The Montana economy has evolved through time.  Still, three important characteristics dictate the current Montana economy:

       **Montana is physically isolated from the nation's major markets, which are located east of the Mississippi River and in the Southwest;

       **Montana has a small and dispersed population;

       **Montana has a greater dependence on natural resources than almost any other region in the country.

These characteristics affect the Montana economy regardless of the topic addressed.

In 2000 Montana contained a civilian labor force of 480,000 people, with a statewide unemployment rate of 4.9 percent.  During the 1990s, employment continued  to shift away from traditional, basic industry to retail trade and service-sector jobs (education/health care/real estate/trade/tourism).  The labor force currently is split, with 23 percent in basic industries (agriculture/mining/manufacturing) and 77 percent in derivative industries (trade and services).  The state's per-capita income (2000) was $22,569.  Montana is one of only five states in the Union that currently does not levy a state sales tax.

Forests cover about 23,000,000 acres (9,300,000 hectares) or almost one-quarter of Montana.  More than 14,000,000 acres (5,700,00 hectares) of this total are commercial forest.  The manufacture of lumber and wood products is the state's leading industrial activity.  Montana is one of the nation's top producers of softwood logs, most of which are processed into lumber at Montana sawmills.

Montana's lumber production was just over 1.20 billion board feet in 2000, down 10 percent from 1.34 billion board feet in 1999.  Plywood production also decreased to about 580 million square feet in 2000.  On the other hand, the log-home industry and some secondary sectors experienced production increases.  The state's Christmas-tree industry remains depressed, falling from a peak in the early 1990s.

Such factors as energy costs, international market fluctuations, foreign imports, and federal timber policy affect Montana's lumber industry directly.

Agriculture is Montana's leading industry.  In 2000 there were about 27,600 farms and ranches in Montana, working 56,700,000 acres.  The proportion of Montana land currently included in farms and ranches is approximately 65 percent.  Large-scale farming is the rule, with the average operation involving 2,054 acres.  The state includes 1,600,000 acres of irrigated cropland.

Since the early 1990s, Montana farmers and ranchers have been directly responsible for about 11 percent of all economic output in the state, with products valued at over $2 billion a year.  In 2000 Montana exported agricultural commodities totaling $259,800,000.

Montana produces barley, rice, oats, corn, hay, sugar beets, and some specialized "niche crops" (like mint), but its main crop focus is wheat.  Montana is third among wheat-producing states in the U.S.  Despite another drought year in 2000, the state produced 135,210,000 bushels of wheat.

Montana farmers and ranchers raise hogs, sheep, dairy cattle, llamas, and horses.  However, beef cattle dominate Montana's livestock scene, and rising market prices the last two years have improved the industry.  Together, wheat and beef provide almost 75 percent of the income received by operators from the sale of their commodities.  In 1999 there were 2,700,000 cattle in Montana, or almost 3 head per human resident!

Federal farm payments to Montana operators reached almost $500 million in 2000, implying that nearly 25 percent of Montana's farm receipts come from government assistance.

Montana contains vast deposits of two important minerals--coal and petroleum.  Its coal reserves are the largest in the nation, and its undeveloped oil and natural gas holdings are equally impressive.  The mountain ranges of central, southern, and western Montana hold large ore deposits, including copper, gold, lead, silver, and zinc.

The state also is a national leader in the production of talc, vermiculite, platinum, and palladium.  Mining ventures in Montana depend directly upon international markets, transportation costs, and trade agreements.

Mine reclamation is also big business in Montana.  The Berkeley Pit in Butte remains the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) largest Superfund site in the country.  That is, the federal government has designated the Berkeley Pit the number-one environmental hazard facing the nation.

Travel by both state residents and out-of-state visitors is Montana's second-ranked (after agriculture) and fastest-growing industry.  In 2000 tourism contributed more than $1,600,000,000 to the state's economy.  During the same year, about 9,500,000 out-of-state travelers visited Montana to enjoy its national parks, historic sites, hunting, fishing, hiking, skiing, and other activities that rely on its spectacular scenery, recreational resources, and open spaces.  In 2000 tourism provided jobs for more than 32,400 Montanans.

In 2000 contract construction in the state totaled more than $400,000,000--a significant portion of which involved federal funds for highway/bridge construction.  The state is also the home for 200 U.S. Air Force ICBM missile silos, scattered across 23,000 miles of central Montana and serviced out of Great Falls.

Montana includes about 70,000 miles (112,000 km.) of public roads, of which approximately 43,000 miles (68,800 km.) are surfaced.  Because of the relatively great distances between its communities, the state is heavily dependent on private-automobile and commercial-truck transportation.  Almost 78 percent of Montana "vehicle miles traveled" occurs outside the state's 14 urban areas--the highest ration in the Union.

Montana contains 125 public-use airports, with Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Missoula, and Kalispell operating as the primary commercial aviation centers.  About 3,100 miles (4,990 km.) of railroad trackage provide freight and some passenger service to the state.  

Gas and oil pipelines are also a major part of Montana's transportation system.

Montana relies on 10 daily and more than 75 non-daily newspapers for area and statewide coverage.  The papers with the largest circulations are the Billings Gazette, the Great Falls Tribune, and the (Missoula) Missoulian.  Montana also supports more than 95 AM and FM radio stations, and its 18 television stations are tied to the nation's major broadcasting networks.

Telephone companies/cooperatives are a vital part of the communications sector.  Cable television and satellite-dish services have proliferated in this sparely settled state.  Virtually all Montanans have the option of Internet access.

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