Baltimore metropolitan area

The Baltimore–Columbia–Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as Central Maryland, is a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in Maryland as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB). As of the 2010 Census, the combined population of the seven counties is 2,710,489. The MSA has the fourth-highest median household income in the United States, at $66,970 in 2012.^[1]

Central Maryland Baltimore-Columbia-Towson Metropolitan Area
Metropolitan area
Baltimore's Inner Harbor in August 2010
Counties of the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metropolitan area highlighted in red
Country	United States
State	Maryland
Principal municipalities	Baltimore, Columbia, Towson
Population  (2020)
• Metropolitan area	2,844,510 (20th)
• Urban	(19th)
• Urban density	1,038.9/sq mi (401.1/km^2)
• CSA	9,973,383 (3rd)
	MSA = 2020, CSA = 2020, Urban & Densities = 2010
Time zone	UTC−5 (ET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EST)

Composition

The area includes the following counties:^[2][3]

• Anne Arundel County
• Baltimore City
• Baltimore County
• Carroll County
• Harford County
• Howard County
• Queen Anne's County

County	2021 Estimate	2020 Census	Change	Area	Density
Baltimore County	849,316	854,535	−0.61%	598.30 sq mi (1,549.6 km^2)	1,420/sq mi (548/km^2)
Anne Arundel County	590,336	588,261	+0.35%	414.90 sq mi (1,074.6 km^2)	1,423/sq mi (549/km^2)
Baltimore City	576,498	585,708	−1.57%	80.94 sq mi (209.6 km^2)	7,123/sq mi (2,750/km^2)
Howard County	334,529	332,317	+0.67%	250.74 sq mi (649.4 km^2)	1,334/sq mi (515/km^2)
Harford County	262,977	260,924	+0.79%	437.09 sq mi (1,132.1 km^2)	602/sq mi (232/km^2)
Carroll County	173,873	172,891	+0.57%	447.59 sq mi (1,159.3 km^2)	388/sq mi (150/km^2)
Queen Anne's County	50,798	49,874	+1.85%	371.91 sq mi (963.2 km^2)	137/sq mi (53/km^2)
Total	2,838,327	2,844,510	−0.22%	2,601.47 sq mi (6,737.8 km^2)	1,091/sq mi (421/km^2)

Historical populations

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1820	96,201		—
1830	120,870		25.6%
1840	134,379		11.2%
1850	210,646		56.8%
1860	266,553		26.5%
1870	330,741		24.1%
1880	415,649		25.7%
1890	507,348		22.1%
1900	639,332		26.0%
1910	720,387		12.7%
1920	852,051		18.3%
1930	984,606		15.6%
1940	1,083,300		10.0%
1950	1,337,373		23.5%
1960	1,820,314		36.1%
1970	2,089,092		14.8%
1980	2,199,531		5.3%
1990	2,382,172		8.3%
2000	2,552,994		7.2%
2010	2,710,489		6.2%
2020	2,844,510		4.9%
U.S. Decennial Census^[4] 1790–1960^[5] 1900–1990^[6] 1990–2000^[7]

Principal communities

The metropolitan area includes the following principal communities:^{[citation needed]}

• Baltimore
• Columbia
• Towson

It also includes several other communities (not necessarily incorporated as cities or towns):

• Aberdeen
• Annapolis
• Bel Air
• Catonsville
• Dundalk
• Eldersburg
• Ellicott City
• Edgewood
• Glen Burnie
• Hanover
• Havre de Grace
• Jessup
• Joppatowne
• Owings Mills
• Westminster

In addition to its technical metropolitan area, Baltimore also receives a large number of commuters from cities such as York, Pennsylvania^[8] and the Washington Metropolitan Area.

History

Main article: History of Baltimore

Companies in metropolitan Baltimore

Four Fortune 1000 companies are headquartered in Greater Baltimore: Grace Chemicals (in Columbia), Legg Mason, T. Rowe Price, and McCormick & Company (in Hunt Valley). Other companies headquartered in Greater Baltimore include AAI Corporation (in Hunt Valley), Adams Express Company, Brown Advisory, Alex Brown, First Home Mortgage Corporation, FTI Consulting, Petroleum & Resources Corporation, Vertis, Prometric, Sylvan Learning, Laureate Education, Under Armour, DAP, 180s, DeBaufre Bakeries, Wm. T. Burnett & Co, Old Mutual Financial Network, Firaxis Games (in Sparks), Sinclair Broadcast Group (in Hunt Valley), and Fila USA (in Sparks).

Government and infrastructure

The capital of Maryland and the agencies of the Maryland state government are located in the Baltimore MSA, mainly in Annapolis and Baltimore City. The area is also home to the National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters in Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County, as well as the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in Woodlawn in Baltimore County.

Sports teams in metropolitan Baltimore

Main article: Sports in Baltimore

• Baltimore Orioles – Major League Baseball (since 1954)
• Baltimore Ravens – National Football League (since 1996)
• Baltimore Burn – Women's Spring Football League (since 2001)
• Baltimore Nighthawks – Independent Women's Football League (since 2008)
• Charm City Roller Girls – Women's Flat Track Derby Association (since 2006)
• Coppin State Eagles
• Johns Hopkins Blue Jays, competes in Division I for men's and women's lacrosse only
• Loyola Greyhounds
• Morgan State Bears

In Baltimore County:

• Towson Tigers, in Towson
• UMBC Retrievers, in Catonsville
• Baltimore Blast – Major Arena Soccer League (since 2014)

In Anne Arundel County:

• Navy Midshipmen, in Annapolis
• Chesapeake Bayhawks, in Annapolis
• Maryland Black Bears, in Odenton

See also

•  Maryland portal

• Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area
• Mid-Atlantic states
• Northeast megalopolis
• Delmarva

Notes

1. Noss, Amanda (September 2013). (PDF) (Report). American Community Survey Briefs. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 3, 2017.
2. . Bureau of Labor Statistics. November 14, 2005. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008.
3. "MSA Bulletin 2003 Attachment, Revised 07/07/03" (PDF). Office of Management and Budget.
4. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
5. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
6. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
7. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
8. Berman, Dori (2006). "Commuter bus line may link York, Pa. and Hunt Valley". The Daily Record. from the original on September 19, 2008.

Coordinates: 39°16′59.86″N 76°36′27.6″W / 39.2832944°N 76.607667°W / 39.2832944; -76.607667