List of municipalities in Maryland

[2] The state is divided into 23 counties and contains 157 municipalities consisting of cities, towns, or villages.

[2] As Maryland does not have minor civil divisions such as townships, areas outside of municipalities have no government below the county level.

[4] With the exception of Baltimore, which was chartered by the state Constitution, municipalities in Maryland are self-governing municipalities chartered as cities, towns, or villages by an Act of the Maryland General Assembly or, in some cases, by a referendum.

[6] The municipalities themselves decide whether to avail themselves of the specific powers conferred on them by the Maryland Constitution and state code.

[2] Many of Maryland's largest population centers, including Columbia, Germantown, Silver Spring, Waldorf, Glen Burnie, Ellicott City, Dundalk and Bethesda, are unincorporated census designated places.