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 491 square miles (or 317,000 acres) of land area. The County population was 1,052,521 as of July 2023, consisting of 41.4 percent White (non-Hispanic) and 58.6 percent cultural minorities. About 32.7 percent of the population is foreign-born.

The 2022 median household income was $118,323. According to the Maryland Department of Labor, the County's estimated labor force for October 2023 was 550,371 with an unemployment rate of 1.9 percent. Montgomery County is an employment center with 35.1 percent of persons residing in the County also working in the County. For the 2022 fall enrollment, 160,554 pupils were registered in the County's schools.