WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA

The 'Washington Metropolitan Area', formally known as the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA is a U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as of November 2004. It is also part of the larger Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. As of 2007, the population of the area is 5,290,400 .

Contents

Composition

Political subdivisions

District of Columbia

Maryland

Virginia

West Virginia

Principal Cities

City Definition in Virginia

See also

External links

Composition

The Washington Metropolitan Area includes the District of Columbia and parts of the States of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. It is divided into two metropolitan divisions: the Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, MD Metropolitan Division, consisting of Montgomery and Frederick counties; and the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division, comprising the majority of the metropolitan area.
The Virginia portion of the area is known as Northern Virginia.

Political subdivisions

The area includes the following counties, districts, and independent cities:

District of Columbia

★ Washington

Maryland

The following counties are categorized as part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area:

★ Calvert County

★ Charles County

★ Frederick County

★ Montgomery County

★ Prince George's County

★ Washington County
Though associated with the Washington Metropolitan Area, the following counties are categorized as part of the Baltimore-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area:

★ Anne Arundel County

★ Howard County
Though associated with the Washington Metropolitan Area, the following county is categorized as part of the Lexington Park, MD Micropolitan Statistical Area:

★ St. Mary's County

Virginia

Counties

★ Arlington County

★ Clarke County

★ Fairfax County

★ Fauquier County

★ Loudoun County

★ Prince William County

★ Spotsylvania County

★ Stafford County

★ Warren County
Independent cities:

★ City of Alexandria

★ City of Fairfax

★ City of Falls Church

★ City of Fredericksburg

★ City of Manassas

★ City of Manassas Park

West Virginia

★ Jefferson County

Principal Cities

The metropolitan area includes the following principal cities (not all of which are incorporated as cities):

★ Washington, D.C.

★ Arlington, Virginia

★ Alexandria, Virginia

★ Bethesda, Maryland

★ Bowie, Maryland

★ Frederick, Maryland

★ Gaithersburg, Maryland

★ Hagerstown, Maryland

★ Herndon, Virginia

★ Reston, Virginia

★ Rockville, Maryland

★ Silver Spring, Maryland

★ Tysons Corner, Virginia

★ Waldorf, Maryland

City Definition in Virginia

Due to a state constitutional change in 1871, all cities in Virginia are independent cities and they are not legally located in any county. The OMB considers these independent cities to be county-equivalents for the purpose of defining MSAs in Virginia. Each MSA is listed by its counties, then cities, each in alphabetical order, and not by size.

See also

★ List of famous people from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area

★ List of U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) in Virginia

★ National Capital Region

External links

★ OMB Bulletin No. 05-02