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Fort Meade, Maryland, centrally located in northern Anne Arundel County, is convenient to many opportunities for work, play, education and travel. The cities of Baltimore and Washington, DC are a comfortable commuting distance, as are their respective airports. Travelers will find themselves a short 7 miles from BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport and just 27 miles from Reagan National Airport. Four campuses of the University of Maryland System and three community colleges all lie within a 16-mile radius of Fort Meade. Historic Annapolis, home of the United States Naval Academy and St. John’s College, is about a half-hour’s drive away. The Atlantic beaches of Maryland and Delaware are close enough for a weekend getaway or even a day trip.
The strong economy of Anne Arundel County boasts one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state of Maryland. A dynamic mix of high technology companies, healthcare, education and government – state, local and federal – make up the stable business base of some 222,000 employees in 14,000 businesses. Major private sector employers include:
- Northrop Grumman Corporation
- Baltimore Washington Medical Center
- Anne Arundel Health System
- ARINC
In the government sector, more than 5,000 jobs will be moved to Fort George G. Meade from northern Virginia over the next five years, as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. In addition, thousands of support jobs – from defense contractors to insurance companies to daycare providers – are expected to follow.
The Army post and its 78 tenant organizations lead off the list in the government sector, which also includes:
- The National Security Agency,
- Anne Arundel County Public Schools,
- BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport and the
- The State of Maryland
House values in Fort Meade are significantly above the state average. In 2005, the estimated median house value was $300,500 and the estimated median household income was $47,300. The percentage of families renting their homes is significantly above the state average. The population of Fort Meade is just over 9,000 people, with an average household size of 3.5 people, which is above the state average. The median age of Fort Meade residents is 22.6 years, nearly four years younger than the state average.
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