While other states are mending their fiscal wounds, Montana’s economy continues to climb – rising 65% in the last decade alone. It’s an achievement that’s helping the state nurture other emerging sectors – including healthcare, biosciences and advanced manufacturing – that are beginning to look as promising as other Montana mainstays such as tourism.

 
Our agriculture and mining sectors continue to thrive – we rank third in U.S. wheat and barley production, are the top producers of talk and granite in the nation and one of the world’s largest producers of polysilicon, a key component used in solar panel construction.

 
And while our traditional industry sectors continue to grow, the US Chamber of Commerce released a report in June that ranks Montana fourth in the nation in entrepreneurship and innovation – since 2002, the state has added 3,200 STEM 
(science, technology, engineering and mathematics) jobs to its economy, led by growth in engineering services, computer systems design, custom computer
programming, and energy industries.