Gaithersburg is a city located in Montgomery County, Maryland. At the time of the 2010 United States Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 59,933, making it the fourth largest incorporated city in the state, behind Baltimore, Frederick, and Rockville.
Gaithersburg is divided into east and west sections, separated by Interstate 270. The eastern section of the city is older and is the original portion of the town before more recent growth. Landmarks and buildings from that time can still be seen in many places but especially in the historic central business district of Gaithersburg called “Olde Town”. The east side also includes Lakeforest Mall, City Hall, and the Montgomery County Fair grounds. The west side of the city has many wealthier neighborhoods that were designed with smart growth techniques and embrace New Urbanism. These include the award-winning Kentlands community, the Lakelands community, and the Washingtonian Center (better known as The Rio), a popular shopping/business district. Three New Urbanism communities are under construction, including Crown Farm, Watkins Mill Town Center (Casey East and West), and the massive “Science City” off Key West and Great Seneca Highway. The state has a light rail line, Corridor Cities Transitway or “CCT”, planned for the western portion of the city starting at Shady Grove Metro Station and connecting all the high density western Gaithersburg neighborhoods with a total of eight stops planned in the city.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is headquartered in Gaithersburg directly west of I-270. Other major employers in the city include IBM, Lockheed Martin Information Systems and Global Services business area headquarters, MedImmune (recently purchased by AstraZeneca), and the French multinational corporation, Sodexo.
Gaithersburg is connected to the Washington Metro via Shady Grove station, which is located just outside the city limits and is the North-Western terminus of the Red Line.
Maryland’s MARC system operates commuter rail services connecting Gaithersburg to Washington, D.C. with two stations in the city, at Old Town Gaithersburg and Metropolitan Grove, and a third station — Washington Grove — just outside city limits.
Bus service in Gaithersburg consists of Metrobus routes operated by WMATA and Ride-On routes operated by Montgomery County, as well as paratransit service provided by MetroAccess.
The greater Gaithersburg area covers a large geography with many schools within the boundaries.
Elementary schools that serve Gaithersburg include:- Brown Station Elementary School
- Diamond Elementary School
- Flower Hill Elementary School
- Gaithersburg Elementary School
- Goshen Elementary School
- Jones Lane Elementary School
- Judith A. Resnik Elementary School
- Laytonsville Elementary School
- Rosemont Elementary School
- Rachel Carson Elementary School
- South Lake Elementary School
- Stedwick Elementary School
- Strawberry Knoll Elementary School
- Summit Hall Elementary School
- Thurgood Marshall Elementary School
- Washington Grove Elementary School
- Watkins Mill Elementary School
- Whetstone Elementary School
- Forest Oak Middle School
- Gaithersburg Middle School
- Lakelands Park Middle School
- Neelsville Middle School
- Shady Grove Middle School
- Ridgeview Middle School
- Montgomery Village Middle School
- Gaithersburg High School
- Quince Orchard High School
- Watkins Mill High School
