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State Facts

History | Symbols | Interesting Facts | Famous People

Demographics
Statehood:  November 8, 1889, the 41st State.

Capital:  Helena

Total Area:  4th among States, 380,847 sq km (147,046 sq mi)

Water Area:  3,859 sq km (1,490 sq mi)

Highest Point:  Granite Peak 3,901 m (12,799 ft)

Total Population:  44th among states
2000 census - 902,195
2005 estimate - 928,670

Population Density in 2000:  2.3 people per sq km (6 per sq mi)

Distribution in 1999:  52% Urban, 48% Rural

Economy:  
 Gross State Product - $26 billion (2003)
Personal income per Capita - $25,406 (2003)

Largest cities in 2000:  
 Billings:  89,847
Missoula:  57,053
Great Falls:  56,690

  • The average square mile of land contains 1.4 elk, 1.4 pronghorn antelope, and 3.3 deer.
     

  • 46 out of Montana's 56 counties are considered "frontier counties" with an average population of 6 or fewer people per square mile. No state has as many different species of mammals as Montana.
     

  • Yellowstone National Park in southern Montana and northern Wyoming was the first national park in the nation.
     

  • The first luge run in North America was built at Lolo Hot Springs on Lolo Pass in 1965. The density of the state is six people per square mile.
     

  • Montana's rivers and streams provide water for three oceans and three of the North American continent's major river basins.
     

  • Every spring nearly 10,000 white pelicans with a wingspan of nine feet migrate from the Gulf of Mexico to Medicine Lake in northeastern Montana.
     

  • The Going to the Sun Road in Glacier Park is considered one of the most scenic drives in America.
     

  • More than 6 million tourists visit Yellowstone and Glacier national parks annually.
     

  • Among the approximately 100 species of mammals in Montana are elk, black bears, grizzly bears, antelope, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, moose, caribou, and mountain lions.
     

  • In 1940 the United States Army Corps of Engineers completed Fort Peck, one of the largest earthfill dams in the world.
     

  • In the Battle of the Little Bighorn, fought near Hardin in 1876, Lieutenant Colonel George A.  Custer and all his command were killed by Sioux and Cheyenne warriors.