HELENA, Mont. — Montana recorded the second-highest growth in average hourly wages in the country last year, adding to signs of continued strength in the state’s labor market and economy.
Average hourly wages in Montana increased 4.7% from 2024 to 2025, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
The state’s average hourly wage rose to $29.27 in 2025 from $27.96 in 2024, an increase of $1.31 an hour. Montana’s percentage increase ranked second nationally.
“With affordability top of mind for all Americans, Montana is proud to report our job creators are keeping pace with our growing economy to ensure workers are paid a fair wage,” Gov. Greg Gianforte said.
The wage figures come as Montana has also ranked among the country’s faster-growing state economies.
Montana’s inflation-adjusted gross domestic product grew 16.1% between 2021 and 2025, compared with national growth of 10.8% over the same period, according to data cited by the governor’s office. Montana ranked fifth, behind Texas, New Mexico, Florida and South Carolina.
Business investment, population growth and energy production have helped drive the state’s economic expansion.
Montana’s technology sector has also been growing faster than the broader state economy. Recent data highlighted by the Gianforte administration showed the high-tech industry grew at roughly twice the rate of Montana’s overall economy between 2014 and 2024.
Wage gains have been an important part of that expansion as households contend with higher prices for housing, food and other expenses. In 2024, Montana was one of two states where wage growth had outpaced inflation since 2020, according to figures previously highlighted by the governor’s office.
Gianforte pointed to the latest wage numbers as evidence that economic growth is reaching workers while arguing that lower taxes can help households retain more of those gains.
The Republican governor has made tax reductions, business investment and workforce development central pieces of his economic agenda. During his tenure, Montana has reduced individual income-tax rates and enacted property-tax changes while expanding efforts to train workers for high-demand occupations.
The state also paid off its outstanding general-obligation debt in 2023, a move the administration said would save taxpayers about $40 million over two years.
Meanwhile, the Montana Department of Labor & Industry’s 406 JOBS initiative is focused on expanding pathways into high-demand occupations and reducing barriers to employment.
The latest wage figures provide another favorable data point for a state economy that has expanded rapidly in recent years. The challenge for Montana will be whether those wage gains can continue to keep pace with the rising cost of living as the state’s population and economy grow.