diff --git a/packages/angular/cli/lib/config/workspace-schema.json b/packages/angular/cli/lib/config/workspace-schema.json
index 7edd9da60eb6..4154e858ba53 100644
--- a/packages/angular/cli/lib/config/workspace-schema.json
+++ b/packages/angular/cli/lib/config/workspace-schema.json
@@ -22,7 +22,8 @@
     },
     "defaultProject": {
       "type": "string",
-      "description": "Default project name used in commands."
+      "description": "Default project name used in commands.",
+      "x-deprecated": "The project to use will be determined from the current working directory."
     },
     "projects": {
       "type": "object",
diff --git a/packages/angular/cli/src/command-builder/architect-command-module.ts b/packages/angular/cli/src/command-builder/architect-command-module.ts
index e51fe0cb6ff5..0678abf2a564 100644
--- a/packages/angular/cli/src/command-builder/architect-command-module.ts
+++ b/packages/angular/cli/src/command-builder/architect-command-module.ts
@@ -128,14 +128,14 @@ export abstract class ArchitectCommandModule
       // For multi target commands, we always list all projects that have the target.
       return allProjectsForTargetName;
     } else {
+      if (allProjectsForTargetName.length === 1) {
+        return allProjectsForTargetName;
+      }
+
       const maybeProject = getProjectByCwd(workspace);
       if (maybeProject && allProjectsForTargetName.includes(maybeProject)) {
         return [maybeProject];
       }
-
-      if (allProjectsForTargetName.length === 1) {
-        return allProjectsForTargetName;
-      }
     }
 
     return undefined;
diff --git a/packages/angular/cli/src/command-builder/schematics-command-module.ts b/packages/angular/cli/src/command-builder/schematics-command-module.ts
index 80b190dfa0fe..d72b5b265dad 100644
--- a/packages/angular/cli/src/command-builder/schematics-command-module.ts
+++ b/packages/angular/cli/src/command-builder/schematics-command-module.ts
@@ -333,6 +333,7 @@ export abstract class SchematicsCommandModule
     return 0;
   }
 
+  private defaultProjectDeprecationWarningShown = false;
   private getProjectName(): string | undefined {
     const { workspace, logger } = this.context;
     if (!workspace) {
@@ -354,6 +355,15 @@ export abstract class SchematicsCommandModule
 
       const defaultProjectName = workspace.extensions['defaultProject'];
       if (typeof defaultProjectName === 'string' && defaultProjectName) {
+        if (!this.defaultProjectDeprecationWarningShown) {
+          logger.warn(tags.oneLine`
+            DEPRECATED: The 'defaultProject' workspace option has been deprecated.
+            The project to use will be determined from the current working directory.
+          `);
+
+          this.defaultProjectDeprecationWarningShown = true;
+        }
+
         return defaultProjectName;
       }
     }
diff --git a/packages/angular/cli/src/commands/add/long-description.md b/packages/angular/cli/src/commands/add/long-description.md
index 09cd2e239d76..347b3a5971aa 100644
--- a/packages/angular/cli/src/commands/add/long-description.md
+++ b/packages/angular/cli/src/commands/add/long-description.md
@@ -1,10 +1,7 @@
 Adds the npm package for a published library to your workspace, and configures
-the project in the current working directory (or the default project if you are
-not in a project directory) to use that library, as specified by the library's schematic.
+the project in the current working directory to use that library, as specified by the library's schematic.
 For example, adding `@angular/pwa` configures your project for PWA support:
 
 ```bash
 ng add @angular/pwa
 ```
-
-The default project is the value of `defaultProject` in `angular.json`.
diff --git a/packages/angular/cli/src/utilities/config.ts b/packages/angular/cli/src/utilities/config.ts
index 345edbf80af7..d41a0e8c4df7 100644
--- a/packages/angular/cli/src/utilities/config.ts
+++ b/packages/angular/cli/src/utilities/config.ts
@@ -263,6 +263,7 @@ function findProjectByPath(workspace: AngularWorkspace, location: string): strin
   return projects[0][1];
 }
 
+let defaultProjectDeprecationWarningShown = false;
 export function getProjectByCwd(workspace: AngularWorkspace): string | null {
   if (workspace.projects.size === 1) {
     // If there is only one project, return that one.
@@ -277,6 +278,15 @@ export function getProjectByCwd(workspace: AngularWorkspace): string | null {
   const defaultProject = workspace.extensions['defaultProject'];
   if (defaultProject && typeof defaultProject === 'string') {
     // If there is a default project name, return it.
+    if (!defaultProjectDeprecationWarningShown) {
+      console.warn(
+        `DEPRECATED: The 'defaultProject' workspace option has been deprecated. ` +
+          `The project to use will be determined from the current working directory.`,
+      );
+
+      defaultProjectDeprecationWarningShown = true;
+    }
+
     return defaultProject;
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/schematics/angular/application/index.ts b/packages/schematics/angular/application/index.ts
index b78dab4d8b3d..98664df5c7f0 100644
--- a/packages/schematics/angular/application/index.ts
+++ b/packages/schematics/angular/application/index.ts
@@ -231,10 +231,6 @@ function addAppToWorkspaceFile(
   };
 
   return updateWorkspace((workspace) => {
-    if (workspace.projects.size === 0) {
-      workspace.extensions.defaultProject = options.name;
-    }
-
     workspace.projects.add({
       name: options.name,
       ...project,
diff --git a/packages/schematics/angular/application/index_spec.ts b/packages/schematics/angular/application/index_spec.ts
index 3c9e090c80ff..458f106d1d8f 100644
--- a/packages/schematics/angular/application/index_spec.ts
+++ b/packages/schematics/angular/application/index_spec.ts
@@ -80,7 +80,6 @@ describe('Application Schematic', () => {
       .toPromise();
     const workspace = JSON.parse(tree.readContent('/angular.json'));
     expect(workspace.projects.foo).toBeDefined();
-    expect(workspace.defaultProject).toBe('foo');
   });
 
   it('should set the prefix to app if none is set', async () => {
diff --git a/packages/schematics/angular/library/index.ts b/packages/schematics/angular/library/index.ts
index 6ba800c09cca..13b2bc9c1c11 100644
--- a/packages/schematics/angular/library/index.ts
+++ b/packages/schematics/angular/library/index.ts
@@ -82,10 +82,6 @@ function addLibToWorkspaceFile(
   projectName: string,
 ): Rule {
   return updateWorkspace((workspace) => {
-    if (workspace.projects.size === 0) {
-      workspace.extensions.defaultProject = projectName;
-    }
-
     workspace.projects.add({
       name: projectName,
       root: projectRoot,
diff --git a/packages/schematics/angular/library/index_spec.ts b/packages/schematics/angular/library/index_spec.ts
index 0ae0e9a55f30..9642e82731ef 100644
--- a/packages/schematics/angular/library/index_spec.ts
+++ b/packages/schematics/angular/library/index_spec.ts
@@ -131,7 +131,6 @@ describe('Library Schematic', () => {
 
     const workspace = getJsonFileContent(tree, '/angular.json');
     expect(workspace.projects.foo).toBeDefined();
-    expect(workspace.defaultProject).toBe('foo');
   });
 
   it('should set the prefix to lib if none is set', async () => {
diff --git a/packages/schematics/angular/migrations/migration-collection.json b/packages/schematics/angular/migrations/migration-collection.json
index e0ef67b80b39..747cfc8c74d8 100644
--- a/packages/schematics/angular/migrations/migration-collection.json
+++ b/packages/schematics/angular/migrations/migration-collection.json
@@ -14,6 +14,11 @@
       "version": "14.0.0",
       "factory": "./update-14/remove-show-circular-dependencies-option",
       "description": "Remove 'showCircularDependencies' option from browser and server builders."
+    },
+    "remove-default-project-option": {
+      "version": "14.0.0",
+      "factory": "./update-14/remove-default-project-option",
+      "description": "Remove 'defaultProject' option from workspace configuration. The project to use will be determined from the current working directory."
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/schematics/angular/migrations/update-14/remove-default-project-option.ts b/packages/schematics/angular/migrations/update-14/remove-default-project-option.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..2a7c04475e17
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/schematics/angular/migrations/update-14/remove-default-project-option.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+/**
+ * @license
+ * Copyright Google LLC All Rights Reserved.
+ *
+ * Use of this source code is governed by an MIT-style license that can be
+ * found in the LICENSE file at https://angular.io/license
+ */
+
+import { Rule } from '@angular-devkit/schematics';
+import { updateWorkspace } from '../../utility/workspace';
+
+/** Migration to remove 'defaultProject' option from angular.json. */
+export default function (): Rule {
+  return updateWorkspace((workspace) => {
+    delete workspace.extensions['defaultProject'];
+  });
+}
diff --git a/packages/schematics/angular/migrations/update-14/remove-default-project-option_spec.ts b/packages/schematics/angular/migrations/update-14/remove-default-project-option_spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..7b6eef0c4b30
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/schematics/angular/migrations/update-14/remove-default-project-option_spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+/**
+ * @license
+ * Copyright Google LLC All Rights Reserved.
+ *
+ * Use of this source code is governed by an MIT-style license that can be
+ * found in the LICENSE file at https://angular.io/license
+ */
+
+import { EmptyTree } from '@angular-devkit/schematics';
+import { SchematicTestRunner, UnitTestTree } from '@angular-devkit/schematics/testing';
+import { WorkspaceSchema } from '../../utility/workspace-models';
+
+describe(`Migration to remove 'defaultProject' option.`, () => {
+  const schematicName = 'remove-default-project-option';
+  const schematicRunner = new SchematicTestRunner(
+    'migrations',
+    require.resolve('../migration-collection.json'),
+  );
+
+  let tree: UnitTestTree;
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    tree = new UnitTestTree(new EmptyTree());
+  });
+
+  it(`should remove 'defaultProject'`, async () => {
+    const angularConfig: WorkspaceSchema = {
+      version: 1,
+      projects: {},
+      defaultProject: 'foo',
+    };
+
+    tree.create('/angular.json', JSON.stringify(angularConfig, undefined, 2));
+    const newTree = await schematicRunner.runSchematicAsync(schematicName, {}, tree).toPromise();
+    const { defaultProject } = JSON.parse(newTree.readContent('/angular.json'));
+
+    expect(defaultProject).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it(`should not error when 'defaultProject' is not defined`, async () => {
+    const angularConfig: WorkspaceSchema = {
+      version: 1,
+      projects: {},
+    };
+
+    tree.create('/angular.json', JSON.stringify(angularConfig, undefined, 2));
+    const newTree = await schematicRunner.runSchematicAsync(schematicName, {}, tree).toPromise();
+    const { defaultProject } = JSON.parse(newTree.readContent('/angular.json'));
+
+    expect(defaultProject).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/tests/legacy-cli/e2e/tests/misc/multiple-targets.ts b/tests/legacy-cli/e2e/tests/misc/multiple-targets.ts
index 5ac349343166..7ff7e32087e0 100644
--- a/tests/legacy-cli/e2e/tests/misc/multiple-targets.ts
+++ b/tests/legacy-cli/e2e/tests/misc/multiple-targets.ts
@@ -5,10 +5,6 @@ import { updateJsonFile } from '../../utils/project';
 export default async function () {
   await ng('generate', 'app', 'secondary-app');
 
-  await updateJsonFile('angular.json', workspaceJson => {
-    workspaceJson.defaultProject = undefined;
-  });
-
   await ng('build', 'secondary-app', '--configuration=development');
 
   expectFileToExist('dist/secondary-app/index.html');