Baltimore County, Maryland

Baltimore County
County
The Baltimore County Courthouse
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  "BalCo", "B-More County", "The County"
Location within the U.S. state of Maryland
Maryland's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°24′N 76°36′W / 39.4°N 76.6°W / 39.4; -76.6
Country	United States
State	Maryland
Founded	June 30, 1659
Named for	Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore
Seat	Towson
Largest community	Dundalk
Area
• Total	682 sq mi (1,770 km2)
• Land	598 sq mi (1,550 km2)
• Water	83 sq mi (210 km2)  12%
Population  (2020)
• Total	854,535
• Density	1,300/sq mi (480/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	1st, 2nd, 7th
Website	www.baltimorecountymd.gov

Baltimore County (/ˈbɔːltɪmɔːr/ BAWL-tim-or, locally: /bɔːldəˈmɔːr/ bawl-da-MOR or /ˈbɔːlmər/ BAWL-mər^[1]) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area.

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.^[2] The county is home to several universities, including Goucher College, Stevenson University, Towson University, and University of Maryland, Baltimore County.