Official Federal Data
Cascade County, Montana
Great Falls, MT · Population 84,606
9 Sources
Updated September 10, 2026
$67,690 up from the baseline named below
Median Income (nominal) vs 2019
$80,734 national
3.3% up from the baseline named below
Unemployment vs 2024
4.3% national
$5.7B up from the baseline named below
GDP (nominal) real change vs 2023
28.4% up from the baseline named below
Bachelor's+ vs 2019
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household (nominal)
$67,690 up from 2019 vs 2019
Per Capita
$38,795 up from 2019 vs 2019
Mean Household
$89,832 up from 2019 vs 2019
Median Household (cost-of-living adjusted)
$69,928 metro RPP 96.8
Poverty Rate
13.1% down from 2019 vs 2019
Median Income Comparison
Cascade County$67,690
Montana$72,509
National$80,734
Cascade County is $4,819 (6.6%) below the Montana median.
Cost-of-living adjustment uses the BEA all-items regional price parity for Great Falls, MT, 96.8 against a national average of 100 (2024). BEA publishes regional price parity at state and metropolitan level only; there is no county figure, so the metro index stands in for Cascade County and the adjusted median is an approximation. Per capita and mean household income above are nominal and carry no adjustment.
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B01001, B02001, B03003
CohortsShare of total population
Under 18 · 22.3%
18-34 · 23%
35-54 · 22.6%
55-64 · 12.5%
65+ · 19.6%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
94.4%
High School+
National: 89.6%
up from national +4.8 pts vs national
28.4%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
down from national 7.3 pts vs national
10.5%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
down from national 3.6 pts vs national
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
84,606
Population
39,874
Labor Force
Employed
38,558
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.3% up from 2024 +0.3 pts vs 2024
Mean Commute 10 min below national avg
16.5 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
7.4%
Labor Force and Employed are ACS 5-Year survey estimates; the Unemployment Rate above comes from BLS LAUS, a separate monthly survey with its own methodology. The two won't reconcile by subtracting one from the other.
Key Takeaways
- Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
- Below the state median: Median household income runs $4,819 (6.6%) under the Montana median, so statewide income averages overstate local household buying power.
- Cost of living stretches income further: Local prices run 3.2% below the national average, so the nominal median of $67,690 is worth $69,928 at national average prices. BEA publishes price parity at metro level, not county level.
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 7.3 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
$5.7B up from 2023 +3.5% vs 2023
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
+3.5% real (inflation-adjusted)
·
+4.8% nominal
· 2023 to 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · level and nominal change from CAGDP2 (current dollars); real change from CAGDP9 (chained 2017 dollars), both all-industry total. The two series agree in 2017, the chain reference year, and diverge by the amount of price change since.
96.8
Cost of Living · metro · Below Avg
Key Takeaways
- Largest private-sector industry: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 7,130 workers (25.9% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $62,468. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 5,301 and is counted separately.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $5.7B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $85,292 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $23,602, a 3.6x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
10 sub-sectors at LQ ≥ 1.5
Largest grouping among them is Retail Trade Cluster at 47.6% of the employment across all of them, which signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
5,830
Employment in the sub-sectors listed
2.02x
Peak sub-sector LQ
Sub-Sector Detail
Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing
2.02x 12
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
1.80x 484
Construction of Buildings
1.73x 748
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
1.65x 406
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Misc. Retailers
1.65x 582
General Merchandise Retailers
1.64x 1,261
Building Material and Garden Supply Retailers
1.62x 527
Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries
1.61x 703
Couriers and Messengers
1.59x 401
Accommodation
1.57x 706
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, screened against local siting constraints. Source: BLS QCEW
0.43x
Telecommunications
62 employed
Screened on industrial power cost, rail-truck intermodal access, land base.
Industrial electricity in Montana costs 7.02¢/kWh against 8.62¢/kWh nationally (2025).
Montana has 0 rail-truck intermodal terminals.
Land area 2698 sq mi, larger than 94% of US counties.
Sources: EIA, BTS NTAD, Census Gazetteer.
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing concentrates at 2.02x the national norm.
- Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 47.6% of the employment across them, the largest being resident household spending. Demand reaches this base from more than one market rather than from a single one.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064, B25004
$265,300 up from the baseline named below
Median Home Value vs 2019
$939 up from the baseline named below
Rent/Mo vs 2019
68.5% up from the baseline named below
Owner-Occ vs 2019
9.8% down from the baseline named below
Vacancy vs 2019
1.5% available
for rent or sale
for rent or sale
3.9x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
HUD publishes these by FMR area, which may cover more than one county · Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026 · Affordability threshold and renter cost burden from Census ACS B25119, B25070
Studio
$960/mo
1 Bedroom
$979/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,284/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,786/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,035/mo
30% of monthly median renter household income (~$1,060/mo, from a renter median of $42,381) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Measured: 41% of renter households already pay 30% or more of income on rent, and 17.9% pay 50% or more.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.9x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 2 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $42,381 can pay without cost burden (~$1,060/mo), and 41% of renter households are measured as cost-burdened.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23001, B23025, B08303, B08301
49,130 up from the baseline named below
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 10 min below national avg
16.5 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
7.4%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
75.8%
of prime-age population
Prime-age rate numerator is civilian employed (B23001); the denominator is total population aged 25-54 (B01001), which also includes armed forces.
of population age 16 and over (67,999)
unchanged from 2019 vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003
Bachelor's+
28.4% up from 2019 vs 2019
HS Diploma+
94.4% up from 2019 vs 2019
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
21.5%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Same cohort is 12.5% of total population, the basis used in the Demographics cohort chart.
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
37.9%
Service
19.2%
Sales & Office
20.6%
Construction / Maint.
10.4%
Production / Transport
11.9%
Bars are drawn on a 0% to 40% axis, so bar length is proportional to actual share. Labels give each group's share of 38,558 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Healthy participation: 62.9% labor force participation reflects a steady, available local workforce.
- Short commutes: 16.5-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
Sample output. Pulse AI analysis draws on 9 federal data sources.
Sample AI Insight
Cascade County shows emerging potential for leather and allied product manufacturing attraction, with a 2.02x concentration and 12 jobs in this sub-sector.
The concentrated base spans leather and allied product manufacturing, heavy and civil engineering construction, and construction of buildings, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 47.6% of the employment across them, the largest being resident household spending. Supply-chain recruitment has more than one demand base to work from.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2024 annual
BLS LAUS2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
BEA Regional Price Parity2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
American Community Survey figures on this page are 2020-2024 five-year averages rather than single-year counts. A five-year estimate pools 60 months of survey responses, so each value describes the period as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Cascade County, Montana, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Cascade County, Montana?
84,606 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Cascade County, Montana?
$67,690 in nominal dollars (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates). Adjusted for local prices using the BEA all-items regional price parity for Great Falls, MT (96.8 against a national average of 100), that is $69,928 at national average prices. BEA publishes regional price parity at metro level; there is no county-level figure.
What is the unemployment rate in Cascade County, Montana?
3.3% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Cascade County, Montana?
$5.7B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP2).
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