When It Comes To Wealth, Where Does Montana Rank?

Montana has a long history of wealth, from gold, to silver, to copper. Tens of thousands of folks have made their way here in hopes of striking it rich.

In fact, back in 1888, Helena had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the world, and it's reported that Butte at one time had a population of over 100 thousand. Things have certainly changed over the last several decades—while Montana still has its share of rich folk, it's not like it used to be.

So just where do we rank when it comes to wealth?

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According to Kiplinger, Montana is nowhere near the top. The figures, which are from 2020, show that Montana is ranked 41st when it comes to states with the most wealth. The data shows the following:

• In 2020 Montana had over 23 thousand millionaires.
• Over 5 percent of Montana's population were millionaires in 2020.
• The median household income was 55 thousand in 2020.
• The median home price in 2020 was just under 250 thousand.

We should keep in mind that a lot has changed in Montana since 2020.  First, the medium home price is nowhere near 250 thousand.  In fact, according to Zillow, the average home price in May of this year in Montana was just over 450 thousand dollars.

Much of that has been spurred on by the continuing migration of folks coming from other states, with many of them moving here to work remotely. Not to mention there have been a number of people that have decided to make Montana their part-time residence and have come here to purchase a second or even third home.

It would seem, based on the numbers, that while Montanans might not be overly wealthy, a lot of wealthy people live in Montana, at least part of the time.