Prince George's County

Understand

Prince George's County is the wealthiest U.S. county with an African-American majority population. One will sometimes hear it abbreviated "P.G.", although this abbreviation irritates some county residents.

The county is very diverse, both ethnically and economically. Inside the Beltway, there is a pretty clear division between northern P.G. County (northeast of D.C.) and southern P.G. County (southeast of D.C.). The former is significantly more densely populated and wealthy than the latter, which has much in common with the even poorer neighboring areas in southeastern D.C.. Just outside the Beltway, there are suburban bedroom communities like Laurel, Bowie and Upper Marlboro, with rural areas further out.

Cities

U.S. Highway 50 bisects the county, dividing it into the more densely-populated northern county and the more agricultural southern part. Exceptions exist, though, and both Bowie and Landover straddle the highway.

North of US Highway 50

• Beltsville
• Berwyn Heights
• Bowie
• College Park
• Greenbelt
• Hyattsville
• Largo
• Laurel
• Mount Rainier
• New Carrollton

South of US Highway 50

• Clinton-Camp Springs
• Fort Washington
• National Harbor
• Suitland
• Upper Marlboro

Get in

By car

Important highways through Prince George's County include I-95 and I-295 (Baltimore-Washington Parkway), which go north from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore. The Beltway (I-495) runs through Prince George's County as it circles around Washington, D.C. Route 50 goes east to Annapolis. To get off the highways to find shopping, restaurants and hotels, look for Route 1 (Baltimore Avenue), Route 193 (Greenbelt Road), Route 450 (Annapolis Road), Route 202 (Largo Road), Route 3 & 301 (Crain Highway), Route 4 (Pennsylvania Ave) and Route 5 (Branch Ave).

By train

Amtrak stops in New Carrollton as part of its Northeast Regional Service.

Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) operates the Penn and Camden lines with daily service between Washington and Baltimore.

= [https://www.mta.maryland.gov/schedule/marc-penn Penn Line] =

= [https://www.mta.maryland.gov/schedule/marc-camden Camden Line] =

By Metro

WMATA provides rail and bus service.

Orange Line

Green Line

Blue/Silver Line

Within Prince George's County, the two lines are the same.

By bike

Prince George's County contains the intersection between two major long-distance biking trails.

The American Discovery Trail enters Prince George's County on local roads south of Route 50, joins the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Rail Trail into Odenton and Bowie. It passes through the Beltsville Agricultural Center, heads south through Greenbelt and Greenbelt Park. It then joins the Anacostia Stream Valley trail heading south into DC.

The East Coast Greenway Trail heads north out of DC through Hyattsville, College Park, Berwyn Heights, and Greenbelt. It then turns east through Bowie towards Annapolis before leaving the County.

Get around

The county is served by WMATA's Metrorail and Metrobus, as well as the county's bus system called TheBus.

By taxi

Stay safe

Crime

Prince George's County is known for having a higher-than-average crime rate compared to the rest of the D.C. metro area. However, as in many places, a lot of the worst crime occurs between people who are already acquainted with each other, or is drug-related.

In addition, Metro parking lots in Prince George's County, especially Greenbelt and New Carollton, have higher than average incidences of car break-ins, so avoid leaving anything of value in sight when leaving your car in these parking lots. So, please, when parking your car, hide any valuables from plain sight. If you leave anything in sight of a thief, they may smash your car window to steal it.

Go next

Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, has many unique attractions: the Smithsonian museums, shopping in Georgetown, visiting the government buildings, fine dining and an active nightlife. Annapolis and Baltimore are other nearby cities. Montgomery County to the west, has upscale urban areas like Bethesda, sub-urban areas, and rural parts. Go northwest to reach the mountainous areas near Frederick. Head south to Southern Maryland or across the Bay Bridge to the Eastern Shore for adventures along the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.