Fort Meade is in Anne Arundel County, near the corner of four counties in Maryland; Anne Arundel County, Howard County, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County, and is surrounded by many communities with various populations within a 30 minute commute. Fort Meade is also midway between Baltimore City, Maryland, and Washington DC.

Anne Arundel County has a population of about 538,000 people. The largest nearby communities are Annapolis, the state capitol (39,000), Odenton (20,000), Severn (45,000), and Glen Burnie (68,000).

The average commute in Anne Arundel County is about 27 minutes, which is fairly typical for the area in good traffic. This is a highly populated area with constant traffic and regular slowdowns and blockages, and local travel times can vary a great deal.

Howard County has about 288,000 people, in many local towns; nearby communities include Columbia (100,000), Ellicott City (65,000), Jessup (8,000), parts of Laurel (60,000 in a few smaller towns), and Elkridge (16,000).

Prince George's County is a fairly large and spread out county of about 864,000 people, extending from north of Washington DC to well south of it. The north county area includes Bowie (55,000), parts of Laurel (about 60,000 including sections in Howard), College Park (31,000), Greenbelt (23,000) and Adelphi and Beltsville (each about 16,000).

Montgomery County has about 971,000 people, but the major community near Fort Meade is Silver Spring (about 72,000 people).

Baltimore City and its southern suburbs are within 30 minutes commute. Baltimore has about 621,000 people in its city limits.

Washington DC is just beyond a 30 minute commute, but is another major city in the area, with a population of 632,000.


Local Housing Rental Prices: The average apartment rent in the Fort Meade area ranges from $1000 to $1600 per month, with a median of $1200 per month.

Local Housing Purchase Prices: The average price for a house in the Fort Meade area ranges from $325,000 to $695,000, an average of about $504,000, compared to $429,000 for Maryland.

Short Description of the Area: The Fort Meade area is pretty densely populated for a supposedly rural place, with roughly three-quarters of a million people in the vicinity. This part of Maryland, between Baltimore and Washington DC, is one of the most densely populated in the USA. Several of the communities nearby rank highly on quality of living in several categories, and in local permanent resident wealth levels. The counties of this region are some of the oldest European settlements in North America, a few going back to the early 1600s. Many local towns and villages have a great deal of American history from Colonial, Revolutionary, Civil War, and later periods; practically any drive on an older road should turn up some historical marker. Today this area has a varied economy, and a high percentage of highly educated professionals in many economic sectors. Physically, northeast Maryland has low rolling hills dividing shallow valleys cut by small rivers and streams.

Climate and Weather: The area has a humid climate, winter temperatures of the low 40s to mid-20s and summer temperatures of the high 80s to high 60s. The area has muggy summers, with some thunderstorms, but little in the way of heavy storms and only rare tornadoes. Winters are cool to cold, typically with light snow in deep winter, but some winters can see a nor'easter roar in and drop a lot of snow. Rainfall is usually even through the year, about 3"-4" per month.