Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the birthplace of football player Jürgen Klinsmann.

Göppingen and the nearby village of Jebenhausen were home to a thriving Jewish community from 1777 until the Second World War.

In 1777, the Baron von Liebenstein issued a "Letter of Protection" granting Elias Gutmann and other Jews permission to settle in Jebenhausen.

The community grew and peaked in the mid-1800s, with the population center shifting from Jebenhausen to Göppingen and a substantial emigration of Jewish families to America by the late 19th Century.

[5] A comprehensive Jewish community history, Die Geschichte der Juden in Jebenhausen und Göppingen, was first produced by Tänzer in 1927, on the 150th anniversary of the settlement of Jebenhausen, and re-released in 1988 by the city of Göppingen with updated material added by Karl-Heinz Ruess.

In late 1950, the VII Corps (US) had been reactivated in Stuttgart and U.S. Army units began to be stationed at Cooke Barracks.

[8] Local sports club Frisch Auf Göppingen currently play in the German first team handball men's top division Handball-Bundesliga.