Is Montana gaining or losing people?

Gaining. In 2022–23, 5,332 more people moved to Montana from other states than moved away.

See where they came from ↓
Moved in
35,226
people
Moved out
29,894
people
Net change
+5,332 people
In households (tax returns): 21,390 in, 18,294 out, +3,096 net

Where are people moving to Montana from?

People, 2022–23

  1. California4,695
  2. Washington4,395
  3. Colorado2,235
  4. Texas1,955
  5. Oregon1,917
  6. Idaho1,916

Where are people from Montana moving?

People, 2022–23

  1. Washington2,912
  2. California2,046
  3. Texas1,859
  4. Arizona1,856
  5. Idaho1,821
  6. Colorado1,591
Every state, in full ↓

Where Montana's newcomers came from across states

Blue lines show arrivals · thicker line = more people

Biggest net gain: California (+2,649 people). Biggest net loss: Arizona (−195).

Is this new?

Montana has gained households from moves in every year since 2013–14.

Net migration · households (tax returns)
13–1414–1515–1616–1717–1818–1919–2020–2121–22+3,09622–23†††
Net migration of Montana (Net migration · households (tax returns))
YearValue
2013–14+971
2014–15 †+1,038
2015–16+2,194
2016–17 †+4,212
2017–18+1,704
2018–19+2,440
2019–20+5,481
2020–21+7,465
2021–22+5,434
2022–23 †+3,096

The IRS changed its processing in 2014–15, 2016–17 and 2022–23. Compare years between the dotted lines.

Who's moving, by income?

Arriving households$79.1k avg
Leaving households$65.2k avg

Average adjusted gross income reported on the second-year tax return. It may have been earned before the move or in more than one location.

Not counted above

Moved within Montana
21,048 people
Arrived from abroad
408 people
Left for abroad
476 people

Net change only counts moves between states.

Which Montana counties are gaining?

Beaverhead County: +98 peopleBig Horn County: −16 peopleBlaine County: −48 peopleBroadwater County: +218 peopleCarbon County: +125 peopleCarter County: withheld by the IRSCascade County: −150 peopleChouteau County: +37 peopleCuster County: +8 peopleDaniels County: withheld by the IRSDawson County: +11 peopleDeer Lodge County: +104 peopleFallon County: −90 peopleFergus County: +35 peopleFlathead County: +1,339 peopleGallatin County: +159 peopleGarfield County: withheld by the IRSGlacier County: −24 peopleGolden Valley County: withheld by the IRSGranite County: +104 peopleHill County: −82 peopleJefferson County: +232 peopleJudith Basin County: −14 peopleLake County: +389 peopleLewis and Clark County: +251 peopleLiberty County: −62 peopleLincoln County: +380 peopleMcCone County: withheld by the IRSMadison County: +129 peopleMeagher County: +7 peopleMineral County: +89 peopleMissoula County: +414 peopleMusselshell County: +39 peoplePark County: +216 peoplePetroleum County: withheld by the IRSPhillips County: −2 peoplePondera County: +26 peoplePowder River County: withheld by the IRSPowell County: +23 peoplePrairie County: withheld by the IRSRavalli County: +595 peopleRichland County: −109 peopleRoosevelt County: −70 peopleRosebud County: +32 peopleSanders County: +262 peopleSheridan County: −74 peopleSilver Bow County: +159 peopleStillwater County: +26 peopleSweet Grass County: +12 peopleTeton County: +66 peopleToole County: +74 peopleTreasure County: withheld by the IRSValley County: −50 peopleWheatland County: −22 peopleWibaux County: withheld by the IRSYellowstone County: +433 people

Net people, 2022–23, including moves within the state.

  1. ≤ −5k
  2. −5k to −1k
  3. −1k to −100
  4. −100 to +100
  5. +100 to +1k
  6. +1k to +5k
  7. ≥ +5k
Withheld

Growing most

  1. Flathead County+1,339
  2. Ravalli County+595
  3. Yellowstone County+433
  4. Missoula County+414
  5. Lake County+389
  6. Lincoln County+380

Losing most

  1. Cascade County−150
  2. Richland County−109
  3. Fallon County−90
  4. Hill County−82
  5. Sheridan County−74
  6. Roosevelt County−70

Every state, in full

Moves between Montana and each state, 2022–23. Tap a column to sort.

Net trendhouseholds, 13–14 → 22–23, † breaks
California4,695 in2,046 out+2,649$108.9k$71.2k
Washington4,395 in2,912 out+1,483$86.9k$63.2k
Colorado2,235 in1,591 out+644$93.5k$65.9k
Texas1,955 in1,859 out+96$82.7k$76.3k
Oregon1,917 in1,306 out+611$66.5k$53.0k
Idaho1,916 in1,821 out+95$68.9k$59.5k
Arizona1,661 in1,856 out−195$76.3k$80.2k
Utah1,188 in1,039 out+149$67.7k$58.3k
Florida1,151 in1,217 out−66$78.1k$83.1k
Wyoming1,120 in1,108 out+12$60.1k$55.8k

Small charts: net households, 13–14 → 22–23, outlined bars = † years.

All counties in Montana

Counties and county equivalents, including historical geographies.

Cite this page

Moved Where. “Is Montana gaining or losing people?” movedwhere.com/state/montana. Data: IRS Statistics of Income migration data, 2022–23.

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Common questions

How many people moved to Montana in 2022–23?

35,226 people moved to Montana from other states, and 29,894 left for other states.

Where do most people moving to Montana come from?

In 2022–23, the most came from California (4,695 people), Washington (4,395 people), Colorado (2,235 people).

Where does this data come from?

From the IRS Statistics of Income, U.S. Population Migration Data. State migration is counted when matched tax returns filed in 2022 and 2023 show addresses in different states. A household is one tax return; people counts everyone on it. Non-filers and unmatched returns are excluded. Domestic net migration is not total population change.

Why are there no “vs last year” changes?

The IRS changed how it processed this data in 2014–15, 2016–17 and 2022–23, so a change from one year to the next can reflect the method rather than real moves. We show levels, rankings and 10-year trends instead.