Washington – Arlington – Alexandria
—  MSA  —
Washington D.C.
Arlington, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Country	United States
State	- Virginia  - Maryland  - West Virginia
Principal cities	- Washington, D.C.  - Arlington  - Alexandria
Area
• Metro	14,412 km2 (5,564.6 sq mi)
Elevation	0 - N/A m (0 - N/A ft)
Population (2010)[1]
• Density	371.8/km2 (962.9/sq mi)
• Urban	3,933,920(4th)
• MSA	5,582,170(7th)
	MSA/CSA = 2010, Urban = 2000
Time zone	EST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	EST (UTC-5)

The Washington Metropolitan Area is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The area includes all of the federal district and parts of the U.S. states of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The Office of Management and Budget defines the area as the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan statistical area used for statistical purposes by the United States Census Bureau and other agencies. The area includes as its principal cities Washington as well as the Virginia county of Arlington and city of Alexandria. The Office of Management and Budget also includes the metropolitan statistical area as part of the larger Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area, which has a population of over 8.55 million.^{[citation needed]}

The area is also sometimes referred to as the National Capital Region, particularly by federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security.^[2] The area in the region that is surrounded by Interstate 495 is also referred to as the "Capital Beltway". The Virginia portion of the area is known as Northern Virginia.^{[citation needed]}

The Washington Metropolitan Area is the most educated and by some measures, the most affluent metropolitan area in the United States.^[3] As of the 2010 Census Bureau estimate^[update], the population of the Washington Metropolitan Area was estimated to be 5,582,170 (+16.39%), making it the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the country.^[4]

Composition[link]

Aerial photo of Washington Metropolitan Area

Map highlighting the counties and developed areas of the region

Map highlighting labor patterns of regional counties

The U.S. Census Bureau divides the Washington statistical metropolitan area into two metropolitan divisions:^[5]

• the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV Metropolitan Division, comprising the majority of the metropolitan area
• the Bethesda–Gaithersburg–Frederick, MD Metropolitan Division, consisting of Montgomery and Frederick counties

Note that Metropolitan Area and Metropolitan Statistical Area should not be confused with Metropolitan Division.

Political subdivisions[link]

The area includes the following counties, districts, and independent cities:^[5]

District of Columbia[link]

• Washington, D.C.

Maryland[link]

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

Although 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

Although 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[link]

Counties

• Arlington County
• Clarke County
• Fairfax County
• Fauquier County
• Frederick 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[link]

• Jefferson County

Regional organizations[link]

Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments[link]

Founded in 1957, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) is a regional organization of 21 Washington-area local governments, as well as area members of the Maryland and Virginia state legislatures, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives. MWCOG provides a forum for discussion and the development of regional responses to issues regarding the environment, transportation, public safety, homeland security, affordable housing, community planning, and economic development.^[7]

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board, a component of MWCOG, is the federally-designated metropolitan planning organization for the metropolitan Washington area.^[8]

Principal cities[link]

View of Washington with the skylines of Arlington and Tysons Corner in the background

View of Arlington with the skylines of Bailey's Crossroads, Ballston, and Courthouse in the background

The metropolitan area includes the following principal cities (most of which are not incorporated as cities; one, Arlington, is actually a county):

• Washington, D.C.
• Arlington, Virginia
• Alexandria, Virginia
• Bethesda, Maryland
• Bowie, Maryland
• Centreville, Virginia
• Chantilly, Virginia
• College Park, Maryland
• Fairfax, Virginia
• Falls Church, Virginia
• Frederick, Maryland
• Fredericksburg, Virginia
• Gaithersburg, Maryland
• Germantown, Maryland
• Herndon, Virginia
• Laurel, Maryland
• Leesburg, Virginia
• Manassas, Virginia
• Reston, Virginia
• Rockville, Maryland
• Silver Spring, Maryland
• Springfield, Virginia
• Suitland, Maryland
• Takoma Park, Maryland
• Tysons Corner, Virginia
• Vienna, Virginia
• Waldorf, Maryland

Demographics[link]

Politics[link]

The relative strength of the major political parties within the region is shown by the presidential election results since 1960, as presented in the table to the right.^{[citation needed]}

Racial composition[link]

The area has been a magnet for international immigration since the late 1960s. It is also a magnet for internal migration (persons moving from one region of the U.S. to another).^{[9][dubious – discuss]} Census estimates show that persons of post-1965 immigrant stock will likely represent 25% of the region's population by 2010, forming a bigger population bloc than native blacks for the first time.^[10]

Racial composition of the Washington, D.C. area:^[11]

2010

• White : 54.8%
• Black : 25.8%
• Asian : 9.3%
• Hispanic : 13.8% (4.1% Salvadoran, 2.1% Mexican, 0.9% Guatemalan, 0.9% Puerto Rican, 0.8% Peruvian, 0.7% Honduran, 0.7% Bolivian)
• Mixed and Other : 3.7%

2006

• White : 51.7%
• Black : 26.3%
• Asian : 8.4%
• Hispanic : 11.6%
• Mixed and Other : 2.0%

1980

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

Health, educational attainment, and affluence[link]

The Washington DC metro area has held the top spot in the American College of Sports Medicine's annual American Fitness Index ranking of the United States' 50 most populous metropolitan areas for two years running. The report cites, among other things, the high average fitness level and healthy eating habits of residents, the widespread availability of health care and facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, and parks, low rates of obesity and tobacco use relative to the national average, and the high median household income as contributors to the city's community health.^[12]

The Washington Metropolitan Area has ranked as the highest-educated metropolitan area in the nation for four decades.^[13] As of the 2006–2008 American Community Survey, the three most educated places with 200,000 people or more in Washington–Arlington–Alexandria by bachelor's degree attainment (population 25 and over) are Arlington, Virginia (68.0%), Fairfax County, Virginia (58.8%), and Montgomery County, Maryland (56.4%).^[14] Forbes magazine stated in its 2008 "America's Best- And Worst-Educated Cities" report: "The D.C. area is less than half the size of L.A., but both cities have around 100,000 Ph.D.'s."^[15]

In recent years^[when?] the Washington Metropolitan Area has overtaken the San Francisco Bay Area as the highest-income metropolitan area in the nation.^[3] The median household income of the region is US$72,800. The two highest median household income counties in the nation – Loudoun and Fairfax County, Virginia – are components of the MSA (and #3 is Howard County, officially in Baltimore's sphere but strongly connected with Washington's); measured in this way, Alexandria ranks 10th among municipalities in the region - 11th if Howard is included - and 23rd in the entire United States. 12.2% of Northern Virginia's 881,136 households, 8.5% of suburban Maryland's 799,300 households, and 8.2% of Washington's 249,805 households have an annual income in excess of $200,000, compared to 3.7% nationally.^[16]

According to a report by the American Human Development Project, women in the Washington Metropolitan Area are ranked as having the highest income and educational attainment amongst the 25 most populous metropolitan areas in the nation, while Asian American women in the region had the highest life expectancy, at 92.3 years.^[17]

Economy[link]

Rosslyn is home to the tallest high-rises in the region.^[18][19]

NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda.

Gannett Company headquarters in Tysons Corner.

The various agencies of the Federal Government employ over 140,000 professionals in the Washington D.C. area. A sizable number in the Washington D.C. area work for defense and civilian contracting companies that conduct business directly with the Federal Government (many of these firms are referred to as 'Beltway Bandits' under the local vernacular). As a result, the Federal Government provides the underlying basis of the economy in the region. However, the Washington D.C. area is increasingly home to a diverse segment of businesses not directly related to the Federal Government.^{[citation needed]}

The Washington, D.C. area has the largest science and engineering work force of any metropolitan area in the nation in 2006 according to the Greater Washington Initiative at 324,530, ahead of the combined San Francisco Bay Area work force of 214,500, and Chicago metropolitan area at 203,090, citing data from U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Claritas Inc., and other sources.^[3]

The Washington, D.C. area was ranked as the second best High-Tech Center in a statistical analysis of the top 100 Metropolitan areas in the United States by American City Business Journals in May 2009, behind the Silicon Valley and ahead of the Boston metropolitan area.^[20] Fueling the metropolitan area's ranking was the reported 241,264 tech jobs in the region, a total eclipsed only by New York, Los Angeles, and the combined San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland regions, as well as the highest master's or doctoral degree attainment among the 100 ranked metropolitan areas.^[20] A Dice.com report showed that the Washington-Baltimore area had the second-highest number of tech jobs listed: 8,289, after the New York metro area with 9,195 jobs.^[21]

The Washington D.C. Area is home to hundreds of major research universities, think tanks, and non-profit organizations. Additionally, Washington, D.C. is a top tourism destination as flocks of Americans and foreigners from around the world visit the museums and monuments of the Capital city year round with the peak season being during the Spring and Summer months of April through August. Moreover, the Washington D.C. area attracts tens of major conferences and conventions each year which also contribute greatly to the region's economy.^{[citation needed]}

Changes in house prices for the D.C. area are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the Case–Shiller index; the statistic is published by Standard & Poor's and is also a component of S&P's 10-city composite index of the value of the U.S. residential real estate market.

Primary industries[link]

Biotechnology[link]

Not limited to its proximity to the National Institutes of Health, Maryland's Washington suburbs are a major center for biotechnology. Prominent local biotech companies include MedImmune, The Institute for Genomic Research, Human Genome Sciences, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.^{[citation needed]}

Defense contracting[link]

Many defense contractors are based in the region to be close to the Pentagon in Arlington. Local defense contractors include Lockheed Martin, the largest, as well as Raytheon, General Dynamics, BAE Systems, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), CACI, and Orbital Sciences Corporation. Northrup Grumman is to move its headquarters to the region by the summer of 2011.^[22]

Notable company headquarters in the region[link]

List of companies headquartered in the Washington Metropolitan Area with revenues in excess of $5 billion,^[23][24] including companies that are in the process of relocating to the area and excluding those that are leaving. Seven of the companies are located in Tysons Corner but use McLean addresses. Many large firms are based in Montgomery County, including Discovery Communications, Coventry Health Care, Lockheed Martin, Marriott International, Host Hotels & Resorts, Travel Channel, Ritz-Carlton, Robert Louis Johnson Companies (RLJ Cos), Choice Hotels, MedImmune, TV One, BAE Systems Inc, Hughes Network Systems, and GEICO.

Transportation[link]

Dulles International

Washington Metro

Major airports[link]

• Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), located in Dulles, Virginia – the busiest in the region
• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), located in Arlington County, Virginia – the closest to Washington
• Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), located in Linthicum, Maryland – in the Baltimore Metropolitan Area

Rail transit systems[link]

• Washington Metro – DC, MD, VA (Rapid transit)
• MARC Train – DC, MD, WV (Commuter rail)
• Virginia Railway Express – DC, VA (Commuter rail)
• Amtrak – DC, MD, VA, WV (Commuter rail, Inter-city rail)

Bus transit systems[link]

• DC Circulator – Washington, D.C.
• Metrobus – Washington Metropolitan Area
• Ride On - Montgomery County, Maryland
• TheBus - Prince George's County, Maryland
• ART - Arlington County, Virginia
• DASH - Alexandria, Virginia
• Fairfax Connector - Fairfax County, Virginia
• CUE_Bus - Fairfax, Virginia
• PRTC - Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park
• FRED - Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania and Stafford

Culture[link]

Sports teams[link]

Listing of the professional sports teams in the Washington metropolitan area

• National Basketball Association (NBA)
  • Washington Wizards
• Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
  • Washington Mystics
• Major League Baseball (MLB)
  • Washington Nationals
• Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)
  • Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
• National Football League (NFL)
  • Washington Redskins
• National Hockey League (NHL)
  • Washington Capitals
• Major League Soccer (MLS)
  • D.C. United
• Major League Lacrosse (outdoor) (MLL)
  • Chesapeake Bayhawks
• World Team Tennis (WTT)
  • Washington Kastles

Media[link]

The Washington metropolitan area is home to USA Today, C-SPAN, PBS, and BET. The two main newspapers are The Washington Post and The Washington Times. Local television channels include WRC-TV 4 (NBC), WTTG 5 (FOX), WJLA 7 (ABC), WUSA 9 (CBS), WDCA 20 (MyNetworkTV), WETA-TV 26 (PBS), WPXW 43 (Ion), and WDCW 50 (CW). NewsChannel 8 is a 24/7 local news provider available only to cable subscribers. Radio stations serving the area include: WETA-FM, WIHT, WMAL-AM, and WTOP.

Area Codes[link]

• 202 - Washington, D.C.
• 571/703 — Northern Virginia including the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church as well as Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun counties (571 created 1 March 2000; 703 in October, 1947).
• 240/301 — northern and western Maryland

Sister cities[link]

City	Country	Year
Washington, D.C.[Note 1]
Bangkok	Thailand	1962, renewed 2002
Dakar	Senegal	1980, renewed 2006
Beijing	China	1984, renewed 2004
Brussels	Belgium	1985, renewed 2002
Athens	Greece	2000
Paris[Note 2]	France	2000, renewed 2005
Pretoria	South Africa	2002, renewed 2008
Seoul	South Korea	2006
Accra	Ghana	2006
Sunderland	United Kingdom	2006
Alexandria, Virginia
Gyumri	Armenia
Helsingborg	Sweden
Dundee[Note 3]	United Kingdom
Caen	France
Arlington County, Virginia
Aachen	Germany
Reims	France
San Miguel	El Salvador
Coyoacán	Mexico
Ivano-Frankivsk[Note 4]	Ukraine
Herndon, Virginia
Runnymede[Note 5]	United Kingdom
Fairfax County, Virginia
Harbin[Note 6]	China	2009
Songpa-gu[Note 7]	South Korea	2009
Falls Church, Virginia
Kokolopori	Congo
District Heights, Maryland
Mbuji-Mayi	Congo
Frederick, Maryland
Aquiraz	Brazil
Moerzheim	Germany
Schifferstadt	Germany
La Plata, Maryland
Jogeva County	Estonia
Walldorf	Germany
Rockville, Maryland
Pinneberg	Germany

1. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
2. ^ Paris is a "Partner City" due to the one Sister City policy of that commune.[2]
3. ^ Historic Alexandria | City of Alexandria, VA
4. ^ Exploration phase
5. ^ Town twin[3]
6. ^ Rejected by Washington due to not being a national capital.[4]
7. ^ Sisterhood Partnerships

See also[link]

District of Columbia portal

• List of federal agencies in Northern Virginia
• List of federal installations in Maryland
• List of people from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area
• List of U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas in Virginia
• Potomac primary

References[link]

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (May 2012)

External links[link]

• OMB Bulletin No. 05-02
• Urban Areas of Virginia
• May 2006 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates; Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division
• May 2005 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates; Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division
• Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA Population and Components of Change

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