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Hey everyone on the East Coast. I recently took a business trip where I had to drive on I-95 through Baltimore and into Washington, DC.
After that, I had one question on my mind-
Are the cities of DC and Baltimore considered one large metro area?
You know- like Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
Baltimore and DC are essentially 50 miles from each other. There's a lot of commuter volume within that area. Also, traffic is always a headache between those two cities.
So are DC and Baltimore regarded as one big metropolitan area? Do all you DC and Maryland residents often think of them as such?
Are the cities of DC and Baltimore considered one large metro area?
You know- like Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
...
Anyone know for sure?
Well there is always going to be a level of subjectivity about these kinds of things, so no, no one will be able to say for sure.
However, I can say with near certainty that the relationship between DC and Baltimore is nothing like the Twin Cities. DC and Baltimore, though geographically close, are very, very different cities. Different cultures, different economies and so forth.
There is some overlap in some of each city's outter suburbs, where individuals living there might work in either city (such as Howard County). But beyond that there's very little connectivity between the two.
Hey everyone on the East Coast. I recently took a business trip where I had to drive on I-95 through Baltimore and into Washington, DC.
After that, I had one question on my mind-
Are the cities of DC and Baltimore considered one large metro area?
You know- like Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
Baltimore and DC are essentially 50 miles from each other. There's a lot of commuter volume within that area. Also, traffic is always a headache between those two cities.
So are DC and Baltimore regarded as one big metropolitan area? Do all you DC and Maryland residents often think of them as such?
Anyone know for sure?
From downtown DC to downtown Baltimore it's 38 miles, so not not exactly 50 miles apart. DC and Baltimore are considered separate in MSA population terms, but as one in CSA metro population terms. There is a lot of commuter traffic between the two cities, but as another posted DC and Baltimore aren't as closely tied as the twin cities.
For me I feel they're closely linked and should be considered one metro, but there are plenty of others who think otherwise and some of their points are valid - different sports teams, different TV and Radio stations and other reasons....
D.C. and Baltimore are probably the two closest DISTINCT major metropolitan areas in the country Perhaps New York and Newark or San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose might make a case but I don't think they're nearly as distinct or separate. With D.C. and Baltimore, they're not only physically more separated (a good hour's drive from each other in traffic), they're psychologically at least as different as they are similar and most people from either area would not want to be thought of as being from the other metro area.
Baltimore is still more of an older, more working-class, industrial, East-Coast port city more similar in feel and culture to places like Philadelphia or Newark than to D.C. It's a smaller area (mid-sized major metropolitan area) with a smaller economy but more established neighborhoods, fewer suburbs, more local color.
The Washington area has a much more complex identity. In terms of drawing in and being dependent on a white-collar, educated workforce from around the country and world it's more similar to places like the Bay Area or New York City (Manhattan). Its population is very ethnically diverse and getting more so each passing year. However, it also still has remnants of southern culture, particularly in the outer Virginia suburbs (Stafford County, Prince William County, western Loudoun County, etc. as well as the historical African-American population in the District and eastern Maryland suburbs). On top of that some of the suburbs have sort of a Sun Belt feel with a pretty young median population living in sprawling suburbs and most of the suburban development happening within the past generation or two. It's also a relatively conservative business area with most of the economy driven by government and government-contracting and the culture ends up being more buttoned up as a result as well, though D.C. itself has some of the world's best museums and cultural offerings, especially for a city its size.
Just by virtue of the distance there is some overlap in the metropolitan areas (especially in Howard and Anne Arundel counties). Baltimore has also benefited as a city by being able to market its downtown areas as cheaper urban living with accessibility to D.C. and there are populations of young professionals who live in Baltimore and commute to D.C. Likewise, going up to Baltimore to party is a fun weekend getaway for many of us D.C. area residents, especially those on the Maryland side. However, there is also enough of a healthy distinction (I wouldn't it "rivalry" because the cities are too different to really be competitors) so that for example a tourist from Fairfax County, Virginia going to the National Aquarium with his family feels like he's going on a day trip to another city and not just another local area.
We hate B-more....nah, just playing. Or am I? Inside joke that this board would throw way out of context. Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area
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The official OMB-designated Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV Combined Statistical Area, based on the 2000 Census.
A general map of the counties that are a part of the area, based on the 1990 Census.
The Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area is a consolidated metropolitan area consisting of the overlapping labor market region of the cities of Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.. The region includes Central Maryland, Northern Virginia, and two counties in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. It is the most educated, highest-income, and fourth largestCombined Statistical Area in the United States.[1][2]
Officially, the area is designated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV CSA. It is composed primarily of two major metropolitan areas, the Baltimore-Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and the Washington Metropolitan Area. In addition, three other smaller urban areas not contiguous to the main urban area but having strong commuting ties with the main area are also included in the metropolitan area. These are the Winchester, VA-WV MSA, the Lexington Park, MD Micropolitan area and the Culpeper, VA Micropolitan area. Some counties and cities are not officially designated by the OMB as members of this metropolitan area, but still consider themselves members anyway. This is mostly due to their proximity to the area, the size of their commuter population, and by the influence of local broadcasting stations. The population of the entire Baltimore-Washington Metroplex as of 2007 is 8,241,912.[3][4][5][6][7][8] The most populous city is Baltimore, with a population of 637,455. The most populous county is Fairfax County, Virginia, with a population exceeding 1 million.
Maybe I used the wrong analogy. Forget the Twin Cities.
How about Los Angeles and Anaheim out in SoCal?
Both LA and Anaheim make up the Greater Los Angeles area.
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