# Federal agencies not headquartered in the DC area **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 16, 2016, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137 "2016-11-16T07:52:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/21 "2016-11-16T18:45:49Z")
Faa = okc ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/22 "2016-11-16T18:56:22Z")
Trust the SDMB to nitpick a question to death. The Bureau of the Public Debt that someone suggested above turns out to be no longer in existence. It was merged several years ago with another agency into the Bureau of Fiscal Services. But even when it was around and even though it had offices in Parkersburg, its HQ was still in DC. > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > This makes no sense. Regulation [by federal Reserve Banks] is not necessarily regional. Perhaps I was mistaken, but I thought each Federal Reserve Bank only regulated banks in its region. > [@tim-n-va](#): > > Not sure what the goal is but the DoE labs are not in DC but the DoE headquarters are. If you count the labs you have opened up counting each military base and federal court. I explicitly excluded military units in the OP. Federal courts are set up on a regional basis, and I excluded regional offices, too. So that means the KC office of the FBI is out too. > [@tim-n-va](#): > > It is not but agency isn’t a well defined term for the government. If the individual DoE labs are counted, it is a valid question as to when subordinate entities are counted. I realize that “agency” is not a perfectly defined term, but most people have a pretty good idea of what it means. So do the best you can. Go down as far into a hierarchy as you want as long as saying a unit has an HQ is meaningful, but remember the restriction on regional offices. As far as agencies in the Baltimore area, we’ll call them marginal exampes. I’m actually more interested in HQs that are further afield, but before posting I could only come up with only two examples and one was in Baltimore. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/23 "2016-11-16T19:04:42Z")
Isn’t Pueblo, Colorado where you send away for government books and pamphlets? ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/24 "2016-11-16T19:49:06Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I realize that “agency” is not a perfectly defined term, but most people have a pretty good idea of what it means. So do the best you can. Go down as far into a hierarchy as you want as long as saying a unit has an HQ is meaningful, but remember the restriction on regional offices. This really is the big problem. You might not consider the Tennessee Valley Authority a government agency but I do. Do you know who else does? The United States Congress and the President. 1. U.S.C.A. 105 > [@](#): > > For the purpose of this title, “Executive agency” means an Executive department, a Government corporation, and an independent establishment. 5 U.S.C.A. 103 > [@](#): > > For the purpose of this title–(1) “Government corporation” means a corporation owned or controlled by the Government of the United States That last bit includes the Tennessee Valley Authority. As people have pointed out, many of the things we casually refer to as agencies are just subdivisions of another agency. For everyday purposes, it doesn’t particularly matter. If there are particular purposes where it does matter, we need to know what those purposes are. When the purpose is to satisfy your curiosity, we’re reduced to guessing what would satisfy you. If you want to investigate yourself, here is the GAO’s list of agencies about which they have published reports. Chances are pretty much all government agencies are in there somewhere. [http://www.gao.gov/browse/a-z](http://www.gao.gov/browse/a-z) > [@GusNSpot](#): > > Faa = okc No on two counts. First, the FAA is part of the Department of Transportation, so it’s debatable whether the OP considers it an agency. Second, it’s based in Washington, DC. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/25 "2016-11-16T19:55:46Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Trust the SDMB to nitpick a question to death. > > The Bureau of the Public Debt that someone suggested above turns out to be no longer in existence. It was merged several years ago with another agency into the Bureau of Fiscal Services. But even when it was around and even though it had offices in Parkersburg, its HQ was still in DC. > > Perhaps I was mistaken, but I thought each Federal Reserve Bank only regulated banks in its region. > > I explicitly excluded military units in the OP. Federal courts are set up on a regional basis, and I excluded regional offices, too. So that means the KC office of the FBI is out too. > > I realize that “agency” is not a perfectly defined term, but most people have a pretty good idea of what it means. So do the best you can. Go down as far into a hierarchy as you want as long as saying a unit has an HQ is meaningful, but remember the restriction on regional offices. > > As far as agencies in the Baltimore area, we’ll call them marginal exampes. I’m actually more interested in HQs that are further afield, but before posting I could only come up with only two examples and one was in Baltimore. Frankly, I don’t feel like mindreading to determine what you consider an agency or not, so I’ll just speak to the top level of the Executive Branch. All Executive Departments are headquartered within Washington, D.C. except for one: The Department of Defense, in the Pentagon, in Arlington County, VA. (Which, for the historical record, used to be part of D.C., but was given back to Virginia in the late 1840s.) That’s not much of a distance, but it’s technically not within the District proper. However, it is in the Capital Beltway (one of the other cultural boundaries of “inside Washington” versus “outside Washington”), so probably close enough. For the [top-level independent non-Department executive agencies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_agencies_of_the_United_States_government) (i.e., not subordinates of the Departments), you mentioned the Social Security Agency, which is in Woodlawn (West Baltimore), MD. Still in the Beltway. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is in North Bethesda, MD. Oddly, this makes it technically not within the Beltway, although within sight of it. Close enough. The Selective Service System is in Arlington Co., VA, probably because of its association with the DoD. The National Science Foundation is also in Arlington Co, but I can’t imagine it specifically has anything to do with the DoD. And the CIA is in Langley, VA, a bit north. And that’s it for the agencies that report directly to the White House. All are within easy driving distance of the White House. None really qualify in the sense you seem to be thinking. If it reports to the President, it seems to have to be within easy reach of him. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/26 "2016-11-16T20:42:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Trust the SDMB to nitpick a question to death. Vague question and complaints when people ask for clarification… Start with this[list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_agencies_in_the_United_States)and click/count. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/27 "2016-11-16T20:53:07Z")
I just mailed my passport renewal application to Philadelphia. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/28 "2016-11-16T20:55:36Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > That’s part of the Washington Metro area, as far as I can tell. Yeah, [one mile and change north of the Beltway](https://www.google.com/maps/place/U.S.+Nuclear+Regulatory+Commission/@39.046024,-77.1100613,11z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89b7cc3400000001:0x36c37e99ad7bc390!8m2!3d39.046174!4d-77.111338) (I495) is well within the area. Any houses for sale in that neighborhood are most definitely being marketed as easy commutes to DC. ---
**Author:** ![slinkydink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@slinkydink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slinkydink)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/29 "2016-11-16T20:58:40Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > … the Social Security Agency, which is in Woodlawn (West Baltimore), MD. Still in the Beltway. Wrong Beltway. The SSA is inside the Baltimore Beltway (I-695), about an hour north-east of DC. Map: [https://goo.gl/maps/75PFUiKtz8u](https://goo.gl/maps/75PFUiKtz8u) Bethesda is just outside the DC Beltway, (I-495) and for all practical purposes part of DC, the metro goes there for example. In between DC and Baltimore is miles of “light suburbia” (denser everyday, true) but in no way would you ever be confused after spending 45 mins to an hour driving on I-95 or I-295 and still think you were somehow within the same city you started from. If the SSA counts as an “agency” for the purposes of this thread then it also counts as not being headquartered in DC, particularly, as stated above, when it was founded in the 1930’s when the separation was still 30+ miles of pure farmland and forest. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/30 "2016-11-16T21:43:44Z")
> [@slinkydink](#): > > Wrong Beltway. The SSA is inside the Baltimore Beltway (I-695), about an hour north-east of DC. Map: [https://goo.gl/maps/75PFUiKtz8u](https://goo.gl/maps/75PFUiKtz8u) > > Bethesda is just outside the DC Beltway, (I-495) and for all practical purposes part of DC, the metro goes there for example. > > In between DC and Baltimore is miles of “light suburbia” (denser everyday, true) but in no way would you ever be confused after spending 45 mins to an hour driving on I-95 or I-295 and still think you were somehow within the same city you started from. > > If the SSA counts as an “agency” for the purposes of this thread then it also counts as not being headquartered in DC, particularly, as stated above, when it was founded in the 1930’s when the separation was still 30+ miles of pure farmland and forest. :smack: You’re right. I lived in that area long enough to recognize that, but forgot. (If I recall, Baltimoreans are sensitive to that, too. Hate being conflated with their next-door-neighbor to the southwest. Never mind that for probably 90% of the geography-challenged US population, there’s no meaningful difference.) Anyway, it was on **dtilque** ’s original list, so obviously it matches his criteria of “not in the Washington DC area”, but it still strikes me as a border case. Frankly, while I lived in upstate MD, the “Washington DC area” started in Frederick. ---
**Author:** ![slinkydink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@slinkydink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slinkydink)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/31 "2016-11-16T22:19:49Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > …Baltimoreans are sensitive to that, too… I may have just outed myself… though I personally prefer “Baltimoron” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/32 "2016-11-16T22:29:46Z")
> [@slinkydink](#): > > I may have just outed myself… though I personally prefer “Baltimoron” 😃 That’s o.k.-we won’t think any Baltiless of you…than we already do. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/33 "2016-11-16T22:52:50Z")
The Air Force Research Laboratory is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. Although it’s called a lab it’s really a series of them - one is in Orlando, for example. But really, I think the only good example is the Railroad Retirement Board. > [@GusNSpot](#): > > Faa = okc The FAA has secondary headquarters in Oklahoma City. Its primary HQ is at 800 Independence Avenue in DC. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/34 "2016-11-17T00:04:07Z")
> [@slinkydink](#): > > I may have just outed myself… though I personally prefer “Baltimoron” 😃 I went to UMD and I prefer calling you that too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/35 "2016-11-17T00:04:35Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I just mailed my passport renewal application to Philadelphia. “All passport applications are received, reviewed, and granted (or not) through the U.S. Department of State.” [https://diplomacy.state.gov/discoverdiplomacy/diplomacy101/places/170603.htm](https://diplomacy.state.gov/discoverdiplomacy/diplomacy101/places/170603.htm) The office in Philadelphia is a processing center, not the HQ. Speaking of Philadelphia, from what I can tell from the U.S. Mint webpage, the Mint HQ used to be there: “Soon after the Constitution’s ratification, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton personally prepared plans for a national Mint. On April 2, 1792, Congress passed The Coinage Act, which created the Mint and authorized construction of a Mint building in the nation’s capital, Philadelphia. This was the first federal building erected under the Constitution.” [https://www.usmint.gov/about\_the\_mint/index.html](https://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/index.html) However the page says that the current Mint HQ is in D.C. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/36 "2016-11-17T01:01:56Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > “All passport applications are received, reviewed, and granted (or not) through the U.S. Department of State.” > [https://diplomacy.state.gov/discoverdiplomacy/diplomacy101/places/170603.htm](https://diplomacy.state.gov/discoverdiplomacy/diplomacy101/places/170603.htm) > > The office in Philadelphia is a processing center, not the HQ. More specifically, they are issued by the Bureau of Consular Affairs, which is headquartered in DC. As far as the nitpick about what actually counts as a federal agency, I’m not writing a regulation or law about them, so it’s not that critical that I get an exact list or definition. Apply the duck test (if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck…). And for the ones in the Baltimore area, I did say they were marginal cases and I’m more interested in ones further afield. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/37 "2016-11-17T03:36:23Z")
The NIST is in Gaithersburg, MD. Is that sufficiently far afield? Applying the “CDC” test for Federal agency, there’s the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii and the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska. The National Hurricane Center is in Florida. The Storm Prediction Center is in Oklahoma. The Space Weather Prediction Center is in Colorado. The Aviation Weather Center is in Missouri. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/38 "2016-11-17T06:55:19Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > The NIST is in Gaithersburg, MD. Is that sufficiently far afield? In post 9, dtlilque indicated that they were specifically looking for HQs outside of the Washington MSA. Gaithersburg is in Montgomery County, which abuts directly against the District, and is part of the MSA. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/39 "2016-11-17T08:56:36Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > In post 9, dtlilque indicated that they were specifically looking for HQs outside of the Washington MSA. Gaithersburg is in Montgomery County, which abuts directly against the District, and is part of the MSA. Have you been to Gaithersburg? I have. It is far less urbanized than anything you’ll find along I-95 between Washington and Baltimore. It is well outside the Beltway unlike, say, Silver Spring which really is right next to DC. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137/40 "2016-11-17T09:03:05Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > Applying the “CDC” test for Federal agency, there’s the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii and the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska. The National Hurricane Center is in Florida. The Storm Prediction Center is in Oklahoma. The Space Weather Prediction Center is in Colorado. The Aviation Weather Center is in Missouri. OK, those are good, although rather small. One source says the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has only 15 workers. I suspect the rest are of a similar size. I didn’t put any restriction on size of the agency, so I’m not ruling them out. I’m thinking maybe I should have put such a restriction, but it’s difficult to find out such info. Anyway, for a likely larger agency, someone above mentioned that government publications are distributed from Pueblo CO. That would be the Federal Citizen Information Center. Unfortunately, the wikipage for that agency is a stub, so it doesn’t give the actual location of the HQ. Just because an operation center is in one location doesn’t mean the HQ is there. Quite frequently it’s in DC. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-agencies-not-headquartered-in-the-dc-area/772137.md?page=3)