The Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC. are among the nation’s fastest growing areas. With rising property values, convenient access to DC, excellent public and private schools, and great job opportunities. David Fereira, a Jewish tobacco trader from New Amsterdam, appeared in Maryland as early as 1657 and between 1830 and 1870 over 10,000 Jews, primarily from Germany and other areas of Central Europe, settled in the state. Most Jewish communities were in the major cities. Recently though Jews have also increasingly established themselves in areas outside the Washington suburbs and Baltimore, with 10,000 residing in Howard County, almost 2,000 in Annapolis, and more than 1,000 in Frederick and in Harford County. As of 2017, Maryland's Jewish population was approximately 240,000 people.