Worcester County, Maryland

Worcester County
County
George Washington Purnell House
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Maryland
Maryland's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°14′N 75°17′W / 38.23°N 75.28°W / 38.23; -75.28
Country	United States
State	Maryland
Founded	1742
Named for	Family of Marquess of Worcester
Seat	Snow Hill
Largest community	Ocean Pines
Area
• Total	695 sq mi (1,800 km2)
• Land	468 sq mi (1,210 km2)
• Water	227 sq mi (590 km2)  33%
Population  (2020)
• Total	52,460
• Density	75/sq mi (29/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.co.worcester.md.us

Worcester County /ˈwʊrstər/ is the easternmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,460.^[1] Its county seat is Snow Hill.^[2]

It is the only county of Maryland that borders the Atlantic Ocean, and the only county bordering both Delaware and Virginia. The county was named for Mary Arundell, the wife of Sir John Somerset, a son of Henry Somerset, 1st Marquess of Worcester. She was sister to Anne Arundell (Anne Arundel County), wife of Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (Cecil County), the first Proprietor and Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland.^[2][3]

Worcester County is included in the Salisbury, MD-DE Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county includes the entire length of the state's ocean and tidewater coast along the Intracoastal Waterway bordering Assawoman Bay, Isle of Wight Bay, Sinepuxent Bay, and Chincoteague Bay between the sand barrier islands of Fenwick Island and Assateague Island bordering the Atlantic Ocean coast. It is home to the popular vacation resort area of Ocean City, founded 1875, as well as wild habitats on the primitive wilderness areas on Assateague Island and in the Pocomoke River and Swamp.