Montgomery County was established by the State Convention in 1776, and from its establishment until 1948, the Montgomery County Government functioned under the County Commission system. In 1948, the voters adopted a charter giving the County home rule and a council-manager form of government. In 1968, the voters approved a new charter providing for separate legislative and executive branches of government, with legislative power vested in an elected County Council and executive power in an elected County Executive. The new charter became effective with the election of the County Executive and Council in November 1970. Currently, the Montgomery County Council is composed of eleven members, four of whom are elected by all voters in the County. The remaining seven Councilmembers are each elected from one of seven Councilmanic districts.

Montgomery County contains 493 square miles (or 315,500 acres) of land area. The County population was 1,058,474 as of 2023, consisting of 39 percent White (non-Hispanic) and 61 percent cultural minorities. About 34.7 percent of the population is foreign-born.

The 2023 median household income was $125,371. According to the Maryland Department of Labor, the County's estimated labor force for December 2024 was 549,069 with an unemployment rate of 2.4 percent. Montgomery County is an employment center with 48.8 percent of persons residing in the County also working in the County. For the 2024 fall enrollment, 159,671 pupils were registered in the County's schools.