Montana Business Data & Credit Risk Insights

Explore Montana business statistics, credit risk scores, payment trends and leading industries using the latest Creditsafe data. Search for a free business credit report to assess an individual company.

Montana Business Statistics, Credit Risk & Payment Trends | Creditsafe

Montana Business Overview

Creditsafe has records for 658,187 businesses in Montana, including 509,011 classified as active. An active classification means a qualifying company-information, payment or legal-filing update was recorded within the previous two years; it does not necessarily prove current trading. This page examines company counts, credit risk, payment behavior, company ages and leading industries using the latest Creditsafe data. Creditsafe credit scores run from 1 to 100, with higher scores indicating lower predicted credit risk. The figures describe Creditsafe database records, not an official state business census.

5 key takeaways for Montana businesses

1. Montana has a substantial recorded business market

The latest Creditsafe data shows: Creditsafe holds 658,187 Montana business records, including 509,011 classified as active. The database records 73,225 businesses added in the latest 12 months.

What this means for your business: Use this market overview to guide prospect research, but validate each company before treating it as an active trading opportunity.

2. Montana credit scores compared with the US

The latest Creditsafe data shows: Montana has an average Creditsafe credit score of 49.58, compared with 51.76 nationally. This suggests higher average predicted credit risk in Montana.

What this means for your business: Do not use statewide averages alone to set credit limits. Review each company’s credit report and individual risk indicators.

3. Payment performance provides a separate signal

The latest Creditsafe data shows: Montana businesses average 1.01 days beyond terms, compared with 1.94 nationally. The share paying on time is 21.93%.

What this means for your business: Consider payment history alongside credit scores when setting terms, managing collections and forecasting cash flow.

4. Industry differences can affect cash flow

The latest Creditsafe data shows: Among the ten largest listed industries, Eating Places records the longest average payment delay (1.81 days beyond terms), compared with 1.01 days statewide.

What this means for your business: Check sector-level and company-level payment patterns rather than applying one collections policy across every industry.

5. State averages can hide customer-level risks

The latest Creditsafe data shows: The database contains 139,552 records in the supplied high-risk category and 136,520 with an unavailable or inapplicable risk category. These aggregate categories are not the same as individual-company score bands.

What this means for your business: Use state statistics as context, then assess the specific company’s creditworthiness and payment behavior before extending credit.

Know who you are doing business with

Go beyond Montana averages. Check a company’s creditworthiness, payment behavior and potential risks before making your next business decision.

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Montana at a glance

MeasureMontana value
Businesses in Creditsafe database658,187
Active businesses509,011
Businesses added, latest 12 months73,225
Average credit score49.58
Average days beyond terms1.01
Paying on time21.93%
Median company age16 years

Montana business records by status

77.3%active
509,011 active records
149,176 other records

Active reflects Creditsafe’s data-update classification, not a guarantee a company is currently trading.

How many businesses are there in Montana?

Creditsafe holds records on 658,187 Montana businesses. Of these, 509,011 are active (77.3% of state records), while 149,176 are inactive. The database records 73,225 businesses added in the latest 12 months. These are database counts, not an official government census.

What is an active business?

Creditsafe classifies a business as active when at least one qualifying database element has been updated within the last two years. This may include company identity, contact, location, industry, sales or employee information, as well as payment data or legal filings such as suits, liens, judgments and UCCs. This classification indicates a recent data update and does not guarantee the business is currently trading.

Credit scores compared

Montana49.58 / 100
United States51.76 / 100

Higher scores indicate lower predicted credit risk. Montana has higher average predicted risk than the US benchmark.

Payment delays compared

Montana1.01 days
United States1.94 days

Montana businesses average fewer days beyond agreed terms than the national benchmark.

What is the average business credit risk in Montana?

The Creditsafe business credit score ranges from 1 to 100 and predicts the likelihood of a company becoming seriously delinquent (90 or more days beyond payment terms) within the next 12 months or going bankrupt. Higher scores indicate lower credit risk. Montana businesses have an average score of 49.58, compared with 51.76 nationally, suggesting higher average credit risk. These averages do not replace assessment of individual companies.

Montana businesses by risk category

Low19.3%
Medium38.8%
High21.2%
N/A20.7%

Shares reflect the supplied aggregate risk categories, which should not be equated with individual-company credit score bands.

Creditsafe US score bands are: very low risk (71-100), low risk (51-70), moderate risk (30-50), high risk (21-29), and very high risk (1-20). N/A indicates an unavailable or inapplicable score. The dataset’s aggregated low, medium and high categories are retained as supplied and should not be assumed to correspond exactly to these individual-company score bands.

How quickly do Montana businesses pay their bills?

Businesses in Montana average 1.01 days beyond terms (DBT), compared with 1.94 nationally, a difference of -0.93 days. The supplied on-time payment figure is 21.93%. DBT and on-time payment percentage are separate measures and should not be treated as interchangeable.

Among the ten largest listed industries, Eating Places has the highest average DBT (1.81 days), while Membership Organizations has the lowest (0.07 days). Industry aggregates do not establish the payment behavior of any particular company.

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How established are Montana businesses?

The median recorded company age is 16 years and the average is 20 years. The database includes 134,971 businesses aged 20 years or more and 296,436 records with no available company age.

Company ageShare of business records
Under 5 years7.7%
5-10 years11.0%
10-20 years15.7%
20+ years20.5%
N/A45.0%

Percentages use all 658,187 Montana business records, including those with no recorded age. Totals may differ slightly from 100% due to rounding.

What are the largest industries in Montana?

Residential Construction is the largest listed industry, with 16,436 businesses in the Creditsafe database. The chart and table rank the ten largest listed industries by number of business records, not by employment or economic output.

Montana ten largest industries by business records

Residential Construction16,436
Business Services15,614
Eating Places11,527
Real Estate Agents and Managers11,472
Legal Services6,703
Offices and Clinics of Medical Doctors6,650
Religious Organizations6,140
Membership Organizations5,277
Single-family Housing Construction4,932
Building Maintenance Services4,128

Longer bars indicate larger recorded industry populations.

RankIndustryBusiness records
1Residential Construction16,436
2Business Services15,614
3Eating Places11,527
4Real Estate Agents and Managers11,472
5Legal Services6,703
6Offices and Clinics of Medical Doctors6,650
7Religious Organizations6,140
8Membership Organizations5,277
9Single-family Housing Construction4,932
10Building Maintenance Services4,128

The three largest listed industries together account for 43,577 records (6.6% of the state database). These industry rankings should not be interpreted as employment or economic output rankings.

Average credit score by industry

Residential Construction40.23
Business Services48.56
Eating Places50.97
Real Estate Agents and Managers51.50
Legal Services54.34

Higher scores indicate lower predicted risk. Five leading industries shown.

Payment delays by industry

Residential Construction1.59 days
Business Services0.70 days
Eating Places1.81 days
Real Estate Agents and Managers0.41 days
Legal Services0.94 days

Average days beyond terms for five leading industries with available values.

Credit score profile across leading industries

Industries are ordered by business record count, not time. The line connects categorical observations and is not a historical trend.

Which Montana industries stand out for credit risk and payment behavior?

Among the ten largest industries, Religious Organizations has the highest average credit score (56.16, indicating lower predicted risk), while Residential Construction has the lowest (40.23, indicating higher predicted risk). Eating Places records the longest average payment delay (1.81 DBT). Industry averages do not establish the creditworthiness of an individual business.

Industry (top ten)Average credit scoreAverage DBT
Residential Construction40.231.59
Business Services48.560.70
Eating Places50.971.81
Real Estate Agents and Managers51.500.41
Legal Services54.340.94
Offices and Clinics of Medical Doctors54.640.85
Religious Organizations56.160.14
Membership Organizations53.980.07
Single-family Housing Construction47.060.97
Building Maintenance Services42.831.50

How does Montana compare with US averages?

MetricMontanaUnited States
Average credit score49.5851.76
Average DBT (days)1.011.94

Montana is 2.18 points below the national average credit score and 0.93 days below the national payment delay. These measures can move in different directions, so neither should be used alone to assess a business.

About Creditsafe data

These statistics are derived from Creditsafe’s US business database and provide an aggregated view of records associated with Montana. They are not official state registration totals. An active business has had at least one qualifying company-information, payment-data or legal-filing update in the last two years, which does not necessarily establish current trading. State and industry averages provide context and should not replace assessment of an individual business credit report.

Source: US_STATE_SEO_LLM_FINAL_20261101.csv | Data as of October 31, 2026 | Refresh frequency: monthly.

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