The county economy from official statistics, with source and year on every table.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Montgomery County is a county of Maryland with 1,065,949 residents. Its economy produced $117,390 million in 2024 (ranked #1 of 24 counties) and had 462,298 jobs with an average annual pay of $94,473 (#1 for pay). The unemployment rate was 3.2% in 2026M09. It is part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area (central county).
Montgomery County produced about $117,390 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 21.5% of the combined output of the 24 counties of Maryland that BEA reports (about 17.2% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 1st of 24 on that measure. Per resident that is $110,127, 25% above the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $87,984. In current dollars output grew 4.3% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation.
BLS counts 462,298 jobs located in Montgomery County on average in 2024, spread over 35,443 employer sites (about 13 jobs per site). That is 0.43 jobs for every resident, above the 0.40 of the typical county in Maryland, which tells you whether the county is a place people mostly commute to for work or a place they commute from. The average annual pay per job was $94,473, 23% above the average of all counties in the state ($94,473 against $76,898). Average pay is total wages divided by jobs, so it is pulled up by high earners and counts part-time jobs as whole jobs; it is not the pay of a typical worker. The number of jobs rose 0.7% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are health care and social assistance (19.4% of private jobs, $70,471 a year on average), professional and technical services (18.1% of private jobs, $133,145 a year on average), retail trade (11.2% of private jobs, $48,192 a year on average). Together they hold 48.7% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is finance and insurance at $180,657 a year, followed by manufacturing ($168,388). The county is specialised in several industries: professional and technical services (2.1 times the US share, 66,506 jobs); other services (except public administration) (1.4 times the US share, 19,491 jobs). A location quotient above 1 means an industry employs a larger share of workers here than in the whole country, so these are the industries where local employers compete hardest for skills. Several of the biggest employers pay well below the county average: retail trade ($48,192), accommodation and food services ($35,779), administrative and waste services ($62,258). Jobs there are plentiful but the pay is lower than the headline average suggests.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in Montgomery County was 3.2%, 9% below the average of the state's counties (3.2% against 3.5%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 560,766. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 3.2% (2026M09) to 4.6% (2026M02); the latest month is preliminary and BLS revises it. These county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month across years.
The median household income was $132,450 (ACS 2020–2024), 28% above the state median ($132,450 against $103,678). The guide covers 18 cities with this as the main county: Germantown, Silver Spring, Gaithersburg, Bethesda, Rockville, Aspen Hill, Wheaton, North Bethesda. Open any of them for rent, home values, commuting and climate. Within the county, median rent runs from $1,432 in Takoma Park to $2,887 in Potomac, so where you live matters as much as which county you pick.
Counties close to Montgomery County in output are Baltimore County, Anne Arundel County. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 24 counties of Maryland ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,065,949 | 1 of 24 |
| GDP 2024 | $117,390 million | 1 of 24 |
| GDP per resident | $110,127 | 4 of 24 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 462,298 | 1 of 24 |
| Average annual pay | $94,473 | 1 of 24 |
| Job change vs 2023 | +0.7% | 22 of 24 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 3.2% | 9 of 24 |
| Median household income | $132,450 | 3 of 24 |
Federal jobs in Maryland (655) →All cities of MarylandState guide: Maryland
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
Cities of this guide whose main county is Montgomery County.
| City ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ | Median home value ⇅ | Bachelor's+ ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germantown | 90,719 | $117,546 | $2,040 | $422,400 | 50.4% |
| Silver Spring | 81,462 | $99,860 | $1,913 | $643,300 | 60.6% |
| Gaithersburg | 69,825 | $112,467 | $2,058 | $496,500 | 52.5% |
| Bethesda | 69,397 | $192,237 | $2,469 | $1,169,900 | 87.1% |
| Rockville | 67,671 | $128,649 | $2,274 | $682,300 | 65.6% |
| Aspen Hill | 53,279 | $111,575 | $1,916 | $570,000 | 43.3% |
| Wheaton | 52,926 | $111,478 | $2,163 | $501,200 | 38.7% |
| North Bethesda | 49,677 | $129,092 | $2,191 | $731,800 | 75.1% |
| Potomac | 45,902 | $236,675 | $2,887 | $1,157,000 | 84.9% |
| Olney | 35,797 | $171,458 | $2,404 | $656,600 | 65.0% |
| Montgomery Village | 34,110 | $95,348 | $1,916 | $388,900 | 42.8% |
| Clarksburg | 30,487 | $176,678 | $2,495 | $679,400 | 69.0% |
| Fairland | 26,231 | $98,800 | $1,894 | $477,300 | 46.4% |
| North Potomac | 23,922 | $186,514 | $2,413 | $826,200 | 77.2% |
| Redland | 18,665 | $132,153 | $2,221 | $540,200 | 53.2% |
| Damascus | 17,640 | $158,883 | $1,792 | $528,400 | 49.0% |
| Takoma Park | 17,632 | $108,136 | $1,432 | $749,200 | 61.7% |
| Calverton | 17,624 | $107,381 | $2,164 | $477,100 | 43.5% |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 71,328 | 19.4% | $70,471 | 1.08 |
| Professional and technical services | 66,506 | 18.1% | $133,145 | 2.07 |
| Retail trade | 41,094 | 11.2% | $48,192 | 0.89 |
| Accommodation and food services | 33,038 | 9.0% | $35,779 | 0.79 |
| Administrative and waste services | 27,016 | 7.4% | $62,258 | 0.99 |
| Construction | 21,635 | 5.9% | $86,445 | 0.89 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 19,491 | 5.3% | $66,849 | 1.40 |
| Manufacturing | 14,692 | 4.0% | $168,388 | 0.39 |
| Finance and insurance | 14,019 | 3.8% | $180,657 | 0.75 |
| Educational services | 11,838 | 3.2% | $59,814 | 1.24 |
| Real estate and rental | 9,740 | 2.7% | $116,793 | 1.36 |
| Information | 9,039 | 2.5% | $148,976 | 1.04 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 8,048 | 2.2% | $37,207 | 1.04 |
| Wholesale trade | 7,368 | 2.0% | $112,365 | 0.40 |
| Management of companies | 6,213 | 1.7% | $213,963 | 0.80 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 5,136 | 1.4% | $52,595 | 0.26 |
| Utilities | 480 | 0.1% | $130,249 | 0.27 |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 368 | 0.1% | $41,400 | 0.10 |
| Mining, oil and gas | 50 | 0.0% | $85,608 | 0.03 |
A location quotient above 1 means the industry is more concentrated here than in the US. BLS withholds sectors with too few employers.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Labour force | 560,766 |
| Employed residents | 542,685 |
| Unemployed residents | 18,081 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.2% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 462,298 |
| Employer sites | 35,443 |
Residents employed and jobs located here differ: many residents commute to other counties.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP 2024 ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Unemployment ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery County | 1,065,949 | $117,390 million | $110,127 | 462,298 | $94,473 | 3.2% |
| Prince George's County | 959,754 | $65,163 million | $67,896 | 329,476 | $73,373 | 4.0% |
| Baltimore County | 850,796 | $73,114 million | $85,935 | 374,470 | $71,051 | 3.6% |
| Anne Arundel County | 598,166 | $69,946 million | $116,934 | 288,447 | $79,546 | 3.0% |
| Baltimore | 573,243 | $65,579 million | $114,400 | 348,184 | $82,818 | 4.6% |
| Howard County | 336,328 | $37,130 million | $110,397 | 173,483 | $86,951 | 3.0% |
| Frederick County | 287,048 | $20,352 million | $70,902 | 108,438 | $69,852 | 3.1% |
| Harford County | 263,757 | $17,906 million | $67,887 | 95,188 | $68,533 | 3.1% |
| Carroll County | 175,321 | $8,877 million | $50,635 | 59,195 | $57,405 | 2.7% |
| Charles County | 170,527 | $8,672 million | $50,853 | 43,087 | $60,436 | 3.9% |
| Washington County | 155,709 | $9,961 million | $63,974 | 64,206 | $58,252 | 3.6% |
| Saint Mary's County | 115,126 | $10,446 million | $90,735 | 49,113 | $85,381 | 3.0% |
| Cecil County | 104,960 | $7,154 million | $68,161 | 36,713 | $63,481 | 3.5% |
| Wicomico County | 104,914 | $7,088 million | $67,556 | 46,139 | $56,568 | 3.6% |
| Calvert County | 94,313 | $6,248 million | $66,253 | 22,676 | $61,154 | 3.1% |
| Allegany County | 67,452 | $3,542 million | $52,514 | 26,680 | $51,777 | 4.5% |
| Worcester County | 53,700 | $4,138 million | $77,060 | 26,303 | $45,838 | 3.3% |
| Queen Anne's County | 51,825 | $2,875 million | $55,484 | 16,269 | $56,415 | 2.8% |
| Talbot County | 37,917 | $2,787 million | $73,494 | 18,220 | $56,684 | 3.3% |
| Caroline County | 33,669 | $1,590 million | $47,216 | 9,246 | $53,786 | 3.4% |
| Dorchester County | 32,754 | $1,801 million | $54,973 | 11,903 | $52,568 | 4.0% |
| Garrett County | 28,615 | $1,790 million | $62,571 | 12,162 | $48,523 | 3.3% |
| Somerset County | 24,822 | $1,231 million | $49,582 | 6,963 | $58,162 | 4.2% |
| Kent County | 19,346 | $1,248 million | $64,527 | 7,648 | $52,881 | 3.6% |
1,065,949 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$117,390 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
3.2% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
462,298 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $94,473 (BLS QCEW).