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Manufacturing Compass

Montana manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2024. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Montana manufacturing in 2024

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

Establishments

1,883

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
397,198
Share of U.S.Calc
0.5%

Employment

21,411

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,733,350
Share of U.S.Calc
0.2%

Total wages

$1.5 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
0.1%

Average weekly wage

$1,323

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,643
vs. U.S.Calc
−19.5%

Average annual pay

$68,803

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$85,461
vs. U.S.Calc
−19.5%

Location quotient

0.51

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Montana is 0.51 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
    2,818
    Establishments
    315
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,400
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −14.8%
    Location quotient
    0.59
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    2,500
    Establishments
    210
    Avg. annual pay
    $50,948
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.1%
    Location quotient
    0.43
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,460
    Establishments
    166
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,685
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.0%
    Location quotient
    1.80
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    1,995
    Establishments
    206
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,479
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −30.1%
    Location quotient
    0.98
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,688
    Establishments
    148
    Avg. annual pay
    $32,606
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −46.7%
    Location quotient
    1.53
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    1,519
    Establishments
    10
    Avg. annual pay
    $153,417
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +8.6%
    Location quotient
    4.16
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    1,468
    Establishments
    83
    Avg. annual pay
    $85,644
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.5%
    Location quotient
    0.40
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,373
    Establishments
    104
    Avg. annual pay
    $78,198
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +3.5%
    Location quotient
    1.00
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    1,024
    Establishments
    60
    Avg. annual pay
    $75,613
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −18.9%
    Location quotient
    0.17
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    1,003
    Establishments
    68
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,477
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −37.0%
    Location quotient
    0.34
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    908
    Establishments
    101
    Avg. annual pay
    $86,846
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −43.4%
    Location quotient
    0.27
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    887
    Establishments
    122
    Avg. annual pay
    $52,164
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −14.7%
    Location quotient
    0.75
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    662
    Establishments
    139
    Avg. annual pay
    $55,845
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.9%
    Location quotient
    0.58
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    432
    Establishments
    38
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,839
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −7.9%
    Location quotient
    0.18
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    237
    Establishments
    12
    Avg. annual pay
    $60,985
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −31.7%
    Location quotient
    0.19
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    169
    Establishments
    25
    Avg. annual pay
    $37,314
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −31.4%
    Location quotient
    0.53
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    156
    Establishments
    28
    Avg. annual pay
    $72,567
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −15.4%
    Location quotient
    0.11
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    65
    Establishments
    24
    Avg. annual pay
    $33,667
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −43.1%
    Location quotient
    0.78
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    38
    Establishments
    19
    Avg. annual pay
    $24,933
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −57.0%
    Location quotient
    0.14
  • 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
    1
    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/2024/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2024 (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