Garrett County's economy is influenced by numerous sectors. Bauchman Optical, which started operations in 1992 in a new facility in one of the county owned industrial parks is one of several new companies and others have significantly expanded their operations. In all there are 60 some manufacturers located throughout the county.
The dramatic growth in tourism related business has positioned this sector as an extremely integral part of Garrett County's economy. The continued future growth of recreation and tourism related businesses may well be the driving force behind Garrett's economic well-being.
Other sectors that have an important role in Garrett County's economy are natural resources based industries (mining, timber, farming, water-resource based, etc.). The County has the State's only deep mining facility in Maryland, the Mettiki deep-mine, which employs approximately 300 persons. Numerous sawmills process the abundant supplies of hardwoods found locally. Several other companies bottle mountain spring waters that originate here.