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Manufacturing Compass

Montana manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2022. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Montana manufacturing in 2022

Totals and averages for all private manufacturing employers in Montana combined. They describe the industry statewide, not any individual plant or company.

Establishments

1,836

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
380,711
Share of U.S.Calc
0.5%

Employment

21,967

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,759,129
Share of U.S.Calc
0.2%

Total wages

$1.4 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
0.1%

Average weekly wage

$1,185

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,529
vs. U.S.Calc
−22.5%

Average annual pay

$61,599

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$79,483
vs. U.S.Calc
−22.5%

Location quotient

0.52

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Montana is 0.52 times its share of all U.S. jobs.

Calcmarks our calculations from BLS figures (formulas below). All other values are published by BLS.

02Subsectors

Where manufacturing jobs are

The 21 three-digit NAICS manufacturing subsectors, largest employment first. 2 are withheld by BLS (“Not disclosed”). Subsectors therefore may not add up to the manufacturing total.

  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,773
    Establishments
    304
    Avg. annual pay
    $53,398
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −20.2%
    Location quotient
    0.59
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    2,718
    Establishments
    197
    Avg. annual pay
    $46,395
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −19.8%
    Location quotient
    0.49
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,673
    Establishments
    162
    Avg. annual pay
    $59,597
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +0.6%
    Location quotient
    1.89
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    2,093
    Establishments
    198
    Avg. annual pay
    $56,168
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −25.2%
    Location quotient
    1.01
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,692
    Establishments
    154
    Avg. annual pay
    $29,527
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −48.8%
    Location quotient
    1.58
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    1,497
    Establishments
    75
    Avg. annual pay
    $75,129
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −7.1%
    Location quotient
    0.41
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    1,317
    Establishments
    11
    Avg. annual pay
    $150,501
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +13.5%
    Location quotient
    3.81
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,264
    Establishments
    108
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,839
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +0.5%
    Location quotient
    0.92
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    1,102
    Establishments
    70
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,175
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −37.0%
    Location quotient
    0.37
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    1,020
    Establishments
    61
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,494
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −24.6%
    Location quotient
    0.18
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    992
    Establishments
    115
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,347
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.4%
    Location quotient
    0.79
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    835
    Establishments
    93
    Avg. annual pay
    $80,791
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −44.9%
    Location quotient
    0.23
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    679
    Establishments
    142
    Avg. annual pay
    $45,866
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −14.8%
    Location quotient
    0.54
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    542
    Establishments
    29
    Avg. annual pay
    $52,040
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −18.7%
    Location quotient
    0.22
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    231
    Establishments
    15
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,321
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −38.7%
    Location quotient
    0.19
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    215
    Establishments
    32
    Avg. annual pay
    $29,859
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −40.1%
    Location quotient
    0.62
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    187
    Establishments
    23
    Avg. annual pay
    $64,685
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.8%
    Location quotient
    0.14
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    81
    Establishments
    29
    Avg. annual pay
    $30,810
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −44.2%
    Location quotient
    0.92
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    36
    Establishments
    16
    Avg. annual pay
    $19,474
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −63.6%
    Location quotient
    0.12
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    2
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    2
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed

03By year

Montana manufacturing, 2022–2025

Wages are in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). BLS cautions that QCEW is not designed as a time series, so treat year-to-year differences as indicative.

Private manufacturing in Montana by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
202221,967$61,599−22.5%
202321,685$65,076−21.2%
202421,411$68,803−19.5%
202520,947$71,543−20.0%

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2022 (final BLS data)
Industry
NAICS 2022, sector 31–33 and its three-digit subsectors
Ownership
Private employers only
Geography
Statewide; compared with the U.S. total
Citation
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

What these numbers cover

  • Jobs reported to state unemployment insurance programs, about 95% of U.S. wage and salary jobs. Self-employed workers and proprietors are excluded; people with two jobs may be counted twice.
  • Averages describe all employers combined and do not represent any single manufacturer. Where a subsector has few establishments or jobs, its averages can swing widely and are less representative.
  • Not disclosed: BLS withheld the value to protect employer confidentiality. It is never shown as zero. No BLS data: BLS publishes no figures for that combination.

Calculations

  • Share of U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value.
  • vs. U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value − 1.
  • Both inputs come from the same BLS file: same year, industry, and ownership. Not calculated when either value is withheld (shown as —).
  • Location quotient is published by BLS: the industry's share of all local jobs (all industries and ownerships) divided by its share nationally.

Read our methodology