GREAT FALLS — The Secretary of State released the Montana Business Economic Report, which shows that 63,808 new businesses were created in Montana in 2024. As of 2024, more than 324,000 businesses in Montana are in good standing.

Christi Jacobsen, Montana Secretary of State said, “We're open for business in Montana. And that's where businesses are getting started.”

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The Montana Business Economic Report shows Montana continuously growing the number of businesses in the state.

Jacbosen said, “We ended up in 2023 with 60,000 new businesses. And in 2024, we topped that with 63,000 new businesses in the state.”

2025 is already off to a good start, with over 6200 new businesses registered in January. Jacobsen contributes this growth to the streamlined process Montana has taken toward businesses.

Jacobsen said, “Cutting red tape, becoming more business friendly, inviting businesses, we want businesses to come to the state. We invite businesses to start here.”

This includes having the lowest business filing fees in the country, and this year they will again be waiving the annual report filing fee.

Jacobsen said, “All of the economy starts with small businesses. That's where it where it all happens.”

The growth can be seen statewide, and in Great Falls, the Great Falls Development Alliance is thrilled.

Jolene Schalper, Executive Vice President of the Great Falls Development Alliance said, “We're the team that's behind the scenes helping businesses be successful.”

Schalper explains that Great Falls is a very stable community, but it is steadily growing.

Schalper said, “When it comes to business growth and population growth since Covid, frankly, we've seen an uptick in both population and business.”

Schalper says that the pipeline of growth in the city is full, which is leading to opportunities for Great Falls.

Schalper said, “We want to bring more money into our economy, we want higher wage jobs. We want to create a community where people can afford to live, can afford housing, can afford childcare, can have education opportunities here. And that we have the wide spectrum of career advancement.”

Schalper explains that there are less vacancies in downtown and industrial spaces, and that the next step for growth is to grow online product here in the Electric City.