Washington metropolitan area

About

The Washington metropolitan area (also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV, short for District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia) is the metropolitan area comprising Washington, D.C., the federal capital of the United States, and its surroundings. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C., and parts of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.

The United States federal government defines the area as the Washington–DC, VA–MD–WV metropolitan statistical area. It anchors the southern end of the densely populated Northeast megalopolis and is part of the Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area, the country's third-largest. The area's estimated total population of 6,304,975 (as of 2023) makes it the country's seventh-most populous metropolitan area. It is one of the country's most educated and affluent metropolitan areas.