Washington Map
Washington belongs to no state. It is a federal district on the Potomac, home to about 702,000 people in 2024, on land Maryland ceded after the Residence Act of 1790.
Where is Washington?
The capital sits on the north bank of the Potomac River, wedged between Maryland on three sides and Virginia across the water. The district was originally a 10-mile square; the Virginia third was handed back in 1846, which is why the map now shows a diamond with its southwest corner sliced off. Washington is about 40 miles southwest of Baltimore, roughly 140 miles southwest of Philadelphia, and some 225 miles southwest of New York.
Washington at a glance
| State | District of Columbia |
| County | District of Columbia (a federal district, not a county) |
| Population | 702,250 (2024 Census estimate) |
| Rank among US cities | No. 23 of the 100 largest |
| Time zone | Eastern Time |
| Region | South (South Atlantic division) |
No. 23 on the 2024 list is a margin of 10,669 people: that is how far Washington trails Oklahoma City, while El Paso is 20,527 further back. It is the only entry that belongs to no state at all, and it is not small: 702,250 people is more than Wyoming and Vermont hold.
Washington and the states around it
Because the district is not part of a state, it has no county government and no county map — the whole of it is coextensive with the District of Columbia. Its suburbs, though, are ordinary counties: Montgomery and Prince George's on the Maryland county map, Fairfax and Arlington on the Virginia county map, where Virginia's independent cities also complicate the picture. Virginia Beach and Richmond are the larger Virginia cities further south.
The Potomac and the fall line
The site was chosen for navigation: ocean-going ships could reach Georgetown, and no further, because the Potomac drops over the fall line just upstream at Little Falls. Below that break the river is tidal all the way to Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic coast. The Anacostia joins from the east, and the low ground between the two rivers was marshy enough that much of the Mall is made land. The ridge behind the city marks the edge of the Piedmont, with the Appalachians beginning about 50 miles west.
Cities near Washington
Along the corridor sit Baltimore, Philadelphia, Richmond, Norfolk and New York. The US map with capitals shows Washington against the 50 state capitals it is often confused with.