Baltimore

Baltimore is the <a href="/facts/List_of_municipalities_in_Maryland/tE8vcSXg">most populous city</a> in the U.S. state of <a href="/facts/Maryland/tVy9fC1n">Maryland</a>. It is the <a href="/facts/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population/rcYY6hsJ">30th-most populous U.S. city</a> with a population of 585,708 at the <a href="/facts/2020_United_States_census/dTEm5TRr">2020 census</a> and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, while the <a href="/facts/Baltimore_metropolitan_area/X9abxn19">Baltimore metropolitan area</a> at 2.86 million residents is the <a href="/facts/Metropolitan_statistical_areas/Y2yX0KJg">22nd-largest metropolitan area</a> in the nation. The city is also part of the <a href="/facts/Washington%25E2%2580%2593Baltimore_combined_statistical_area/EUs75hBy">Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area</a>, which had a population of 9.97 million in 2020. Baltimore was designated as an <a href="/facts/Independent_city_(United_States)/ymWnITpl">independent city</a> by the <a href="/facts/Constitution_of_Maryland/N6Cs6xTa">Constitution of Maryland</a> in 1851. Though not located under the jurisdiction of any county in the state, it forms part of the Central Maryland region together with <a href="/facts/Baltimore_County%2c_Maryland/rgMN6zIn">the surrounding county that shares its name</a>.
The land that is present-day Baltimore was used as hunting ground by <a href="/facts/Paleo-Indians/Cy2QSqUH">Paleo-Indians</a>. In the early 1600s, the <a href="/facts/Susquehannock/Lgxa2W7t">Susquehannock</a> began to hunt there. People from the <a href="/facts/Province_of_Maryland/81lppC22">Province of Maryland</a> established the <a href="/facts/Port_of_Baltimore/Xqf1gtjv">Port of Baltimore</a> in 1706 to support the <a href="/facts/History_of_commercial_tobacco_in_the_United_States/bJEtLoh5">tobacco trade</a> with Europe and established the Town of Baltimore in 1729. During the <a href="/facts/American_Revolutionary_War/8MxJNtcU">American Revolutionary War</a>, the <a href="/facts/Second_Continental_Congress/576P61Ah">Second Continental Congress</a> briefly moved its deliberations to the <a href="/facts/Henry_Fite_House/UVNEx8x1">Henry Fite House</a> from December 1776 to February 1777 prior to the <a href="/facts/Philadelphia_campaign/y3y3CF64">capture of Philadelphia</a> to British troops, which permitted Baltimore to serve briefly as <a href="/facts/List_of_capitals_in_the_United_States/RMAd1LFl">the nation's capital</a> before it returned to <a href="/facts/Philadelphia/2bFFCCTU">Philadelphia</a>. The <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Baltimore/5EVmv8tc">Battle of Baltimore</a> was pivotal during the <a href="/facts/War_of_1812/D94xlnn8">War of 1812</a>, culminating in the British bombardment of <a href="/facts/Fort_McHenry/9xz12cKx">Fort McHenry</a>, during which <a href="/facts/Francis_Scott_Key/9VJE7AkN">Francis Scott Key</a> wrote a poem that became "<a href="/facts/The_Star-Spangled_Banner/GrMnRnSd">The Star-Spangled Banner</a>" and was designated as the national anthem in 1931. During the <a href="/facts/Baltimore_riot_of_1861/XjcLPhgx">Pratt Street Riot of 1861</a>, the city was the site of some of the earliest violence associated with the <a href="/facts/American_Civil_War/A9FT3ksD">American Civil War</a>.
The <a href="/facts/Baltimore_and_Ohio_Railroad/qSpE5pY1">Baltimore and Ohio Railroad</a>, the nation's oldest, was built in 1830 and cemented Baltimore's status as a transportation hub, giving producers in the <a href="/facts/Midwestern_United_States/VanHjkw2">Midwest</a> and <a href="/facts/Appalachia/GGjCgGyK">Appalachia</a> access to the city's port. Baltimore's <a href="/facts/Inner_Harbor/Ppr8wtI5">Inner Harbor</a> was the second-leading <a href="/facts/Port_of_entry/npE1vGgd">port of entry</a> for <a href="/facts/Immigration_to_the_United_States/KT75X7Uc">immigrants to the U.S.</a> and a major manufacturing center. After a decline in <a href="/facts/Heavy_industry/yFY3ovdz">heavy industry</a> and restructuring of the <a href="/facts/Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States/TlQk8n85">rail industry</a>, Baltimore has shifted to a <a href="/facts/Service_economy/QjJBuCbg">service-oriented economy</a>. <a href="/facts/Johns_Hopkins_Hospital/SDFhJozp">Johns Hopkins Hospital</a> and <a href="/facts/Johns_Hopkins_University/56US0mHw">University</a> are now the top employers. Baltimore is also home to the <a href="/facts/Baltimore_Orioles/f5LSUyof">Baltimore Orioles</a> of <a href="/facts/Major_League_Baseball/4WW9yef3">Major League Baseball</a> and the <a href="/facts/Baltimore_Ravens/kdREN8t3">Baltimore Ravens</a> of the <a href="/facts/National_Football_League/cBH0hxRV">National Football League</a>. It is ranked as a <a href="/facts/Global_city/Lqv5NqA5">Gamma− world city</a> by the <a href="/facts/Globalization_and_World_Cities_Research_Network/xdxbC98a">Globalization and World Cities Research Network</a>.
The city is home to some of the earliest <a href="/facts/National_Register_Historic_District/EVQuB165">National Register Historic Districts</a> in the nation, including <a href="/facts/Fell%2527s_Point%2c_Baltimore/FMgbfMpn">Fell's Point</a>, <a href="/facts/Federal_Hill%2c_Baltimore/1Ged3Hrx">Federal Hill</a>, and <a href="/facts/Mount_Vernon%2c_Baltimore/rL0BWspa">Mount Vernon</a>. Baltimore has more public statues and monuments per capita than any other city in the U.S. Nearly one third of the buildings (over 65,000) are designated as historic in the <a href="/facts/National_Register_of_Historic_Places/leUNvfW6">National Register</a>, more than any other U.S. city. Baltimore has 66 National Register Historic Districts and 33 local historic districts.

Baltimore open-in-new

Baltimore