The fifth-most-rural state in the US, Montana's state nicknames include the "Treasure State" for its abundance of gold mines and the "Big Sky Country" for its wealth of nighttime stars. Montana is one of the country's least-populated states, spreading 1,112,668 people—the eighth fewest of any state in the U.S.—across the country's 4th-largest area, 147,040 square miles (mi²).
Montana is the only U.S. state to share borders with three Canadian provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan. It trails only Alaska in the number of veterans per 100,000 residents and has the country's highest frequency of Vietnam veterans. Montana also has the highest rate of firearm ownership in the United States.
In the busiest period for new statehood in U.S. history, Montana gained statehood in November 1889, just six days after the Dakotas and three days before Washington. Montana has been reliably Republican in recent presidential elections, having voted for only two Democrats since 1952. Interestingly, before 1952, the state had voted Democratic five times in a row – four times for Franklin Roosevelt and then for Harry Truman. Donald Trump beat Joe Biden by over 16 points in 2020. Montana regained a 2nd congressional district in the 2020 Census; it had lost that in the 1990 Census. As a result, the state will have four electoral votes in 2024 and 2028.
According to a 2022 study from the U.S. Census Bureau, Montana has 128 cities, towns, and villages, 54 counties, and 736 special districts.
There are few large urban areas in Montana. The largest city is Billings, home to 110,263 people in 2016. Other sizable cities are Missoula (pop: 71,022) and Great Falls (pop: 59,638). Montana's Urban areas are growing rapidly, while more rural areas are gradually becoming less populated.
94.8% of Montana's population speaks English, although many other languages are spoken in the state, including Blackfoot, Assiniboine, Cheyenne, Plains Cree, Crow, Dakota, and Kutenai.
The median age in Montana is approximately 39.8 years of age. The ratio of females to males is approximately 49.7% females to 50.3% males.
In terms of religious preferences across the state, 65% of the population is Christian-based, 5% are non-Christian-based, and 30% are non-affiliated with any religion.
According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Montana was:
White: 87.04%
Native American: 6.07%
Two or more races: 4.49%
Other race: 0.94%
Asian: 0.83%
Black or African American: 0.58%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.05%
Montana has less than 1,000 Muslims.
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