Montana manufacturing fact sheet
THE FACTORY CENSUS, Q3 2026 · FACTORYREGISTRY RESEARCH · SNAPSHOT AUG 2026
As of AUG 2026, FactoryRegistry lists 889 manufacturing facilities in Montana, of which 449 (50.5%) carry a recent operating signal. That is 78.17 facilities per 100,000 residents.
Full census, Q3 2026 · Montana in the registry
Top counties
| COUNTY | FACILITIES |
|---|---|
| Yellowstone | 122 |
| Gallatin | 109 |
| Flathead | 100 |
| Missoula | 87 |
| Cascade | 66 |
| Ravalli | 41 |
| Lewis and Clark | 38 |
| Lake | 25 |
| Silver Bow | 21 |
| Lincoln | 14 |
Leading industries
| SUBSECTOR | FACILITIES |
|---|---|
| 332 Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing | 156 |
| 321 Wood Product Manufacturing | 114 |
| 324 Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing | 80 |
| 311 Food Manufacturing | 78 |
| 325 Chemical Manufacturing | 68 |
Largest listed employers
| FACILITY | CITY | EMPLOYEES |
|---|---|---|
| Adf International | Great Falls | 100-499 |
| Aligned Medical | Billings | 100-499 |
| American Chemet | East Helena | 100-499 |
| Billings Montana Facility | Billings | 100-499 |
| Chs INC Laurel Refinery | Laurel | 100-499 |
| Columbia Falls MDF | Columbia Falls | 100-499 |
| Daily's Premium Meats, LLC | Missoula | 100-499 |
| Fabricators Unlimited - Billings | Billings | 100-499 |
| F.h. Stoltze Land & Lumber Company | Columbia Falls | 100-499 |
| Helena, MT (MT005) | Helena | 100-499 |
Ranked by reported employment band. Facilities whose sources report no band are not listed here.
Coverage
The registry lists 889 facilities in Montana against a BLS QCEW benchmark of 1,878 manufacturing establishments (2024) — coverage of 47.3%. The benchmark is a floor: QCEW counts establishments covered by unemployment insurance and so excludes most sole proprietors and some contract operations. The real number of manufacturing sites is therefore higher than the benchmark, and this percentage overstates coverage rather than understating it. Where it exceeds 100%, the registry lists more sites than QCEW counts establishments — which is expected in states with many small or single-person operations, and is also where duplicate listings would show up first.
FactoryRegistry Research, The Factory Census, Q3 2026 — factoryregistry.com/census/2026-q3/mt · press@factoryregistry.com