Charles County is a county in Maryland, United States, on the western shore of the Potomac River in Southern Maryland. It had a population of 166,617 at the 2020 census and covers 643 square miles (1,670 km2), of which 458 square miles are land and 185 square miles are water, centred near 38\u00b029\u2032N 77\u00b001\u2032W.<\/p>\n
La Plata is the county seat, and its postal code is 20646. The county has 3 incorporated towns, about 7 census-designated places, and more than a dozen smaller unincorporated communities. Charles County uses Eastern Time and carries FIPS code 24017.<\/p>\n
Charles County has only three incorporated towns; the rest of its population lives in unincorporated census-designated places (CDPs) and rural crossroads communities. The table below separates the two — CDPs have census population figures, unincorporated communities generally do not.<\/p>\n
| Place<\/th>\n | Type<\/th>\n | Pop.<\/th>\n | ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Plata<\/td>\n | Town · seat<\/td>\n | 9,798<\/td>\n | 20646<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Indian Head<\/td>\n | Town<\/td>\n | 3,477<\/td>\n | 20640<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Port Tobacco Village<\/td>\n | Town<\/td>\n | 13<\/td>\n | 20677<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Waldorf<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | 74,096<\/td>\n | 20601 \/ 20602 \/ 20603<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| St. Charles<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | 9,590<\/td>\n | 20602 \/ 20603<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| White Plains<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | 4,073<\/td>\n | 20695<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bryans Road<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | 3,847<\/td>\n | 20616<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Hughesville<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | 2,289<\/td>\n | 20637<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Cobb Island<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | 1,187<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Potomac Heights<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | 630<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bel Alton<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Benedict<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dentsville<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Faulkner<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Glymont<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Grayton<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Ironsides<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Issue<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Malcolm<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Marbury<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 20658<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Morgantown<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Mount Victoria<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Nanjemoy<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 20662<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Newburg<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 20664<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pisgah<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Popes Creek<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Port Tobacco<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 20677<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pomonkey<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Ripley<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Rison<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Swan Point<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Welcome<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n Beyond this list, older records for the county also carry dozens of platted subdivision names — developments like Amberleigh Farms, Birkwood Estates or St. Charles’s own internal neighborhoods — that are marketing names for sections of Waldorf, St. Charles and White Plains rather than distinct census places; they are folded into those CDPs above rather than listed separately.<\/p>\n ZIP Codes<\/h2>\nSmaller communities such as Cobb Island and Potomac Heights share a ZIP code with a neighboring post office town rather than having their own.<\/p>\n Geography<\/h2>\nCharles County sits on the peninsula between the Potomac and Patuxent rivers in Southern Maryland, with the Zekiah Swamp watershed draining much of its interior toward the Wicomico River. The Potomac forms the county’s entire southern and western boundary, separating it from Virginia. Prince George’s County lies to the north and Calvert County to the east, both across land or water without a live profile page on this site yet. Across the Potomac to the southeast sit St. Mary’s County (also unprofiled here) and, in Virginia, Westmoreland County<\/a> and King George County. To the south and west, also in Virginia, are Stafford County and Prince William County, and Fairfax County lies to the northwest.<\/p>\n Charles County’s 2020 population of 166,617 makes it one of Maryland’s larger suburban counties. Waldorf, an unincorporated CDP just north of La Plata, is by far the largest community at 74,096 residents — nearly half the county’s population — followed by the adjoining St. Charles CDP at 9,590. Median household income is $103,678, well above the Maryland median of $98,678, reflecting the county’s role as a Washington-metro commuter suburb. Population density works out to roughly 364 people per square mile of land.<\/p>\n Much of Charles County’s workforce commutes north into the Washington, D.C. area, but the county also has its own federal anchor: the Naval Support Facility Indian Head, a naval warfare research center that has operated on the Potomac since 1890 and remains one of the county’s largest employers. College of Southern Maryland’s La Plata campus and the Charles County Public Schools system are major local employers, and retail and services cluster along US 301 through Waldorf and White Plains.<\/p>\n Charles County was organized in 1658, named for Charles Calvert, third Baron Baltimore, who governed the Maryland colony. Port Tobacco, once the county seat, was a busy Potomac River port and one of the oldest towns in English North America before its harbor silted up; La Plata took over as seat when the railroad bypassed Port Tobacco in the 1890s. In April 1865, John Wilkes Booth fled through Charles County after assassinating President Lincoln, stopping at a doctor’s house near present-day Waldorf. An F4 tornado struck La Plata on April 28, 2002, killing three people and heavily damaging the town center.<\/p>\n US 301 runs the length of the county from the Potomac River bridge at Newburg north through Waldorf toward Prince George’s County, and MD 5 and MD 210 provide the other main north-south routes.<\/p>\n The nearest commercial airport is Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, about 30 miles north of Waldorf.<\/p>\n Where is Charles County?<\/strong> What is the population of Charles County?<\/strong> How big is Charles County?<\/strong> What is the county seat of Charles County?<\/strong> How many towns are in Charles County?<\/strong> |