States * Garrett, Illinois * Garrett, Indiana * Garrett, Kentucky (multiple places) ** Garrett, Floyd County, Kentucky, an unincorporated community ** Garrett, Meade County, Kentucky, an unincorporated communi ...

, Montgomery, and Washington counties, all of these counties in addition were derived from what had up to 1748 been Prince George's County. In 1791, portions of Prince George's County were ceded to form the new

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, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

(along with portions of

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 ...

and parts of Northern Virginia that were later returned to Virginia).

19th century

During the War of 1812, the British marched through the county by way of Bladensburg to burn the White House. On their return, they kidnapped a prominent doctor,

William Beanes William Beanes (January 24, 1749 – October 12, 1828) was an American physician who was involved in the events surrounding the writing of the national anthem of the United States. Beanes was a Maryland resident, and upon the British invasi ...

. Lawyer

Francis Scott Key Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Frederick, Maryland, who wrote the lyrics for the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner". Key observed the British bombardment ...

was asked to negotiate for his release, which resulted in his writing "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bo ...

". Prince George's County had the highest population of slaves within the state of Maryland. These enslaved Africans engaged in forced labor on tobacco farms and plantations throughout Prince George's County. During the Civil War, hundreds of enslaved Black men in Prince George's County were given freedom in exchange for joining the Union Army and fighting in Colored units against Confederate Forces. When Abraham Lincoln ordered the end of slavery in America, he did not free the slaves in Maryland because he was concerned that slave owning Maryland would revolt and Washington D.C. would then be surrounded by Confederate forces. However John Pendleton Kennedy, a Maryland politician who became an abolitionist after watching a speech by

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he becam ...

, led a referendum campaign to end slavery in the state. In 1864, the citizens of Maryland voted to end slavery. However the state was so divided that the referendum won by only 1,000 votes. Lincoln then ordered the Union Army to enforce the ban in Maryland and all enslaved people in the state were freed. After the Civil War, many African Americans attempted to become part of Maryland politics, but were met with violent repression after the fall of

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

. In April 1865,

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century Booth the ...

made his escape through Prince George's County while en route to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

after killing President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

20th century

The proportion of African Americans declined during the first half of the 20th century, but was renewed to over 50% in the early 1990s when the county again became majority African American. The first African American County Executive was Wayne K. Curry, elected in 1994. On July 1, 1997, the Prince George's County section of the city of

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 Ci ...

, which straddled the boundary between Prince George's and Montgomery counties, was transferred to

. This was done after city residents voted in a referendum to be under the sole jurisdiction of Montgomery County, and subsequent approval by both counties and the

Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower cham ...

. This was the first change in Montgomery/Prince George's County line boundaries since 1968, when the City of Laurel was unified in Prince George's County; additional legislation was proposed in 1990 for a technical correction, though may not have achieved enactment.

21st century

The county's population nearly reached one million residents in the 2020 census. It is the largest and wealthiest Black-majority county in the United States. Hispanic residents grew in number to 21% of the total population. The county experienced a dramatic drop in crime, including record drops in violent crime, although in 2021 and 2022, violent crime increased by 30%. From 2020 to mid-2022 over 2,200 residents died of COVID-19, over 19,000 county residents were left with long-term post-COVID symptoms and over 193,000 COVID infections had been recorded.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.2%) is water. Prince George's County lies in the

Atlantic coastal plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe a ...

, and its landscape is characterized by gently rolling hills and valleys. Along its western border with Montgomery County, Adelphi, Calverton and West Laurel rise into the

piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, exceeding in elevation. The

Patuxent River The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington, D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeast ...

forms the county's eastern border with

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also prob ...

, Anne Arundel,

and Calvert counties.

Regions

Terrain, culture, and demographics differ significantly by location within the county. There are five key regions to Prince George's County: North County, Central County, the Rural Tier, the Inner Beltway, and South County. These regions are not formally defined, however, and the terms used to describe each area can vary greatly. In the broadest terms, the county is generally divided into North County and South County with

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

serving as the dividing line. Southern Prince George's county is also considered to be a part of the

Southern Maryland Southern Maryland is a geographical, cultural and historic region in Maryland composed of the state's southernmost counties on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. According to the state of Maryland, the region includes all of Calvert, Cha ...

region.

North County

Northern Prince George's County includes Laurel, Beltsville, Adelphi, College Park and

Greenbelt A green belt 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 green wedges, which h ...

. This area of the county is anchored by the

Capital Beltway The Capital Beltway is a Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area that surrounds Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. It is the basis of the phrase " inside ...

and the

Baltimore–Washington Parkway The Baltimore–Washington Parkway (also referred to as the B–W Parkway) is a highway in the U.S. state of Maryland, running southwest from Baltimore to Washington, D.C. The road begins at an interchange with U.S. Route 50 (US 50) ...

. Laurel is experiencing a population boom with the construction of the Inter-County Connector. The key employers in this region are the

University of Maryland 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. Founded in 1856, UMD is the Flagship un ...

Beltsville Agricultural Research Center The Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), also known as the National Agricultural Research Center, is a unit of the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. It is located in unincorporat ...

, and NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center. Areas of geographic distinction include Greenbelt Park, a wooded reserve adjacent to the planned environmental community of Greenbelt, and University Park, a collection of historic homes adjacent to the University of Maryland.

Riversdale Mansion Riversdale, is a five-part, large-scale late Georgian mansion with superior Federal interior, built between 1801 and 1807. Also known as Baltimore House, Calvert Mansion or Riversdale Mansion, it is located at 4811 Riverdale Road in Riverdale Pa ...

, along with the historic homes of Berwyn Heights,

Mt. Rainier Mount Rainier (), indigenously known as Tahoma, Tacoma, Tacobet, or təqʷubəʔ, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With a sum ...

and Hyattsville, along with

Langley Park Langley Park may refer to places in: __NOTOC__ Australia * Langley Park, Perth, an open space in the central business district of Perth England * Langley Park, Buckinghamshire, England, a stately home built by Stiff Leadbetter (1705–1766) * Lang ...

are also located in this area. Lake Artemesia and the surrounding park were constructed during the completion of the

Washington Metro The Washington Metro (or simply Metro), formally the Metrorail,Google Books search/preview

Green Line, and it incorporates a stocked fishing lake and serves as the trail-head for an extensive

Anacostia Tributary Trails The Anacostia Tributary Trail System (ATTS) is a unified and signed system of stream valley trails joining trails along the Anacostia tributaries of Northwest Branch, Northeast Branch, Indian Creek and Paint Branch with a trail along the Anac ...

system that runs along the

Anacostia River The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Channel to empty into the Potomac River at Buzzard Poi ...

and its tributaries. The south and central tracts of the

Patuxent Wildlife Research Center The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center is a biological research center in Maryland. It is one of 17 research centers in the United States run by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The center is located on the grounds of the Patuxent Research ...

also lie in this part of the county; the north tract lies north of the

Anne Arundel County Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, wh ...

Central County

Central County, located on the eastern outskirts of the Capital Beltway, consists of Mitchellville, Woodmore,

Greater Upper Marlboro Greater Upper Marlboro is an area of Prince George's County, Maryland, Prince George's County, Maryland that completely surrounds Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Upper Marlboro, the county seat. It was formerly a census-designated place (CDP), with a po ...

, Springdale, Largo, and Bowie. According to the 2010 census, it has generally been the fastest growing region of the county. Mitchellville is named for a wealthy African American family, the Mitchells, who owned a large portion of land in this area of the county. Central Avenue, a major exit off the I-95 beltway, running east to west, is one of two main roads in this portion of the county. The other major roadway is Old Crain Highway, which runs north to south along the eastern portion of the county. The Newton White Mansion on the grounds is a popular site for weddings and political events.

Bowie State University Bowie State University (Bowie State) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Prince George's County, Maryland, north of Bowie, Maryland, Bowie. It is part of the University Sys ...

and

Prince George's Community College Prince George's Community College (PGCC) is a public community college in Largo in Prince George's County, Maryland. The college serves Prince George's County and surrounding areas, including Washington, D.C. History Founded in 1958, Prince G ...

are in the Central region.

Inner Beltway

The inner beltway communities of Capitol Heights, District Heights, Fairmont Heights, Forestville,

Suitland Suitland is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, approximately one mile (1.6 km) southeast of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 census, its population was 25,839. Pri ...

, and Seat Pleasant border the neighboring District of Columbia's northeastern and southeastern quadrants. The area has easy access to Metro's blue line, commercial centers, Maryland Route 214, Interstate 95/Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway). Protected bike trails connect residents to the Bladensburg waterfront, Kenilworth parks, and downtown D.C. Fairmont Heights is the second oldest African-American-majority municipality in Prince George's County. The Fairmount Heights Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. Bowie is best known as a planned

Levittown Levittown is the name of several large suburban housing developments created in the United States (including one in Puerto Rico) by William J. Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons. Built after World War II for returning white veterans and thei ...

William Levitt William Jaird Levitt (February 11, 1907 – January 28, 1994) was an American real-estate developer and housing pioneer. As president of Levitt & Sons, he is widely credited as the father of modern American suburbia. He was named one of ''Tim ...

in the 1960s built traditional homes, as well as California contemporaries along

, the key highway to the eastern shore and the state capital of

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 ...

. Bowie has currently grown to be the largest city in Prince George's County, with more than 50,000 people. It also has a large Caucasian population, compared to much of the county (48% of the population). Housing styles vary from the most contemporary to century-old homes in Bowie's antique district (formerly known as Huntingtown), where the town of Bowie began as a haven for thoroughbred horse racing. Areas of geographic distinction include the Oden Bowie Mansion, Allen Pond, key segments of the

Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Trail The Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Trail (WB&A) is a long discontinuous rail trail from Lanham to Odenton in Maryland. Despite its name, it does not actually connect with Washington, D.C., Annapolis or Baltimore; its name is taken from th ...

, as well as planned parks, lakes and walking trails.

Rural Tier

Prince George's rural tier was designated "in the 2002 General Plan as an area where residential growth would be minimal"; it may be found in the area well beyond the Beltway to the east and south of central county, bounded on the north by U.S. Route 50, the west by the communities Accokeek and Fort Washington, and the east by the

. Prince George's origins are in this part of the county. Most of this area contains the unincorporated parishes, villages and lost towns of Prince George's County. Largely under postal designations of " Upper Marlboro" or "

Brandywine Brandywine may refer to: Food and drink * Brandy, a spirit produced by distilling wine *Brandywine tomato, a variety of heirloom tomato Geographic locations Canada * Brandywine Falls Provincial Park, British Columbia * Brandywine Mountain, Britis ...

", in truth the town of Upper Marlboro is more central county in character, though it is the post office location for various rural settlements. (The names of these unincorporated areas are listed below in the towns section of this article). Since 1721 Upper Marlboro has been the county seat of government, with families that trace their lineage back to Prince George's initial land grants and earliest governing officials. Names like Clagett,

Sasscer Sasscer is a surname, and may refer to: * Frederick Sasscer, Jr., attorney, journalist and educator from Upper Marlboro, Maryland *Lansdale Ghiselin Sasscer Lansdale Ghiselin Sasscer (September 30, 1893 – November 5, 1964) represented the ...

, King James and Queen Anne pepper the streets. The rural tier has been the focus of orchestrated efforts by residents and county government to preserve its rural character and environmental integrity. Under the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), Patuxent River Park is the largest natural preserve and provides public access for birdwatching and viewing the rural tier's natural waterfront vistas. In season, the park's Jug Bay Natural Area and the Patuxent Riverkeeper in Queen Anne both offer canoeing and kayaking rentals on the Patuxent. The county's largest collection of tobacco planter mansions and preserved homes are in the rural tier, some managed by the M-NCPPC. Many rural tier roads have scenic highway preservation status; a fall drive yields exceptional beauty along the Patuxent valley's Leeland Road, Croom Road, Clagett's Landing Rd., Mill Branch Rd., Queen Anne Rd., and Brandywine Rd. Walking access along roads in this area is very limited, because most property along the roads remains in private ownership. However, walking is much more accessible in the widespread M-NCPPC lands and trails and state holdings in the Patuxent valley, such as Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary and Rosaryville State Park, both popular among hikers and mountain bikers.

South County

South County is a blend of the greenery of the rural tier and the new development of central county. The communities of

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

, Oxon Hill,

Temple Hills Temple Hills is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Temple Hills borders the communities of Hillcrest Heights, Marlow Heights, Camp Springs and Oxon Hill. Per the 202 ...

and Fort Washington are the largest areas of south county. It is the only portion of Prince George's County to enjoy the Potomac River waterfront, and that geographic distinction has yielded the rise of the

National Harbor National Harbor is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located along the Potomac River near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and just south of Washington, D.C. It originated as a multi-use waterfront devel ...

project: a town center and riverside shopping and living development on the Potomac. The National Harbor, and its associated entertainment ( MGM National Harbor) and shopping (

Tanger Outlets Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. ( ) is a real estate investment trust headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina that invests in shopping centers containing outlet stores in the United States and Canada. As of December 31, 2019, the com ...

) districts, have become a major tourist and convention attraction, with significant hotel accommodations, eateries and shopping. Together, these projects were built on land formerly occupied by the Salubria plantation, where a 14-year-old slave girl poisoned her owner, John H. Bayne, and his family in 1831.

Water taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or o ...

service connects National Harbor to other destinations along the Potomac. Several historic sites, including Jones Point Lighthouse, can be viewed from the harbor front. Piscataway Park in Accokeek preserves many acres of woodland and wetlands along the Potomac River opposite Mount Vernon, Virginia. River Road in Fort Washington also yields great views of the Potomac.

Fort Washington Park Fort Washington, located near the community of Fort Washington, Maryland, was for many decades the only defensive fort protecting Washington D.C. The original fort, overlooking the Potomac River, was completed in 1809, and was begun as Fort ...

was a major battery and gives access to the public for tours of the fort, scenic access to the river and other picnic grounds. Oxon Hill Manor offers a working farm and plantation mansion for touring; His Lordship's Kindness is another major historic home. Also,

Fort Foote Fort Foote was an American Civil War-era wood and earthwork fort that was part of the wartime defenses of Washington, D.C., which helped defend the Potomac River approach to the city. It operated from 1863 to 1878, when the post was abandoned, ...

is an old

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

fort and tourist destination.

Adjacent counties and independent cities

(east) *

Calvert County 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 ...

(southeast) *

Charles County Charles County is a county in Southern Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. Charles County is part of the Washi ...

(south) * Howard County (north) *

(northwest) * Fairfax County, Virginia (southwest) *

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

(southwest) * Washington, D.C. (west) Prince George's and Montgomery Counties share a bi-county planning and parks agency in the M-NCPPC and a public bi-county water and sewer utility in the

Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC Water) is a bi-county political subdivision of the State of Maryland that provides safe drinking water and wastewater treatment for Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in Maryland except fo ...

National protected areas

* Greenbelt Park * Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge (part) *

Piscataway Park Piscataway Park is a National Park Service-protected area located southwest of downtown Washington, D.C. in and around Accokeek, Maryland. It protects the National Colonial Farm, Marshall Hall, and the Accokeek Creek Site. The park is locate ...

Cedarville State Forest Cedarville State Forest () is a state forest and protected area in the state of Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Colum ...

(whose main entrance is in Prince George's county)

Politics and government

Since 1792, the county seat has been Upper Marlboro. Prior to 1792, the county seat was located at Mount Calvert, a 76-acre (308,000 m²) estate along the

on the edge of what is now in the

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

Croom Croom () is a village in County Limerick, Ireland. It is located just off the N20 (which has bypassed the town since 2001) on the River Maigue. It is 8 km southeast of Adare on the N20. History Cromadh (now Croom) was a village in th ...

. Since 1991, the county has slowly moved government functions from rural Upper Marlboro to the Largo area, closer to the center of population, while proposals to move the actual county seat remain controversial. Prince George's County was granted a charter form of government in 1970 with the county executive elected as the head of the executive branch and the county council members as the leadership of the legislative branch. The county is divided into nine councilmanic districts, whose number designations wind roughly from north to south. Two at-large council seats were added in 2018. Prince George's County is part of the Seventh Judicial Circuit of the state of Maryland and holds 23 of the 32 total circuit court judges in the circuit (which includes Calvert, Charles, Prince George's, and St. Mary's counties).

Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings Inc. is an American credit rating agency and is one of the " Big Three credit rating agencies", the other two being Moody's and Standard & Poor's. It is one of the three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations ( NRS ...

assigned a 'AAA' bond rating to Prince George's County on August 25, 2011, re-affirming the county's stable financial outlook. Earlier in 2011, the county received 'AAA' status from

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 co ...

and

Moody's Moody's Investors Service, often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its historical name. Moody's Investors Service provides internation ...

. 'AAA' bond ratings are the highest possible bond ratings a jurisdiction can receive. As part of the increasingly liberal

D.C. DC, D.C., D/C, Dc, or dc may refer to: Places * Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia), the capital and the federal territory of the United States * Bogotá, Distrito Capital, the capital city of Colombia * Dubai City, as distinct from t ...

suburbs and a nationwide suburban shift towards the Democrats, Prince George's County is a Democratic stronghold, having voted majority-Democratic in every presidential election but four since 1932:

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

's landslide elections in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh ...

and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

, and

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

's two candidacies in

1968 The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

and

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

. It has not even given over 10% of the vote to the Republican nominee since

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

, and was Joe Biden's second strongest county in the country (and third-best county equivalent after Washington, D.C.) in the 2020 presidential election, only behind

Kalawao County, Hawaii Kalawao County ( haw, Kalana o Kalawao) is a county in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is the smallest county in the 50 states by land area and the second-smallest county by population, after Loving County, Texas. The county encompasses the Ka ...

, awarding him 89.26% of the vote.

County executive and council

Other officials

State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a ...

: Aisha N. Braveboy ( D) *

County Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

: Melvin C. High ( D) * County Fire Chief: Tiffany D. Green *Clerk of the Circuit Court: Mahasin El Amin * Chief of the County Police: Malik Aziz * PGCPS Chief Executive Officer: Monica Goldson

Emergency services

Law enforcement

Prince George's County is serviced by multiple

law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

. The

Prince George's County Police Department The Prince George's County Police Department (PGPD) is the primary law enforcement agency in Prince George's County, Maryland in the United States, servicing a population of over 900,000 residents and visitors within 498 square miles (1,290& ...

is the primary police service for county residents residing in

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

s of the county. In addition, the

Prince George's County Sheriff's Office The Prince George's County Sheriff's Office (PGSO), officially the Office of the Sheriff, Prince George's County, provides law enforcement services in Prince George's County, Maryland in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Uppe ...

acts as the enforcement arm of the

county court A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more county, counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by t ...

, and also shares some patrol responsibility with the county police. County parks are serviced by the Prince George's County Division of the

Maryland-National Capital Park Police The Maryland-National Capital Park Police (MNCPP) is the law enforcement branch of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) and has two divisions, one in Prince George's County and one in Montgomery County in Maryland. T ...

. Besides the county-level services, all but one of the 27 local municipalities maintain police departments that share jurisdiction with the county police services. Furthermore, the

Maryland State Police The Maryland State Police (MSP), officially the Maryland Department of State Police (MDSP), is the official state police force of the U.S. state of Maryland. The Maryland State Police is headquartered at 1201 Reisterstown Road in the Pikesvill ...

enforces the law on state highways which pass through the county with the exception of

Maryland Route 200 Maryland Route 200 (MD 200), also known as the Intercounty Connector or ICC, is an , six-lane toll road in the U.S. state of Maryland. A controlled-access highway, it connects Gaithersburg in Montgomery County and Laurel in Prince George's Cou ...

where the Maryland Transportation Authority Police is the primary law enforcement agency and the

Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) is the law enforcement arm of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), tasked with enforcing laws on the state's public lands and waterways, protecting fish and wildlife, and leading search ...

patrol the state parks and navigable waterways located within the county. Along with the state and local law enforcement agencies, the federal government also maintains several departments that service citizens of the county such as the

US Park Police The United States Park Police (USPP) is one of the oldest uniformed federal law enforcement agencies in the United States. It functions as a full-service law enforcement agency with responsibilities and jurisdiction in those National Park Servic ...

, US Postal Police,

Andrews Air Force Base Andrews Air Force Base (Andrews AFB, AAFB) is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force. In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base merged with Naval Air Facility Washington to form Joint B ...

Security Police Security police officers are employed by or for a governmental agency or corporations to provide security service security services to those properties. Security police protect facilities, properties, personnel, users, visitors and enforce cert ...

, and other

federal police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

located on various federal property within the county. In addition, nearly all of the incorporated cities and towns in the county have their own municipal police force. Notable exceptions include the city of College Park.

Other emergency services

Prince George's County hospitals include Bowie Health Center, Doctors Community Hospital in Lanham, Gladys Spellman Specialty Hospital & Nursing Center in Cheverly, Laurel Regional Hospital in Laurel, Southern Maryland Hospital Center in Clinton, University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center, a state-of-the-art acute care teaching hospital, and Fort Washington Medical Center. Hospice of the Chesapeake has offices in Largo, with a staff that serves patients in their homes, including skilled nursing, senior living and assisted living facilities. The Prince George's County Volunteer Firemen's Association was formed in 1922 with several of the first companies organized in the county. The first members of the association were Hyattsville, Cottage City,

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier (), indigenously known as Tahoma, Tacoma, Tacobet, or təqʷubəʔ, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With a ...

, and Brentwood. In March 1966, the Prince George's County Government employed the firefighters who had been hired by individual volunteer stations and an organized career department was begun. The career firefighters and paramedics are represented by IAFF 1619. Prince George's County Fire/Rescue Operations consists of 45 Fire/EMS stations. Prince George's County became the first jurisdiction in

to implement the

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency n ...

Emergency Reporting System in 1973. Advanced life support services began for citizens of the county in 1977. Firefighters were certified as Cardiac Rescue Technicians and deployed in what was called at the time Mobile Intensive Care Units to fire stations in Brentwood, Silver Hill, and Laurel. As of 2007, the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department operates a combination system staffed by over 800 career firefighters and paramedics, and nearly 1,100 active volunteers. County law has, for years, required to seize all

pitbull Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...

s from their owners if they become aware of them. This is controversial and Animal Control itself objects to this law. It has routinely required them to act when they see such a dog behaving peacefully inside of a private home merely because Animal Control is checking something unrelated.

Transportation

The County contains a 28-mile portion of the 65-mile-long

. After a decades-long debate, an east–west toll freeway, the

Intercounty Connector Maryland Route 200 (MD 200), also known as the Intercounty Connector or ICC, is an , six-lane toll road in the U.S. state of Maryland. A controlled-access highway, it connects Gaithersburg in Montgomery County and Laurel in Prince George's Cou ...

("ICC"), which extends

Interstate 370 Interstate 370 (I-370) is a Interstate Highway spur route off I-270 in Gaithersburg, Maryland, to the western end of the Maryland Route 200 (MD 200, Intercounty Connector) toll road at an interchange that provides access to the par ...

to connect

I-270 I-270 may refer to: * Interstate 270 (disambiguation), one of several highways * Mikoyan-Gurevich I-270, a cancelled Soviet interceptor aircraft {{disambiguation ...

with

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadi ...

and U.S. 1 in Laurel, opened in 2012. An 11.5-mile portion of the 32.5-mile-long

runs from the county's border with Washington, D.C., to its border with

near Laurel. The

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority 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 Co ...

operates Metrobus fixed-route bus service and

Metrorail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the 12th ...

heavy-rail passenger service in and out of the county as well as the regional

MetroAccess MetroAccess is a shared-ride public transportation service for individuals in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area who are unable to use fixed-route public transit due to disability. It is managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Author ...

paratransit Paratransit is the term used in North America, also known by other names such as community transport ( UK) for transportation services that supplement fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. ...

system for the handicapped. The Prince George's County Department of Public Works and Transportation also operates TheBus, a County-wide fixed-route bus system, and the Call-A-Bus service for passengers who do not have access to or have difficulty using fixed-route bus service. Call-A-Bus is a demand-response service which generally requires 14-days advance reservations. The county also offers a subsidized taxicab service for elderly and disabled residents called Call-A-Cab in which eligible customers who sign up for the service purchase coupons giving them a 50 percent discount with participating taxicab companies in Prince George's and Montgomery Counties. Washington Metro diagram

Mass transit

Prince George's County Metro Rail

has fifteen stations of the

Washington Metro The Washington Metro (or simply Metro), formally the Metrorail,Google Books search/preview

system located in Prince George's County, with four of them as terminus stations:

, New Carrollton, Largo, and Branch Avenue. The Purple Line, which would link highly developed areas of both Montgomery and Prince George's Counties is currently under-construction and slated to open in 2022. The Purple Line will provide connections to the

Red Line (Washington Metro) The Red Line is a rapid transit line of the Washington Metro system, consisting of 27 stations in Montgomery County, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is a primary line through downtown Washington and the oldest and busi ...

via Northern Prince George's County and Montgomery County. The

Orange Line (Washington Metro) The Orange Line is a rapid transit line of the Washington Metro system, consisting of 26 stations in Fairfax County and Arlington, Virginia; the District of Columbia; and Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The Orange Line runs f ...

and

MARC Train MARC (Maryland Area Rail Commuter) is a commuter rail system in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. MARC is administered by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and operated under contract by Alstom and Amtrak on track owned by ...

Penn Line The Penn Line is a MARC Train, MARC commuter rail, commuter rail service running from Washington Union Station, Union Station in Washington, D.C., to Perryville station, Perryville, Maryland, along the far southern leg of the Northeast Corridor ...

will have transfer points at

New Carrollton station New Carrollton station is a joint Washington Metro, MARC, and Amtrak station just outside the city limits of New Carrollton, Prince George's County, Maryland located at the eastern end of the Metro's Orange Line. The station will also serve a ...

Prince George's County Commuter Rail

The

(Maryland Area Rail Commuter) train service has two lines that traverse Prince George's County. The

Camden Line The Camden Line is a MARC Train, MARC commuter rail, commuter rail line that runs for between Union Station (Washington, D.C.), Union Station, Washington, D.C., and Camden Station, Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, over the CSX Capital Subdivision ...

, which runs between Baltimore

Camden Station Camden Station, now also referred to as Camden Street Station, Camden Yards, and formally as the Transportation Center at Camden Yards, is a train station at the intersection of South Howard and West Camden Streets in Baltimore, Maryland, and is ...

and

Washington Union Station Washington Union Station is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's headquarters, the railroad's second-busiest station, and North Ame ...

and has six stops in the county at Riverdale, College Park,

Muirkirk Muirkirk ( gd, Eaglais an t-Slèibh) is a small village in East Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. It is located on the north bank of the River Ayr, between Cumnock and Glenbuck on the A70. Conservation The Muirkirk & North Lowther Uplands Specia ...

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 (m ...

and Laurel Race Track. The

runs on the

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

route between

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

and Washington Union stations. It has three stops in the county: Bowie, Seabrook and New Carrollton.

Airports

The

College Park Airport College Park Airport is a public airport located in the City of College Park, in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It is the world's oldest continuously operated airport. The airport is located south of Paint Branch and Lake ...

(CGS), established in 1909, is the world's oldest continuously operated airport and is home to the adjacent

College Park Aviation Museum College Park Airport is a public airport located in the City of College Park, in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It is the world's oldest continuously operated airport. The airport is located south of Paint Branch and Lake Ar ...

. Privately owned general aviation airfields in the county include Freeway Airport (W00) in Mitchellville,

Potomac Airfield Potomac Airfield , also known as Potomac Airport (), is a privately owned, public-use airport located in the Friendly census-designated place in unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland, United States (just outside Washington, D.C.) ...

(VKX) in Friendly, and Washington Executive Airpark/Hyde Field (W32) in

, along with numerous private

heliport A heliport is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and some other vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. I ...

s. The area is served by three airports:

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...

(DCA) in

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

, Baltimore–Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) in neighboring

, and

Dulles International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and ...

(IAD) in

Dulles, Virginia Dulles () is an unincorporated area in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The headquarters of Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems and ODIN Technologies, as well as the former headquarters of ...

(ADW), the airfield portion of

, is also near Camp Springs.

Water taxi

Prince George's County is served by a water taxi that operates from the National Harbor to Alexandria, Virginia and to The Wharf in Washington, D.C.

Major highways

Future transit

Because of its location north and east of Washington, D.C., several future transit technology projects look to be routed partially through Prince George's County. The first stage of

The Boring Company The Boring Company (TBC) is an American infrastructure and tunnel construction services company founded by Elon Musk. Its ongoing and proposed projects are designed for intra-city ("loop") transit systems. After six years TBC has completed on ...

's proposed Washington-to-New York

hyperloop A hyperloop is a proposed high-speed transportion system for both public and goods transport. The idea was picked up by Elon Musk to describe a modern project based on the vactrain concept (first appearance in 1799). Hyperloop systems compr ...

will travel beneath the Baltimore–Washington Parkway through Prince George's en route to Baltimore. No hyperloop stops within the county are projected. Similarly, Maryland Governor

Larry Hogan Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. (born May 25, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 62nd governor of Maryland since 2015. A moderate member of the Republican Party, he was secretary of appointments under Maryland governor B ...

has supported efforts to trial a 40-mile superconducting maglev (SCMaglev) train route connecting Washington to Baltimore. Proposed routes would run through Prince George's parallel to the Baltimore–Washington Parkway or along the Amtrak Penn Line corridor. As with the hyperloop, no SCMaglev stop is planned within Prince George's County. The Purple Line light transit rail is currently in construction in College Park and New Carrollton.

Demographics

Prince George's County is the wealthiest African American-majority county in the United States.

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 863,420 people, 304,042 households, and 203,520 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 328,182 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was * 64.5% black or African American * 14.9% White * 0.5% American Indian * 14.9% Hispanic or Latino (any race) * 4.1% Asian * 0.1% Pacific islander * 8.5% from other races * 3.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 14.9% of the population, an equal percentage to Whites of indeterminate origin. In terms of ancestry, 6.5% were

Subsaharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

n, and 2.0% were American. Of the 304,042 households, 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 20.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.1% were non-families, and 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.31. The median age was 34.9 years. The median income for a household in the county was $71,260 and the median income for a family was $82,580. Males had a median income of $49,471 versus $49,478 for females. The per capita income for the county was $31,215. About 5.0% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

2000 Census

The racial makeup of the county was as of 2000: * 62.70%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

* 27.04%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

* 0.35% Native American * 7.12% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) * 3.87% Asian * 0.06%

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawai ...

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...

* 3.38% Some other race * 2.61% Two or more races By the 2008 estimates there were 298,439 households, out of which 65.1% are family households and 34.9% were non-family households. 36.4% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.00% were married couples living together, 19.60% had a female householder with no husband present. 24.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 persons and the average family size was 3.25 persons. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.80% under the age of 18, 10.40% from 18 to 24, 33.00% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 7.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.20 males. The median income for a household in the county in 2008 was $71,696, and the median income for a family was $81,908. The 2008 mean income for a family in the county was $94,360. As of 2000, males had a median income of $38,904 versus $35,718 for females. The 2008 per capita income for the county was $23,360. About 4.70% of families and 7.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over. Prince George's County is the 70th most affluent county in the United States by median income for families and the most affluent county in the United States with an African-American majority. Almost 38.8% of all households in Prince George's County, earned over $100,000 in 2008.

Education

"30.1% of all residents over the age of 25 had graduated from college and obtained a bachelor's degree (17.8%) or professional degree (12.2%). 86.2% of all residents over the age of 25 were high school graduates or higher."

Religion

Prince George's County is home to more than 800 churches, including 12

megachurch A megachurch is a church with an unusually large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities, usually Protestant or Evangelical. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant ...

es, as well as a number of mosques, synagogues, and Hindu and

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temples. Property belonging to religious entities makes up of land in the county, or 1.8% of the total area of the county.

Economy

Top employers

According to the county's

comprehensive annual financial report An Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, formerly called Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR)) is a set of U.S. government financial statements comprising the financial report of a state, municipal or other governmental entity that comp ...

, the top private-sector employers in the county are the following. "NR" indicates not ranked in the top ten for the year given. The top public-sector employers in the county are as follows. "NR" indicates not ranked in the top ten for the year given.

Crime

Prince George's County accounted for 20% of murders in the State of Maryland from 1985 to 2006. A twenty-year crime index trends study, performed by Prince George's County Police Department Information Resource Management, showed the county had a 23.1% increase in total crime for the years of 2000 to 2004. Between the years of 1984 to 2004, Prince George's had a 62.8% increase in total crime. However, as of 2009, crime had generally declined in the county and the number of homicides declined from 151 in 2005 to 99 in 2009. As of the end of 2013, the county had experienced a record drop in crime, especially record lows in violent crimes. In 2021 and 2022, violent crime experienced an upturn, increasing by 30%.

Education

Colleges and universities

The

University of Maryland System The University System of Maryland (USM) is a public higher education system in the U.S. state of Maryland. The system is composed of the eleven campuses at College Park, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Princess Anne, Towson, Salisbury, Bowie, Fro ...

headquarters are in the

of Adelphi.

Public schools

The county's public schools are managed by the

Prince George's County Public Schools Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) is a large public school district administered by the government of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and is overseen by the Maryland State Department of Education. The school system is ...

system. It serves as the

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, whi ...

for the entire county.

Enterprises and recreation

Prince George's County is home to the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

's Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center,

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

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 emp ...

, the United States Census Bureau,

, the

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

's College Park facility, the

's flagship College Park campus,

Six Flags America Six Flags America is a theme park located in the Woodmore CDP of Prince George's County, Maryland,

and

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Hurricane Harbor is a chain of water parks that are part of the Six Flags theme park chain. Although the parks are not identical, common features include a variety of body slides, speed slides, tube slides, wave pools, lazy rivers, and shopping ...

FedExField FedExField (originally Jack Kent Cooke Stadium) is an American football stadium located in Summerfield, Maryland, east of Washington, D.C. The stadium is the home of the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 u ...

(home of the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

), and the

, which its developers, Peterson Companies and

Gaylord Entertainment Company Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. () is a hotel, resort, entertainment, and media company named after National Historic Landmark the Ryman Auditorium, built as a tabernacle by Captain Thomas G. Ryman in 1892 and later the home of the Grand Ole Op ...

, bill as the largest single mixed-use project and combined convention center–hotel complex on the East Coast.

Media

WPGC-FM WPGC-FM (95.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Morningside, Maryland and serving the Washington metropolitan area. It is owned by Audacy, Inc., and airs an urban contemporary format. WPGC-FM has studios in the Navy Yard neighb ...

, Morningside, MD, take their P-G-C call letters from the name Prince George's County *Prince George's Sentinel, Seabrook, MD, weekly newspaper covering the county with a circulation of 23,000 copies

Recreation

Although Prince George's County is not often credited for the

, the team's home stadium,

, is in Landover. No other major-league professional sports teams are in the county, though Bowie hosts the

Bowie Baysox The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. History From 1989 to 1992, ...

, a minor league baseball team. The county is known for its very successful youth. In basketball, ESPN published an article declaring Prince George's County the new "Hoops Hot Bed" and ranked it as the number one basketball talent pool in the country. A number of basketball prospects, including

Kevin Durant Kevin Wayne Durant ( ; born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for t ...

Victor Oladipo Kehinde Babatunde Victor Oladipo (born May 4, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, where in the 2012-201 ...

, Jeff Green,

Roy Hibbert Roy Denzil Hibbert (born December 11, 1986) is a Jamaican-American former professional basketball player. He is a two-time NBA All-Star, and earned NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors in 2014. Hibbert was the runner-up for the NBA Defensive Play ...

and Ty Lawson, are from AAU basketball teams such as the

PG Jaguars The PG Jaguars were an AAU basketball organization based in Prince George's County, Maryland. While the organization has teams at every age level, the organization is best known for its national and regional championship winning teams at the 10U-1 ...

, DC Assault, and DC Blue Devils. Besides AAU, basketball has skyrocketed from local high schools such as

DeMatha Catholic High School DeMatha Catholic High School is a four-year Catholic high school for boys located in Hyattsville, Maryland, United States. Named after John of Matha, DeMatha is under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and is a member of the Washington C ...

and Bishop McNamara High School, both of which have found some great success locally and nationally. The county's basketball talent was profiled in the 2020 documentary '' Basketball County'', produced by

. Durant and numerous other residents of the county who went on to success in basketball are featured in the film.

Communities

This county contains the following incorporated municipalities:

Cities

* Bowie * College Park * District Heights *

Glenarden Glenarden is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 6,402. History Glenarden was developed in 1919, when W. R. Smith purchased a group of properties approximately 10 miles east of Was ...

* Hyattsville * Laurel *

* New Carrollton * Seat Pleasant

Towns

* Berwyn Heights * Bladensburg * Brentwood * Capitol Heights *

Cheverly Cheverly is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located very close to Washington, D.C., though not bordering it directly. The town was founded in 1918 and incorporated in 1931. Per the 2020 census, the population was 6,170 ...

* Colmar Manor * Cottage City *

Eagle Harbor Eagle Harbor may refer to several places in the United States: * Eagle Harbor, a development on Fleming Island, Florida * Eagle Harbor, Maryland, a town * Eagle Harbor, Michigan, an unincorporated community and census-designated place ** Eagle Har ...

* Edmonston * Fairmount Heights * Forest Heights *

Landover Hills Landover Hills is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 1,815. The town has a neighborhood named Defense Heights. History Landover Hills was incorporated in 1945. Geography Landover Hi ...

* Morningside * North Brentwood * Riverdale Park * University Park * Upper Marlboro (county seat) Part of the city of

was formerly in Prince George's County, but since 1997 the city has been entirely in

. The part of Takoma Park that changed counties comprises two residential neighborhoods,

Carole Highlands Carole Highlands is an unincorporated community located in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Carole Highlands is contained between East West Highway (MD 410) to the south, University Boulevard (MD 193) to the north, Larch Avenue, Ho ...

(an unincorporated portion of which is still in Prince George's County) and New Hampshire Gardens.

Census-designated places

Unincorporated areas are also considered as towns by many people and listed in many collections of towns, but they lack local government. Various organizations, such as the United States Census Bureau, the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...

, and local chambers of commerce, define the communities they wish to recognize differently, and since they are not incorporated, their boundaries have no official status outside the organizations in question. The Census Bureau recognizes the following

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, su ...

s in the county: * Accokeek * Adelphi *

Andrews AFB Andrews Air Force Base (Andrews AFB, AAFB) is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force. In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base merged with Naval Air Facility Washington to form Joint Bas ...

* Aquasco *

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden ...

* Beltsville *

* Brock Hall * Calverton * Camp Springs * Cedarville * Chillum *

* Coral Hills *

* East Riverdale * Fairwood * Forestville * Fort Washington * Friendly * Glassmanor * Glenn Dale *

Hillandale The Hillandale estate comprises a pair of historic structures located in the Burleith neighborhood in Washington, D.C. They have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1995. History The estate was originally the home ...

* Hillcrest Heights *

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of ...

* Konterra * Lake Arbor * Landover *

* Lanham * Largo * Marlboro Meadows * Marlboro Village * Marlow Heights * Marlton * Maryland Park *

Melwood Melwood, in West Derby, Liverpool, was Liverpool Football Club's training ground from the 1950s until November 2020. It was not attached to The Liverpool F.C. Academy, which is at Kirkby. Melwood was bought by affordable housing development ...

* Mitchellville *

* Oxon Hill * Peppermill Village * Queen Anne * Queenland * Rosaryville * Seabrook * Silver Hill * South Laurel * Springdale *

* Summerfield *

* Walker Mill * West Laurel *

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regi ...

* Woodlawn * Woodmore

Unincorporated communities

* Ardmore * Avondale * Berwyn * Carmody Hills *

* Cedar Heights *Chapel Oaks * Cheltenham * Collington * Danville * Green Meadows * Indian Creek Village * Kentland * Lewisdale *

Meadows A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifici ...

* Montpelier *

* North College Park * Palmer Park * Piscataway * Raljon * Rogers Heights * South Bowie * Tantallon *

Tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element ...

* Vansville * West Hyattsville *

White Hall White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

* Woodyard

Ghost town

Good Luck Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...

Sister cities

Royal Bafokeng Nation The Royal Bafokeng is the ethnic homeland of the Bafokeng people, a Setswana-speaking traditional community. The monarchy covers in the North West Province of South Africa. The capital is Phokeng, near Rustenburg. "Bafokeng" is used to ref ...

, South Africa *

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan ...

, Israel *

Ziguinchor Ziguinchor (; wo, Siggcoor ; ar, زيغينكور) is the capital of the Ziguinchor Region, and the chief town of the Casamance area of Senegal, lying at the mouth of the Casamance River. It has a population of over 230,000 (2007 estimate). I ...

, Senegal

Notable people

Namesakes

* The , was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

''Crater''-class cargo ship named after the county.

References

External links

*
Detailed 1861 Map of Prince Georges County
– Ghosts of DC blog
Prince George's Community Council records
at the

University of Maryland Libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library in the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore area. The university's library system includes eight libraries: six are located on the College Park campus, while the Severn Library, an o ...

{{authority control 1696 establishments in Maryland Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area Maryland counties Maryland counties on the Potomac River Washington metropolitan area Populated places established in 1696 Majority-minority counties and independent cities in Maryland Prince George of Denmark

Etymology

History

17th century

18th century

19th century

20th century

21st century

Geography

Regions

North County

Central County

Inner Beltway

Rural Tier

South County

Adjacent counties and independent cities

National protected areas

Politics and government

County executive and council

Other officials

Emergency services

Law enforcement

Other emergency services

Transportation

Mass transit

Prince George's County Metro Rail

Prince George's County Commuter Rail

Airports

Water taxi

Major highways

Future transit

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

2000 Census

Education

Religion

Economy

Top employers

Crime

Education

Colleges and universities

Public schools

Enterprises and recreation

Media

Recreation

Communities

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Ghost town

Sister cities

Notable people

Namesakes

See also

References

Further reading

External links