Baltimore metropolitan area in the context of "Interstate 95"

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.

The Washington–Baltimore combined metropolitan statistical area is a statistical area, including the overlapping metropolitan areas of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. The region includes Central Maryland, Northern Virginia, three counties in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, and one county in south-central Pennsylvania. It is the most educated, highest-income, and third-most populous combined statistical area in the United States behind New York City–Newark, NJ and Los Angeles–Long Beach.

The area is designated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the Washington–Baltimore–Arlington, DC–MD–VA–WV–PA Combined Statistical Area. It is composed primarily of two major metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV MSA and the Baltimore–Columbia–Towson, Maryland Metropolitan Statistical Area. Five smaller urban areas not contiguous to the main urban area but having strong commuting ties with the main area are included in the metropolitan area:Hagerstown–Martinsburg, Maryland–West Virginia MSA, the Chambersburg–Waynesboro, Pennsylvania MSA, the Winchester, VA–WV MSA, the California–Lexington Park, Maryland MSA, and the Easton, Maryland micropolitan statistical area (μSA).

Baltimore County is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Baltimore County partly surrounds but does not include the independent city of Baltimore. It is part of the Northeast megalopolis, which stretches from Northern Virginia in the south to Boston in the north and includes major American population centers, including New York City and Philadelphia. Major economic sectors in the county include education, government, and health care. As of the 2020 census, the population was 854,535. The county is home to several universities, including Goucher College, Stevenson University, Towson University, and University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Harford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area and the Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state.

Anne Arundel County (listen; /əˈrʌndəl/), 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, which is also the capital of the state. The county is named for Anne Arundell (c. 1615/1616–1649), Lady Baltimore, a member of the Arundell family in Cornwall, England, and the wife of Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (1605–1675), founder and first lord proprietor of the colony Province of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Anne Arundel County is included in the Washington–Baltimore–Arlington combined statistical area.

Howard County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population is 334,529. Since there are no incorporated municipalities, there is no incorporated county seat either. Therefore, its county seat is the unincorporated community of Ellicott City. Howard County is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area.

The county is home to Columbia, a planned community between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. with a population of approximately 100,000, founded in 1967.