The Maryland Panhandle is the narrow stretch of western Maryland. The southern border of the panhandle (here with West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle) is made up of the Potomac River, and the border to Pennsylvania is a straight horizontal line. These two almost converge, forming the panhandle. It can be said to extend from Hagerstown westward. The narrowest point is reached near Hancock. Another important city in the panhandle is Cumberland.

The Eastern Panhandle is West Virginia's fastest growing region in terms of population and housing growth. In July 2005, the United States Census Bureau released a list of the top 100 counties according to housing growth. Berkeley County grew 3.95 percent, from 36,365 housing units in 2003 to 37,802 units in 2004. That growth rate was 86th in the nation among the 3,141 United States counties. Jefferson County was not far behind at 88th in the nation. It grew 3.94 percent from 19,381 housing units in 2003 to 20,144 units in 2004.