Baltimore County, Maryland in the context of "Catonsville, Maryland"

Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the 30th-most populous U.S. city with a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, while the Baltimore metropolitan area at 2.86 million residents is the 22nd-largest metropolitan area in the nation. The city is also part of the Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area, which had a population of 9.97 million in 2020. Baltimore was designated as an independent city by the Constitution of Maryland in 1851. Though not located under the jurisdiction of any county in the state, it forms part of the Central Maryland region together with the surrounding county that shares its name.

The land that is present-day Baltimore was once used as hunting ground by Paleo-Indians. In the early 1600s, the Susquehannock began to hunt there. People from the Province of Maryland established the Port of Baltimore in 1706 to support the tobacco trade with Europe and established the Town of Baltimore in 1729. During the American Revolutionary War, the Second Continental Congress briefly moved its deliberations to the Henry Fite House from December 1776 to February 1777 prior to the capture of Philadelphia to British troops, which permitted Baltimore to serve briefly as the nation's capital before it returned to Philadelphia. The Battle of Baltimore was pivotal during the War of 1812, culminating in the British bombardment of Fort McHenry, during which Francis Scott Key wrote a poem that became "The Star-Spangled Banner", which was designated as the national anthem in 1931. During the Pratt Street Riot of 1861, the city was the site of some of the earliest violence associated with the American Civil War.

Woodlawn is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland. Per the 2020 census, the population was 39,986. It is home to the headquarters of the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). It is bordered by Catonsville on the south, by the Patapsco River and Howard County on the west, by Randallstown and Lochearn to the north, and by the City of Baltimore to the east. Parts of Woodlawn are sometimes informally referred to as Security, Maryland, due to the importance of the SSA's headquarters as well as nearby Security Boulevard (Maryland Route 122) and Security Square Mall.

The Lorraine Park Cemetery Gate Lodge and St. Mary's Episcopal Church were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Stevenson University is a private university in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, with two campuses, one in Stevenson and one in Owings Mills. The university enrolls approximately 3,615 undergraduate and graduate students. Formerly known as Villa Julie College, the name was changed to Stevenson University in 2008.

Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university has evolved into eight subsidiary colleges with over 20,000 students. Its 329-acre campus is situated in Baltimore County, Maryland, eight miles north of downtown Baltimore. Towson is one of the largest public universities in Maryland and produces the most teachers of any university in the state.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Catonsville, Maryland, United States, named after Baltimore County. It had a fall 2025 enrollment of 13,530 students. In 2019, it had 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, and 29 graduate certificate programs) and the first university research park in Maryland. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity".

Established as a part of the University System of Maryland in 1966, the university became the first public college or university in Maryland to be inclusive of all races. UMBC has the fourth highest enrollment of the University System of Maryland, specializing in natural sciences and engineering, as well as programs in the liberal arts and social sciences. Its athletic teams are known as the UMBC Retrievers and participate in the America East Conference.

Charles Street, known for most of its route as Maryland Route 139 (MD 139), runs through Baltimore and the Towson area of Baltimore County. On the north end, it terminates at an intersection with Bellona Avenue near Interstate 695 (I-695). At the south end, it terminates in Federal Hill in Baltimore. Charles Street is one of the major routes through Baltimore, and is a major public transportation corridor. For the one-way portions of Charles Street, the street is functionally complemented by the parallel St. Paul Street, including St. Paul Place and Preston Gardens, Maryland Avenue, Cathedral Street, and Liberty Street.

Though not exactly at the west–east midpoint of the city, Charles Street is the dividing line between the west and east sides of Baltimore. On any street that crosses Charles Street, address numbers start from the unit block on either side, and the streets are identified as either "West" or "East," depending on whether they are to the west or east of Charles.

Randallstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is named after Christopher and Thomas Randall, two 18th-century tavern-keepers. At that time, Randallstown was a tollgate crossroads on the Liberty Turnpike, a major east–west thoroughfare. It is a suburb of Baltimore, with a population of 33,655 as of the 2020 census. In the 1990s, Randallstown transitioned to a majority African American community. As of 2020, it was 72 percent African American.

Choate House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

Lochearn is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, located immediately to the west of the City of Baltimore. Per the 2020 census, the population was 25,511.