The Office of Economic Development oversees economic development programs and services, assisting existing and potential businesses and industries, preparing marketing materials and strategies, and acting as a liaison between the City and the business community.

Home to more than 4,000 businesses in the heart of the Washington-Baltimore region, Gaithersburg is in the middle of the fourth largest retail market in the U.S., and is central to the Boston-Atlanta Corridor. We are an internationally recognized center of biotechnology, capitalizing on our proximity to federal research facilities and regulatory agencies including the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration.

Because of our proximity to the nation’s capital and major global industries, the City plays host to many international and domestic visitors. We enjoy one of the highest educated labor pools in the country. In fact, Maryland ranks fourth in percentage of the population with a bachelor’s degree and second in the percentage with a graduate or professional degree. The City is within an hour’s drive of dozens of colleges and universities, several located just beyond our borders.