As the Montana high tech economy continues to grow, high tech businesses have become an increasingly integral component of life in the Big Sky State…

High-tech companies continue to be an important component of Montana’s economy, generating more than $2 billion in revenue in 2018 and growing at rates up to nine times faster than the statewide economy, according to a recent study conducted by the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research.

When Amelia Lyons was looking to move from San Francisco to Montana, she came across the Montana High Tech Business Alliance (MHTBA) jobs board and found an opportunity…

Conversations about entrepreneurship often focus on Silicon Valley, Boston or other major metropolitan areas, yet Missoula and Bozeman, Montana enjoy some of the highest levels of entrepreneurship in the nation in terms of startup and high-growth companies, as well as spinoff activities, according to a report funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.Missoula and Bozeman rank 9th and 12th highest in startup rates among 394 areas in the U.S., and the proportion of high-growth firms is particularly high in Bozeman, higher than Denver (9th in the nation) and almost compatible with Washington, D.C. (1st in the nation), according to the report.

High-tech companies are an important component of Montana’s economy, generating more than $1 billion in revenues in 2016 and growing at rates seven times faster than the statewide economy, according to a recent study conducted by the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research.

The high-tech sector expects to add 940-plus net new jobs in 2016 that pay average annual salaries of $57,000 – more than twice the median earning per Montana worker, according to the study.BBER Director Patrick Barkey said that the second annual study, commissioned by the Montana High Tech Business Alliance, serves as an important assessment of one of Montana’s fastest-growing and highest-paying industry clusters.

With Montana’s high-tech and manufacturing sector growing rapidly and increasing its footprint across the state, the Montana University System has been working to meet the needs of the sector via education, service, and research.

In November 2014, the Alliance commissioned a survey from the UM Bureau of Business and Economic Research of 101 members with high tech and manufacturing operations in Montana. The results are in!Member responses allowed us to capture - for the first time ever - data measuring the size and growth potential of Montana's high tech sector.