Montana is the fourth-largest state by area at 147,040 square miles. Though it is in the top five for the largest state, it is the eighth-least populous state and the third-least densely populated state. And it seems every article written regarding Big Sky Country talks about everyone moving to Montana. However, even though the housing market is booming and towns are growing, not everyone is seeing the rise in population. Three counties in the western state experienced a population decline of at least 1.6%. Three more counties lost .5 to 1.5% of their population in just one year! The numbers may not look big on paper, but these small percentages equate to hundreds if not thousands of people. And that number of people in the third-least densely populated state is a lot of residents.