Entrepreneurship in Montana

Montana has a strong entrepreneurial spirit. The state has more entrepreneurs per capita than any other state and a business survival rate (businesses that survive their first five years) that ranks in the top 10.

Some 3,400 Montanans start a new business each month, and more than half of those startups are still open five years later. To put it simply, Montana is among the nation’s leaders in entrepreneurship.

For several years, the state has ranked at or near the top of the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurship, which is a leading indicator of new business creation. But Montana’s entrepreneurial culture is waning – a trend that’s consistent nationally. The share of Montanans who own a business as their main job has fallen nearly 50 percent since 1998. Similarly, the share of Montanans who work for young businesses has fallen from roughly 20 percent in the 1990s to 12 percent in recent years.

by Brandon Bridge and Scott Hawk

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The Montana Governor’s Office of Economic Development is the state’s lead organization to help businesses succeed in our state.