Montgomery County, Maryland

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Montgomery County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref> The county seat is Rockville, and Germantown is the most populous place in the county.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county is adjoined to Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area and the Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area. Most of the county's residents live in Silver Spring, Bethesda, Germantown, and the incorporated cities of Rockville and Gaithersburg.<ref group="N">Although Gaithersburg is the most populous incorporated city in Montgomery County, Germantown, an unincorporated census-designated place, is the most populous locale in the county.</ref>

The average household income in Montgomery County is the 20th-highest among U.S. counties as of 2020.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>"Complete List: America's Richest Counties" Template:Webarchive, Forbes, February 2, 2008</ref><ref>"Montgomery County QuickFacts" Template:Webarchive, September 9, 2009</ref>

The county has the highest percentage (29.2%) of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate degrees.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Like other counties in the Washington metropolitan area, the county has several U.S. government offices, scientific research and learning centers, and business campuses.<ref>[1] Template:Webarchive, February 26, 2015</ref><ref>[2] Template:Webarchive, Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, February 26, 2015</ref>

Etymology

Template:Multiple image The Maryland state legislature named Montgomery County after Richard Montgomery; the county was created from lands that had at one point or another been part of Frederick County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On September 6, 1776,<ref name=cent/> Thomas Sprigg Wootton from Rockville, Maryland, introduced legislation, while serving at the Maryland Constitutional Convention, to create lower Frederick County as Montgomery County. The name, Montgomery County, along with the founding of Washington County, Maryland, after George Washington, was the first time in American history that counties and provinces in the Thirteen Colonies were not named after British referents.

The name use of Montgomery and Washington County were seen as further defiance to Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. The county's nickname of "MoCo" is derived from "Montgomery County",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in use as early as 2001.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The county's motto, adopted in 1976, is "Gardez Bien", a French phrase meaning "Watch Well". The county's motto is also the motto of its namesake's family.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>https://montgomeryplanning.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Places-from-the-Past-web_with_cover.pdf Template:Webarchive Template:Bare URL PDF</ref>

History

Template:Main Prior to 1688, the first tract of land in what is now Montgomery County was granted by Charles I in a charter to the first Lord Baltimore, the head of the Calvert family. The county's creation was a focus of Thomas S. Wootton who, on August 31, 1776, introduced a measure to form a new county from Frederick County, Maryland to aid area residents in simplifying their business affairs. The measure passed, creating the new political entity of Montgomery County in what was then the colonial-era Province of Maryland.

Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (3.1%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> Montgomery County lies entirely inside the Piedmont plateau. The topography is generally rolling. Elevations range from a low of near sea level along the Potomac River to about 875 feet in the northernmost portion of the county north of Damascus. Relief between valley bottoms and hilltops is several hundred feet. Earthquakes are rare; the most recent one, on June 24, 2024, had a 1.8 magnitude and was centered near Spencerville, Maryland.<ref>"M 1.8 - 0 km ENE of Spencerville, Maryland Template:Webarchive". Earthquake Hazards Program. U.S. Geology Survey. June 24, 2024.</ref>

When Montgomery County was created in 1776, its boundaries were defined as "beginning at the east side of the mouth of Rock Creek on Potomac river [sic], and running with the said river to the mouth of Monocacy, then with a straight line to Par's spring, from thence with the lines of the county to the beginning".<ref name="proceedings"/>

The county's boundary forms a sliver of land at the far northern tip of the county that is several miles long and averages less than 200 yards wide. In fact, a single house on Lakeview Drive and its yard is sectioned by this sliver into three portions, each separately contained within Montgomery, Frederick and Howard counties. These jurisdictions and Carroll County meet at a single point at Parr's Spring on Parr's Ridge.

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Adjacent counties

National protected areas

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Climate

Montgomery County lies within the northern portions of the humid subtropical climate. It has four distinct seasons, including hot, humid summers and cool winters.

Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, with an average of Template:Convert of rainfall.<ref name= rockvilleweather>Template:Cite web</ref> Thunderstorms are common during the summer months, and account for the majority of the average 35 days with thunder per year. Heavy precipitation is most common in summer thunderstorms, but drought periods are more likely during these months because summer precipitation is more variable than winter.

The mean annual temperature is Template:Cvt. The average summer (June–July–August) afternoon maximum is about Template:Cvt while the morning minimums average Template:Cvt. In winter (December–January–February), these averages are Template:Cvt and Template:Cvt. Extreme heat waves can raise readings to around and slightly above Template:Cvt, and arctic blasts can drop lows to Template:Cvt to Template:Cvt. For Rockville, the record high is Template:Cvt in 1954, while the record low is Template:Cvt.<ref name= rockvilleweather/>

Lower elevations in the south, such as Silver Spring, receive an average of Template:Convert of snowfall per year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Higher elevations in the north, such as Damascus,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> receive an average of Template:Convert of snowfall per year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During a particularly snowy winter, Damascus received Template:Convert during the 2009–2010 season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Demographics

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Since the 1970s, the county has had in place a Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit (MPDU) zoning plan that requires developers to include affordable housing in any new residential developments that they construct in the county. The goal is to create socioeconomically mixed neighborhoods and schools so the rich and poor are not isolated in separate parts of the county. Developers who provide for more than the minimum amount of MPDUs are rewarded with permission to increase the density of their developments, which allows them to build more housing and generate more revenue. Montgomery County was one of the first counties in the U.S. to adopt such a plan, and many other areas have since followed suit.

Montgomery County is by far one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse counties in the United States; four of the ten most culturally diverse cities and towns in the U.S. are in Montgomery County: Gaithersburg, ranking second; Germantown, ranking third; Silver Spring, ranking fourth; and Rockville, ranking ninth. Gaithersburg, Germantown, and Silver Spring all rank as more culturally diverse than New York City, San Jose, and Oakland.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Maryland overall is one of six minority-majority states, and the only minority-majority state on the East Coast.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2020 census

**Montgomery County, Maryland – racial and ethnic composition**
Template:Nobold
Race / ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop. 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2010	Template:Partial
White alone (NH)	478,765	430,980	49.27%	40.58%
Black or African American alone (NH)	161,689	192,714	16.64%	18.15%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	1,580	1,377	0.16%	0.13%
Asian alone (NH)	134,677	162,472	13.86%	15.30%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	427	440	0.04%	0.04%
Other race alone (NH)	3,617	8,589	0.37%	0.81%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	25,624	48,080	2.64%	4.53%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	165,398	217,409	17.02%	20.47%
Total	971,777	1,062,061	100.00%	100.00%

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 971,777 people, 357,086 households, and 244,898 families living in the county.<ref name="census-dp1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>"2010 Census Summary File One (SF1) - Maryland Population Characteristics, Montgomery County Template:Webarchive". United States Census Bureau via Maryland State Data Center.</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 375,905 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert.<ref name="census-density">Template:Cite web</ref> The racial makeup of the county was 57.5% White, 17.2% Black or African American, 13.9% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 7.0% from other races, and 4.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 17.0% of the population.<ref name="census-dp1"/> In terms of ancestry, 10.7% were German, 9.6% were Irish, 7.9% were English, 4.9% were Italian, 3.5% were Russian, 3.1% were Polish, 2.9% were American and 2% were French.<ref name="census-dp2">Template:Cite web</ref> People of Central American descent made up 8.1% of Montgomery County, with Salvadoran Americans constituting 5.4% of the county's population. Over 52,000 people of Salvadoran descent lived in Montgomery County, with Salvadoran Americans comprising approximately 32% of the county's Hispanic and Latino population. People of South American descent make up 3.8% of the county, with Peruvian Americans being the largest South American community, constituting 1.2% of the county's population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Of the 357,086 households, 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.4% were non-families, and 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.22. The median age was 38.5 years.<ref name="census-dp1"/>

The median income for a household in the county was $93,373 and the median income for a family was $111,737. Males had a median income of $71,841 versus $55,431 for females. The per capita income for the county was $47,310. About 4.0% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.<ref name="census-dp3">Template:Cite web</ref>

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census, there were 873,058 people living in the county. The racial makeup of the county was 65.0% white, 15.1% Black or African American, 11.3% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 5.0% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 11.5% of the population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

There were 324,565 households, of which 35% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. Of all households, 24.4% were made up of individuals, and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.19.

25.4% of the population was under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.

In 2000, there were 334,632 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert.

Montgomery County has the tenth-highest median household income in the United States, and the second highest in the state after Howard County as of 2011. The median household income in 2007 was $89,284 and the median family income was $106,093. Males had a median income of $66,415 versus $52,134 for females. The per capita income for the county was $43,073. About 3.3% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

Religion

Of Montgomery County's residents, 14% are Catholic, 5% are Baptist, 3% are Methodist, 1% are Presbyterian, 1% are Episcopalian, 1% are part of the Latter Day Saint movement, 1% are Lutheran, 6% are of another Christian faith, 3% are Jewish, 1% follows Islam, and 1% are of an eastern faith.<ref name= montgomeryreligion>"Montgomery County, Maryland: Religion Template:Webarchive". Sperling's BestPlaces. Retrieved February 28, 2018.</ref> Overall, 41% of the county's residents are affiliated with a religion.<ref name= montgomeryreligion/>

Montgomery County was named the most religiously diverse county in the United States in 2023 by the Public Religion Research Institute's census.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> Counties were given a diversity index between 0 and 1, with 0 signifying no diversity, and 1 signifying complete diversity. Montgomery County earned a .886, higher than the national average of .615.

Montgomery County has the largest Jewish population in the state of Maryland, accounting for 45% of Maryland Jews. According to the Berman Jewish DataBank, Montgomery County has a Jewish population of 105,400 people, around 10% of the county's population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Washington metropolitan area, with 295,500 Jews, has become the third-largest Jewish population in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

As of 2020, Montgomery County is home to 776 religious congregations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Economy

Montgomery County is an important business and research center. It is the epicenter for biotechnology in the Mid-Atlantic region. Montgomery County, as third largest biotechnology cluster in the U.S., holds a large cluster and companies of large corporate size within the state. Biomedical research is carried out by institutions including Johns Hopkins University's Montgomery County Campus (JHU MCC), and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Federal government agencies in Montgomery County engaged in related work include the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

Many large firms are based in the county, including Coventry Health Care, Lockheed Martin, Marriott International, Host Hotels & Resorts, Travel Channel, Ritz-Carlton, Robert Louis Johnson Companies (RLJ Companies), Choice Hotels, MedImmune, TV One, BAE Systems Inc., Hughes Network Systems and GEICO.

Other U.S. federal government agencies based in the county include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Downtown Bethesda and Silver Spring are the largest urban business hubs in the county; combined, they rival many major city cores.

Top employers

According to the county's comprehensive annual financial reports, the top employers by number of employees in the county are the following. "NR" indicates the employer was not ranked among the top ten employers that year.

Employer	Employees (2021)<ref name= cafr-2021>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Efn	Employees (2014)<ref name="CAFR2014">Template:Cite web</ref>	Employees (2011)<ref name="CAFR2011">Template:Cite web</ref>	Employees (2005)<ref name="CAFR2014"/>
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services	27,500	28,500	29,700	38,800
Montgomery County Public Schools	27,500	25,429	22,016	20,987
Montgomery County Government	12,500	10,815	8,849	8,272
U.S. Department of Defense	7,500	12,000	12,690	13,800
Adventist Healthcare	7,500	4,900	5,310	6,000
Holy Cross Hospital of Silver Spring	3,750	3,400	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr
Marriott International Administrative Services	3,750	4,700	5,441	Template:Abbr
Montgomery College	3,750	3,632	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr
GEICO	3,750	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr
U.S. Department of Commerce	3,750	5,500	8,250	6,200
Lockheed Martin	Template:Abbr	4,000	4,745	3,900
Nuclear Regulatory Commission	Template:Abbr	3,840	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr
Giant	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	3,842	4,900
Verizon	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	3,292	4,700
Chevy Chase Bank	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	4,700

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Politics and government

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Montgomery County was granted a charter form of government in 1948.

The present County Executive/County Council form of government of Montgomery County dates to November 1968 when the voters changed the form of government from a County Commission/County Manager system, as provided in the original 1948 home rule Charter. The County Commission/County Manager system was seen as inadequate for the growing population of the county who wanted more services assistance and accountability from the government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Montgomery County government had a surplus of $654Template:Nbspmillion for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021.<ref name= cafr-2021/>

County executives

Template:See also The office of the county executive was established in 1970. The first executive was James P. Gleason. The current executive is Marc Elrich, who was sworn in for his first term on December 3, 2018.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

County Executive
Position		Name	Party	Hometown	Term
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	1st	James Gleason	Republican	Rockville<ref>Originally from Cleveland, Ohio</ref>	1970–1978
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	2nd	Charles Gilchrist	Democratic	Rockville<ref name="orig">Originally from Washington, DC</ref>	1978–1986
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	3rd	Sidney Kramer	Democratic	Rockville<ref name="orig"/>	1986–1990
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	4th	Neal Potter	Democratic	Cabin John	1990–1994
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	5th	Doug Duncan	Democratic	Rockville	1994–2006
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	6th	Ike Leggett	Democratic	Burtonsville	2006–2018
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	7th	Marc Elrich	Democratic	Takoma Park	2018–

Legislative body

Template:See also

The County Council is the legislative branch of Montgomery County. It has eleven members who serve four-year terms. All are elected at the same time by the voters of Montgomery County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of January 2023, all 11 members on the council are Democrats. The council meets weekly at the county seat of Rockville—the 6th Floor of the Stella B. Werner Council Office Building.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Official website</ref>

The members of the County Council as of 2023 are: <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

County Council
Position		Name	Affiliation	District	Neighborhoods	First elected
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	Member	Andrew Friedson	Democratic	1	Potomac, Bethesda, Chevy Chase	2018
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	Member	Marilyn Balcombe	Democratic	2	Germantown, Clarksburg, Darnestown, Poolesville	2022
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	Member	Sidney A. Katz	Democratic	3	Gaithersburg, Rockville	2014
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	President	Kate Stewart	Democratic	4	Downtown Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Kensington, North Bethesda, Garrett Park, North Chevy Chase	2022
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	Member	Kristin Mink	Democratic	5	Burtonsville, Four Corners, Cloverly	2022
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	Member	Natali Fani-González	Democratic	6	Wheaton, Glenmont, Aspen Hill, Derwood, Forest Glen Park	2022
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	Member	Dawn Luedtke	Democratic	7	Damascus, Ashton, Laytonsville, Olney, Montgomery Village	2022
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	Member	Gabe Albornoz	Democratic	At-large	Entire county	2018
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	Member	Evan Glass	Democratic	At-large	Entire county	2018
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	Vice President	Will Jawando	Democratic	At-large	Entire county	2018
style="background-color:Template:Party color" \|	Member	Laurie-Anne Sayles	Democratic	At-large	Entire county	2022

The most recent Republican serving on the Montgomery County Council, Howard A. Denis of District 1 (Potomac/Bethesda), lost re-election in 2006. Since then, all Council members have been Democrats.

Law enforcement

County police

The Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) provides the full spectrum of policing services to the entire county. It was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It consists of around 1,300 sworn officers and 650 support personnel, split into 6 districts throughout the county.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The department also provides assistance to other nearby departments, such as the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia and the Prince George's County Police Department, if requested.

County sheriff's office

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) is a nationally accredited U.S. law enforcement agency and acts as the enforcement arm of the courts in the county. All of its deputy sheriffs are fully certified law enforcement officials with full authority of arrest. The office was created in July 1777 and is the oldest law enforcement agency in Montgomery County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was nationally accredited in 1995, the first county sheriff's office in Maryland to be so. The MCSO has authorized over 165 employees consisting of sworn law enforcement officers and civilian support staff.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The office is headed by the sheriff, who has been elected every four years since the 1920s. The current Sheriff is Maxwell C. Uy (D), elected in 2022. Uy is the 62nd Sheriff and the first Asian American to hold that office.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Other agencies

Several cities including Rockville and Gaithersburg maintain their own police departments to complement MCPD. Maryland State Police patrol the Beltway and I-270, and they assist county and city police in investigation of some major crimes.

Budget

Montgomery County has a budget of $2.3 billion. Approximately $1.48 billion are invested in Montgomery County Public Schools and $128 million in Montgomery College.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bi-county agencies

Montgomery and Prince George's counties share a bi-county planning and parks agency in the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) and a public bi-county water and sewer utility in the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC).Template:Citation needed

LGBTIQ+ bill of rights

In October 2020, the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed an ordinance that implemented an LGBTIQ+ bill of rights.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Liquor control

Template:Main Montgomery County is an alcoholic beverage control county. Beer and wine may also be sold in private stores.

History

Until 1964, only three restaurants in the county had liquor licenses to serve liquor by the drink.<ref name="auto789">Kendrick, Thomas R. "New Montgomery Liquor Permits Start 6 Restaurants Serving Drinks Template:Webarchive". The Washington Post. December 8, 1964. p. B1.</ref> The county stopped issuing liquor licenses to all other restaurants under a law that had existed since Prohibition.<ref name= liquor>Barnes, Bart. "County's Liquor Laws Liberalized Template:Webarchive". The Washington Post. November 8, 1964. p. B1.</ref>

Following a voter referendum,<ref>Kendrick, Thomas R. "D.C., Maryland Party Aides Ponder Vote Results: Liquor Question in Montgomery Depends on Absentee Ballots Template:Webarchive". The Washington Post. November 5, 1964. p. B1.</ref> restaurants and bars could apply for county permits to sell liquor by the drink.<ref name= liquor/> The dry towns of Kensington, Poolesville, and Takoma Park were allowed to keep their own bans in place.<ref name= liquor/>

Anchor Inn in Wheaton was the first establishment to serve liquor in the county under the new law.<ref name="auto789"/>

Other elected positions

There are 24 judges of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, who are appointed by the Governor and elected by the voters to 15 year terms. James A. Bonifant has served as the County Administrative Judge since 2021. Karen A. Bushell (D) was appointed as Clerk of the Circuit Court in 2021, and was elected to a full term in 2022. Joseph M. Griffin (D) has served as the Register of Wills since 1998.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> John J. McCarthy (D) has served as the State's Attorney since 2007.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

State representation

In the Maryland House of Delegates, Montgomery County is in districts 9A, represented by Chao Wu and Natalie Ziegler; 14, represented by Bernice Mireku-North, Pamela E. Queen, and Anne Kaiser; 15, represented by David Fraser-Hidalgo, Lily Qi, and Linda Foley; 16, represented by Sarah Siddiqui Wolek, Teresa Saavedra Woorman, and Marc Korman; 17, represented by Joe Vogel, Julie Palakovich Carr, and Ryan Spiegel; 18, represented by Emily Shetty, Jared Solomon, and Aaron Kaufman; 19, represented by Charlotte Crutchfield, Bonnie Cullison, and Vaughn Stewart; 20, represented by Jheanelle Wilkins, Lorig Charkoudian, and David Moon; and 39, represented by Gabriel Acevero, Lesley Lopez, and W. Gregory Wims.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the Maryland Senate, Montgomery County is in districts 9, represented by Katie Fry Hester; 14, represented by Craig Zucker; 15, represented by Brian Feldman; 16, represented by Sara Love; 17, represented by Cheryl Kagan; 18, represented by Jeff Waldstreicher; 19, represented by Benjamin F. Kramer; and 20, represented by William C. Smith Jr.

Federal representation

In the 119th Congress, Montgomery County is represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Glenn Ivey (D) of the 4th district, April McClain Delaney (D) of the 6th district, and Jamie Raskin (D) of the 8th district.

Voter registration and party enrollment as of March 2024<ref name="MDBOE">Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Party color cell	Democratic	406,206	Template:Percentage
Template:Party color cell	Unaffiliated	171,099	Template:Percentage
Template:Party color cell	Republican	97,862	Template:Percentage
Template:Party color cell	Libertarian	2,361	Template:Percentage
Template:Party color cell	Other parties	7,256	Template:Percentage
Total		684,784	Template:Percentage

Transportation

Roads

File:2019-07-12 11 25 04 View north along Interstate 270 (Washington National Pike) from the overpass for West Gude Drive in Rockville, Montgomery County, Maryland.jpg

I-270 northbound in Rockville

Poor transportation was a hindrance for Montgomery County's farmers who wanted to transport their crops to market in the early 18th century. Montgomery County's first roads, often barely adequate, were built by the 18th century.

One early road, Maryland Route 355, connected Frederick and Georgetown. There was a road, Maryland Route 190 that connected Georgetown and the mouth of the Monocacy River. Plans to continue the road to Cumberland did not come to fruition. Another road connected the Montgomery County Courthouse with Sandy Spring and Baltimore, and one other road connected the courthouse with Bladensburg and Annapolis.<ref name="centuries">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="THS Boyd">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Template:Rp

The county's first turnpike was chartered in 1806, but its construction began in 1817. In 1828, the turnpike was completed, running from Georgetown to Rockville. It was the first paved road in Montgomery County.<ref name= centuries/><ref name="THS Boyd"/>Template:Rp

In 1849, the Seventh Street Turnpike (now called Georgia Avenue) was extended from Washington to Brookeville. The Colesville–Ashton Turnpike was built in 1870 (now parts of Colesville Road, Columbia Pike, and New Hampshire Avenue).<ref name="THS Boyd"/>Template:Rp

The United States Army Corps of Engineers built the Washington Aqueduct between 1853 and 1864, to supply water from Great Falls to Washington. The aqueduct was covered in 1875, and it became known as Conduit Road. The Union Arch Bridge, which carries the aqueduct across Cabin John Creek, was the longest single-arch bridge in the world at the time it was completed in 1864. The road is now named MacArthur Boulevard.<ref name=centuries/><ref name="THS Boyd"/>Template:Rp

Major highways and roads

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Bus

Montgomery County operates its own bus public transit system, known as Ride On.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Major routes closer to its rail service area are also covered by WMATA's Metrobus service.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The county also operates a bus rapid transit (BRT) system named Flash.

The Corridor Cities Transitway is a proposed BRT line that would provide an extension of the Red Line corridor from Gaithersburg to Germantown, and eventually to Frederick County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Rail

File:Paul S Sarbanes Transit Center 10.jpg

Silver Spring station in August 2017 serving the Red Line of the Washington Metro. This station also serves Amtrak and the Brunswick line of MARC.

Montgomery County is served by three passenger rail systems, with a fourth line under construction.

Amtrak, the U.S. national passenger rail system, operates its Capitol Limited to Rockville, between Washington Union Station and Chicago Union Station.

The Brunswick line of the MARC commuter rail system makes stops at Silver Spring, Kensington, Garrett Park, Rockville, Washington Grove, Gaithersburg, Metropolitan Grove, Germantown, Boyds, Barnesville, and Dickerson, where the line splits into its Frederick and Martinsburg branches.

Both suburban arms of the Red Line of the Washington Metro serve Montgomery County. It follows the CSX right of way to the west, roughly paralleling Route 355 from Friendship Heights to Shady Grove. The eastern side runs between the two tracks of the CSX right of way from Washington Union Station to Silver Spring, and roughly parallels Georgia Avenue, from Silver Spring to Glenmont.

The Purple Line, a light rail system, is currently under construction and is scheduled to open in 2026.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The line will run in a generally east-west direction, connecting Montgomery and Prince George's Counties near the Beltway, with 21 stations. The Purple Line will connect directly with four Metro stations, MARC trains and Amtrak.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Air

The Montgomery County Airpark (FAA GAI, ICAO KGAI), a general aviation facility in Gaithersburg, is the major airport in the county. Davis Airport (FAA Identifier W50), a privately owned airstrip, is located in Laytonsville on Hawkins Creamery Road.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Commercial air service is provided at the nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National, Washington Dulles International, and BWI Airports.

Education

Education in the county is provided by Montgomery County Public Schools, Montgomery College and other institutions.

Montgomery County Public Schools

Template:Main Elementary and secondary public schools are operated by the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). The county public school system is the largest school district in Maryland, serving about 162,000 students with 13,000 teachers and 10,000 support staff. The public school system operating budget for Fiscal Year 2019 is $2.6 billion (~$Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

MCPS operates under the jurisdiction of an elected board of education. Its current members are:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Name	District	Term ends
Brenda Wolff	District 5	2026
Karla Silvestre	At-Large, President	2026
Grace Rivera-Oven	District 1	2026
Shebra L. Evans	District 4, Vice President	2024
Lynne Harris	At-Large	2024
Julie Yang	District 3	2026
Rebecca Smondrowski	District 2	2024
Praneel Suvarna	Student Member	2025
Thomas Taylor	Superintendent	2028

MCPS conducted its first 'data deletion week' in 2019, purging its databases of unnecessary student information.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Parents said they hoped to shield children from being held accountable in adulthood for youthful mistakes, as well as to guard them from exploitation by what one parent termed "the student data surveillance industrial complex".The district also requires tech companies to annually delete data they collect on schoolchildren. In December 2019 it said GoGuardian had sent formal certification that it had deleted its data, but the district was still waiting for confirmation from Google.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Montgomery College

Template:Main The county is also served by Montgomery College, a public, open access community college that has a budget of US$315 million for FY2020. The county has no public university of its own, but the state university system does operate a facility called Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville that provides access to baccalaureate and Master's level programs from several of the state's public universities.

Montgomery County Public Libraries

Template:Main The Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) system includes 23 individual libraries, and had a budget $38 million (~$Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year) for 2015.

Culture

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Takoma Park Seventh-day Adventist Church

Religion

Montgomery County is religiously diverse. In 2010, Montgomery County's population, according to the Association of Religion Data Archives, was 13% Catholic, 5% Baptist, 4% Evangelical Protestant, 3% Jewish, 3% Methodist/Pietist, 2% Adventist, 2% Presbyterian, 1% Episcopalian/Anglican, 1% Mormon, 1% Muslim, 1% Lutheran, 1% Eastern Orthodox, 1% Pentecostal, 1% Buddhist, and 1% Hindu.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref group="N">These figures count adherents, meaning all full members, their children, and others who regularly attend services. In all of Montgomery County, 40% of the population is adherent to any particular religion.</ref>

In 2020, Montgomery County's congregation members, according to the Association of Religion Data Archives, was 27.7% Catholic, 8.7% Evangelical Protestant, 6.1% Mainline Protestant, 3.1% Muslim, 2.5% Jewish, 1.2% Latter Day Saints, 1.1% Hindus, 0.8% Buddhist, 0.8% Orthodox Christian, 0.7% Jehovah's Witness, 0.4% Black Protestant, 0.3% Other Christian, and 0.1% Other.

Montgomery County was named the most religiously diverse county in the United States in 2023 by the Public Religion Research Institute's census.<ref name=":0" /> Counties were given a diversity index between 0 and 1, with 0 signifying no diversity, and 1 signifying complete diversity. Montgomery County earned a .886, higher than the national average of .615.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church maintains its General Conference headquarters in Silver Spring in Montgomery County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

According to the 2020 ARDA census, there are 776 religious congregations. Their tradition and adherents are listed below, however not all religious bodies reported their adherents, so they are estimates.


Tradition	Congregations	Adherents
Black Protestant	19	4,102
Buddhist	20	8,489
Catholic	40	293,819
Evangelical Protestant	504	92,292
Hindu	18	11,493
Islam	12	33,394
Jehovah's Witness	29	7,442
Judaism	47	26,465
Latter Day Saints	21	12,390
Mainline Protestants	171	64,508
Orthodox Christians	19	8,374
Others (Jain, Sikh, Baha'i, Zoroastrian)	16	978
Other Christians	13	3,226

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Sports

The county was home to the National Women's Soccer League team Washington Spirit, a professional soccer team that played its home games at the Maryland SoccerPlex sports complex in Boyds.<ref name="spirit">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2021, the Spirit will play its seven home games at Audi Field, in Washington, D.C., and five home games at Segra Field in Leesburg, Virginia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Starting in 2022, the team began to play games at Audi Field.

Bethesda's Congressional Country Club has hosted four Major Championships, including three playings of the U.S. Open, most recently in 2011 which was won by Rory McIlroy. The Club also hosts the Quicken Loans National, an annual event on the PGA Tour which benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation. Previously, neighboring TPC at Avenel hosted the Booz Allen Classic.

The award-winning Members Club at Four Streams is located on a former farm in Beallsville, Maryland.

The Bethesda Big Train, Rockville Express, and Silver Spring–Takoma Thunderbolts all play college level wooden bat baseball in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League.

Montgomery County is home of the Montgomery County Swim League, a youth (ages 4–18) competitive swimming league composed of ninety teams based at community pools throughout the county.

The King Farm Park in Rockville, open and accessible 24/7 without cost, provides a first-class 16-station Bankshot Playcourt, the Home Court for the Rockville based Bankshot Sports Organization advocating "Total-mix diversity based on Universal Design." Hundreds of communities provide Bankshot Playcourts mainstreaming differently-able participants in community sports. Bankshot basketball Playcourts are also at Montrose park, the JCC among other locations.

Montgomery County Agricultural Fair

File:Montgomery County Fairgrounds.JPG

Montgomery County Fairgrounds

Since 1949 the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair, the largest in the state, showcases farm life in the county. The week long event offers family events, carnival rides, live animals, entertainment and food. Visitors can also view entries of canned and baked goods, clothing, quilts and produce from local county farmers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sister cities

Montgomery County maintains sister city agreements with:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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Communities

Cities

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Towns

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Villages

Special Tax Districts

Occupying a middle ground between incorporated and unincorporated areas are Special Tax Districts, quasi-municipal unincorporated areas created by legislation passed by either the Maryland General Assembly or the county.<ref name=1998handbook>Template:Cite web</ref> The Special Tax Districts generally have limited purposes, such as providing some municipal services or improvements to drainage or street lighting.<ref name=1998handbook/> Special Tax Districts lack home rule authority and must petition their cognizant governmental entity for changes affecting the authority of the district. The four incorporated villages of Montgomery County and the town of Chevy Chase View were originally established as Special Tax Districts. Four Special Tax Districts remain in the county:

Census-designated places

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Unincorporated areas are also considered as towns by many people and listed in many collections of towns, but they lack local government. Various organizations, such as the United States Census Bureau, the United States Postal Service, and local chambers of commerce, define the communities they wish to recognize differently, and since they are not incorporated, their boundaries have no official status outside the organizations in question. The Census Bureau recognizes the following census-designated places in the county:

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