Is Montana’s Growth Finally Slowing? See What 2024 Projections Say
Unless state lines are changed or additional states are added to the United States of America, it's a pretty safe bet that Montana will be the fourth-largest state for a while.
But there's a fact that people used to share about Montana and its population. Remember when people used to say something like, "Rhode Island, the smallest state, still has more people than Montana, the fourth largest state?"
Well, that may not be true anymore.
Montana Now Has More People Than Rhode Island
It's not by much, but according to projections from the World Population Review, and even though both states are still within the top 10 for states with the smallest population, Montana has more people than Rhode Island.
Montana's Population Is Still Only a Fraction of the United States
Projections also show Montana's population compared to the population of every other state. It's easy to forget, given the outsized attention Montana has received over the last few years, but Montana's population is barely a fraction of a percent of the U.S. population.
But maybe even more surprising is how much Montana's population has changed since 2020 and how much it's projected to change over the last year.
Montana's Population Change Over the Last 4 Years
Even though Montana was one of the most popular places for people to move, and it still has places that top lists where people would like to move, the population didn't increase as much as it did in other states, and even in the last year Montana's population growth is projected to slow down.
According to the World Population Review, Montana's population has increased by 5.11% since 2020 and is projected to increase by .88% from 2023 to 2024. That puts Montana in the top 10 for states with the greatest increase, but only at #7 on the list.
Here are the other 6 states that had a greater population increase than Montana since 2020:
6 States That Had a Greater Population Increase Than Montana Since 2020
Gallery Credit: Ashley
Top 10 Most Commonly Reported Ancestries of Montanans
Gallery Credit: Ashley Warren