# Montana statistical areas

The U.S. State of Montana currently has seven statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated five metropolitan statistical areas and two micropolitan statistical areas in Montana. As of 2023, the largest of these is the Billings, MT MSA, comprising the area surrounding Montana's largest city of Billings.

## Background

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has designated more than 1,000 statistical areas for the United States and Puerto Rico. These statistical areas are important geographic delineations of population clusters used by the OMB, the United States Census Bureau, planning organizations, and federal, state, and local government entities.
The OMB defines a core-based statistical area (commonly referred to as a CBSA) as the county or counties (or county-equivalents) surrounding at least one densely-settled core of at least 10,000 population, "plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties with the counties containing the core". The OMB further divides core-based statistical areas based on population into metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for those with at least 50,000 and micropolitan statistical areas (μSAs) for those with 10,000 to 49,999 people.
The OMB defines a combined statistical area (CSA) as two or more adjacent core-based statistical areas where the employment interchange rate (% commuting from A to B plus % commuting from B to A) is at least 15%. The primary statistical areas (PSAs) include all combined statistical areas and any core-based statistical area that is not a constituent of a combined statistical area.

## Table

The seven United States statistical areas and 56 counties of the State of Montana :
| Core-based statistical area | 2023 population (est.) | County | 2023 population (est.) |
| Billings, MT MSA | 191,435 | Yellowstone County, Montana | 170,843 |
| Billings, MT MSA | 191,435 | Carbon County, Montana | 11,419 |
| Billings, MT MSA | 191,435 | Stillwater County, Montana | 9,173 |
| Missoula, MT MSA | 126,939 | Missoula County, Montana | 121,849 |
| Missoula, MT MSA | 126,939 | Mineral County, Montana | 5,090 |
| Bozeman, MT MSA | 126,409 | Gallatin County, Montana | 126,409 |
| Kalispell, MT μSA | 113,679 | Flathead County, Montana | 113,679 |
| Helena, MT MSA | 96,091 | Lewis and Clark County, Montana | 75,011 |
| Helena, MT MSA | 96,091 | Jefferson County, Montana | 13,048 |
| Helena, MT MSA | 96,091 | Broadwater County, Montana | 8,032 |
| Great Falls, MT MSA | 84,900 | Cascade County, Montana | 84,900 |
| Butte-Silver Bow, MT μSA | 36,360 | Silver Bow County, Montana | 36,360 |
| none | none | Ravalli County, Montana | 47,738 |
| none | none | Lake County, Montana | 33,338 |
| none | none | Lincoln County, Montana | 21,895 |
| none | none | Park County, Montana | 17,903 |
| none | none | Hill County, Montana | 16,276 |
| none | none | Sanders County, Montana | 13,684 |
| none | none | Glacier County, Montana | 13,609 |
| none | none | Big Horn County, Montana | 12,751 |
| none | none | Custer County, Montana | 11,985 |
| none | none | Fergus County, Montana | 11,772 |
| none | none | Richland County, Montana | 11,173 |
| none | none | Roosevelt County, Montana | 10,319 |
| none | none | Beaverhead County, Montana | 9,885 |
| none | none | Deer Lodge County, Montana | 9,673 |
| none | none | Madison County, Montana | 9,521 |
| none | none | Dawson County, Montana | 8,810 |
| none | none | Rosebud County, Montana | 8,160 |
| none | none | Valley County, Montana | 7,474 |
| none | none | Powell County, Montana | 7,133 |
| none | none | Blaine County, Montana | 6,899 |
| none | none | Teton County, Montana | 6,430 |
| none | none | Pondera County, Montana | 6,125 |
| none | none | Chouteau County, Montana | 5,847 |
| none | none | Musselshell County, Montana | 5,308 |
| none | none | Toole County, Montana | 5,133 |
| none | none | Phillips County, Montana | 4,249 |
| none | none | Sweet Grass County, Montana | 3,763 |
| none | none | Granite County, Montana | 3,595 |
| none | none | Sheridan County, Montana | 3,498 |
| none | none | Fallon County, Montana | 2,994 |
| none | none | Judith Basin County, Montana | 2,093 |
| none | none | Meagher County, Montana | 2,071 |
| none | none | Wheatland County, Montana | 2,057 |
| none | none | Liberty County, Montana | 1,974 |
| none | none | Powder River County, Montana | 1,743 |
| none | none | McCone County, Montana | 1,676 |
| none | none | Daniels County, Montana | 1,633 |
| none | none | Carter County, Montana | 1,418 |
| none | none | Garfield County, Montana | 1,211 |
| none | none | Prairie County, Montana | 1,112 |
| none | none | Wibaux County, Montana | 910 |
| none | none | Golden Valley County, Montana | 835 |
| none | none | Treasure County, Montana | 772 |
| none | none | Petroleum County, Montana | 554 |
| State of Montana | State of Montana | State of Montana | 1,132,812 |

## Core-based statistical areas

The following table provides the in-state population ranking of each CBSA along with its rate of population change over time.
The seven core-based statistical areas of the State of Montana :
| 2023 rank | Core-based statistical area | Population | Population | Population | Population | Population |
| 2023 rank | Core-based statistical area | 2023 estimate | Change | 2020 Census | Change | 2010 Census |
| 1 | Billings, MT MSA | 191,435 | +3.95% | 184,167 | +10.17% | 167,167 |
| 2 | Missoula, MT MSA | 126,939 | +3.66% | 122,457 | +7.87% | 113,522 |
| 3 | Bozeman, MT MSA | 126,409 | +6.26% | 118,960 | +32.90% | 89,513 |
| 4 | Kalispell, MT μSA | 113,679 | +8.93% | 104,357 | +14.77% | 90,928 |
| 5 | Helena, MT MSA | 96,091 | +6.97% | 89,832 | +11.71% | 80,413 |
| 6 | Great Falls, MT MSA | 84,900 | +0.58% | 84,414 | +3.80% | 81,327 |
| 7 | Butte-Silver Bow, MT μSA | 36,360 | +3.49% | 35,133 | +2.73% | 34,200 |