Maryland Counties Map: Click All 24 Counties

How many counties are in Maryland?

Maryland has 24 counties. 37 states have more, and 12 have fewer.

Maryland has 23 counties plus Baltimore City, which is independent of Baltimore County and counts as a county on its own. The capital, Annapolis, is in Anne Arundel County on the Chesapeake Bay. The Eastern Shore counties sit across the bay on the Delmarva Peninsula.

How Maryland's counties were formed

St. Mary's County, founded in 1637 around the colony's first settlement, is Maryland's oldest. Counties spread west from the Chesapeake Bay over two centuries. Baltimore City separated from Baltimore County in 1851, and Garrett County, created in 1872 from the western end of Allegany County, was the 23rd and last. Maryland counties have unusually strong governments; many services that towns handle in other states are run by the county.

Maryland regions and the counties in each

Maryland has five regions. Western Maryland is Garrett, Allegany and Washington counties, in the Appalachian Mountains. The Capital Region is Frederick, Montgomery and Prince George's counties near Washington, D.C. Central Maryland includes Baltimore City and Baltimore, Howard, Harford, Carroll and Anne Arundel counties. Southern Maryland is Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's on the western shore of the bay, and the Eastern Shore runs from Cecil down to Worcester, home of Ocean City and Assateague Island.

Notable places on the Maryland county map

Hoye-Crest on Backbone Mountain, the state's highest point at 3,360 feet, is in Garrett County. Antietam National Battlefield is in Washington County, and Fort McHenry, whose 1814 defense inspired The Star-Spangled Banner, is in Baltimore City. The US Naval Academy is in Annapolis (Anne Arundel County), and Assateague Island National Seashore, known for its wild ponies, is in Worcester County. The Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the country, splits the state in two, and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge links Anne Arundel County to Queen Anne's County on the Eastern Shore.

Maryland counties map: the biggest and smallest

Frederick County is the largest county in Maryland, with 661 square miles of land, about 7% of the state. Baltimore city is the smallest, at 81 square miles.

The smallest counties by land area are Baltimore city (81 sq mi), Calvert County (213 sq mi) and Howard County (251 sq mi).

Which counties in Maryland have the most people?

Montgomery County has the most people, about 1,082,273 in the Census Bureau's July 2024 estimate, or 17% of everyone in Maryland. The three biggest counties together hold 46% of the state's 6,263,220 people. Kent County has the fewest, about 19,557.

The most crowded is Baltimore city, with about 7,024 people per square mile. The emptiest is Garrett County, with about 44 people per square mile. Comparing the two is a quick way to show children that a big county on the map isn't always a big county in people.

What county is Annapolis in?

Annapolis, the capital of Maryland, is in Anne Arundel County. Anne Arundel County ranks 4th of 24 by population. Maryland is called the Old Line State, and it became the 7th state in 1788.

Counties on the Maryland border

Learning the edge of the map first gives children a frame to fill in. Maryland shares a border with Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

How Maryland's counties compare with other states

Maryland ranks 42nd among the 50 states in land area and 18th in population. Its average county covers about 405 square miles and holds about 260,968 people. Across the 50 states, the average county-level area covers about 1,139 square miles and holds about 109,381 people, so Maryland's counties are smaller than usual in size. Small counties pack more names into the same space, so zooming in helps.

Landmarks for learning the counties of Maryland

• Garrett and Allegany counties form the narrow western panhandle.
• Montgomery and Prince George's counties border Washington, D.C.
• The nine Eastern Shore counties lie east of the Chesapeake Bay.

With 24 counties, you can take on the whole map at once in a Practice round. Then print the Maryland county map worksheet to check that it sticks on paper.

All 24 Maryland counties

Every county on the map, A to Z, with its land area and July 2024 population estimate.

Maryland geography for homeschoolers

Pair this map with the Southeast states and capitals quiz and the US states quiz. If you teach at home, see homeschooling in maryland, and check maryland boost scholarship to see whether a program may help pay for Maryland history and geography curriculum. Each program decides what it covers.