Germantown is an urbanized census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. With a population of 91,249 as of 2020 U.S. Decennial Census, Germantown is the third most populous place in Maryland, after the city of Baltimore, and the census-designated place of Columbia. Germantown is located nearly 28 miles (45 km) outside the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C. and is an important portion of the Washington metropolitan area.

Germantown was founded in the to the lead 19th century by European immigrants, though much of the area’s expand did not take place until the mid-20th century. The indigenous plan for Germantown estranged the Place into a downtown and six town villages: Gunners Lake Village, Kingsview Village, Churchill Village, Middlebrook Village, Clopper’s Mill Village, and Neelsville Village. The Churchill Town Sector at the corner of Maryland Route 118 and Middlebrook Road most next door to resembles the downtown or center of Germantown because of the location of the Upcounty Regional Services Center, the Germantown Public Library, the Black Rock Arts Center, the Regal Germantown Stadium 14, and pedestrian shopping that features an array of restaurants. Three exits to Interstate 270 are less than one mile away, the Maryland Area Regional Commuter train is within walking distance, and the Germantown Transit Center that provides Ride On shuttle encourage to the Shady Grove station of the Washington Metro’s Red Line.

Germantown has the assigned ZIP codes of 20874 and 20876 for delivery and 20875 for reveal office boxes. It is the only “Germantown, Maryland” recognized by the United States Postal Service, though three further Maryland counties have unincorporated communities later than the thesame name.

In the 1830s and 1840s, the central business Place was focused as regards the intersection of Liberty Mill Road and Clopper Road. Several German immigrants set taking place shop at the intersection and the town became known as “German Town”, even while most residents of the town were of English or Scottish descent.