How many people are employed in Montana?

According to Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 data, Montana has 401,056 employees across 42,043 business establishments in 614 tracked industries.

What are the largest industries in Montana?

The largest industries in Montana by employment are General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (23,817), Full-Service Restaurants (20,162), and Limited-Service Restaurants (15,352).

What is the average payroll in Montana?

Average payroll per employee varies widely by industry in Montana. The highest-paying tracked industry is Petroleum Refineries at $146,112/yr. All data is from Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023.

How many businesses operate in Montana?

Montana has 42,043 business establishments across 614 industries tracked by the Census Bureau County Business Patterns program. Each establishment represents a single physical location or operating unit.

State overview · MT · Census CBP 2023

Montana Industry Benchmarks

Name: Montana Industry Employment and Payroll Benchmarks
Creator: PlainBizBench
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Employment, establishments, and payroll for 614 industries in Montana. Drill into any industry for a Montana-specific view, then cross-reference the national page for margins.

Compiled by PlainBizBench

401K
Workers: 42K
Establishments: 614
Industries tracked

Data updated August 2026

The verdict · Montana

Montana employs 401,056 workers across 614 tracked industries, led by General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (23,817 workers).

Health Care and Social Assistance anchors Montana; top-three cumulative share is 49%. Margins stay on national industry pages.

Montana sector employment mix

Share of private-sector employment by NAICS-2 sector (Census CBP 2023). Tile area = workers.

Montana private employment by sector · Census CBP 2023

Health Care and Social Assistance is the clear anchor in Montana (19% of 401,056 private-sector workers (about the 12th percentile of states by employment)), but sibling sectors still take meaningful shares. Read the treemap as an anchor-plus-breadth economy rather than a one-sector state.

#1 · NAICS 62

Health Care and Social Assistance

74,903 · 19%

#2 · NAICS 44

Retail Trade

62,888 · 16%

#3 · NAICS 72

Accommodation and Food Services

58,010 · 14%

Anchor economy · Herfindahl 0.106 (open) · top-three 49% of Montana private payroll.

Profit margins are national (IRS SOI); open any industry row below, then the matching national industry page for profitability.

Census CBP firm roll

County Business Patterns MT ANCHORED · CBP

#45/51 · 401,056 workers · 42,043 firms

EMP 401,056
EST 42,043
RANK #45/51
PCT 12th pct
LEAD Health Care and Soci…
SHARE 19% lead
BAND anchored
DENS 9.5 /firm
BOOK 614 NAICS
PHOTO Rhode Island

Nearest employment-scale peer: Rhode Island (394,740 workers)

According to Census County Business Patterns 2023, Montana ranks #45 of 51 states and territories by total private-sector employment (level-2 sector totals, the same non-double-counted aggregate shown above). Margins stay on national industry pages (IRS SOI). Read with this state → · Lead 6-digit industry →

Census CBP level-2 private employment among this state and nearest nationwide peers

Top Industries by Employment

Industry	Employment	Establishments	Annual Payroll	Avg Payroll/Emp
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals NAICS 622110	23,817	62	$1.8B	$73,825/yr
Full-Service Restaurants NAICS 722511	20,162	1,060	$498.9M	$24,743/yr
Limited-Service Restaurants NAICS 722513	15,352	806	$322.7M	$21,023/yr
Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels NAICS 721110	11,200	531	$353.3M	$31,540/yr
Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) NAICS 621111	9,878	453	$1.2B	$118,523/yr
Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores NAICS 447110	5,147	397	$144.8M	$28,130/yr
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) NAICS 722410	4,969	541	$101.6M	$20,443/yr
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors NAICS 238220	4,448	712	$297.2M	$66,827/yr
Religious Organizations NAICS 813110	4,416	824	$100.4M	$22,746/yr
New Car Dealers NAICS 441110	4,295	119	$291.8M	$67,942/yr
Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities NAICS 624120	4,184	170	$99.0M	$23,652/yr
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars NAICS 722515	4,010	427	$72.5M	$18,083/yr
Engineering Services NAICS 541330	3,997	389	$379.8M	$95,026/yr
Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors NAICS 238210	3,874	549	$267.5M	$69,055/yr
Offices of Dentists NAICS 621210	3,842	529	$228.8M	$59,561/yr
Janitorial Services NAICS 561720	3,729	509	N/A	N/A
New Single-Family Housing Construction (except For-Sale Builders) NAICS 236115	3,375	1,075	$203.8M	$60,398/yr
Child Day Care Services NAICS 624410	3,364	488	$82.9M	$24,650/yr
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers NAICS 713940	3,058	215	$45.3M	$14,821/yr
Sporting Goods Stores NAICS 451110	2,998	194	$86.6M	$28,899/yr

Scale peers for Montana's anchor economy

Nearest other states by Census CBP level-2 private employment (401,056 in Montana), excluding MT.

Rhode Island 394,740 Delaware 435,085 Hawaii 437,405 North Dakota 327,925 South Dakota 297,192 District of Columbia 520,480 New Hampshire 533,259 West Virginia 537,890

Disclaimer: Montana (MT) figures on this page are Census CBP employment and payroll counts for informational registry use only, not financial, tax, or business advice. Consult a qualified accountant for decisions about Montana businesses.

Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · MT

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from official public datasets for Montana (MT). See our methodology.

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau → · Verify with IRS SOI →