{"id":249730,"date":"2025-07-18T15:16:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T21:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/?p=249730"},"modified":"2025-07-18T15:17:18","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T21:17:18","slug":"montana-still-has-more-cows-than-people-but-the-cows-lead-is-narrowing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2025\/07\/18\/montana-still-has-more-cows-than-people-but-the-cows-lead-is-narrowing\/","title":{"rendered":"Montana still has more cows than people, but the cows\u2019 lead is narrowing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>A version of this story was originally published in the <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/mt-lowdown\/\"><em>MT Lowdown<\/em><\/a><em>, a weekly newsletter digest containing original reporting and analysis published every Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Montana&#8217;s famous cow-to-person ratio has narrowed a bit. U.S. Department of Agriculture data from early 2024 shows 2.12 million cattle roaming the state alongside 1.14 million people. That&#8217;s still nearly two cows for every Montanan, but it\u2019s down from the more dramatic ratios of years past. As recently as 2022, the ratio was more than two cows per person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, the statewide number only tells part of the story. Drive through rural Petroleum County in the central part of Montana and you&#8217;ll encounter one of the most lopsided landscapes in America: 525 people sharing space with more than 32,000 cattle, working out to 62 cows per person. Neighboring Garfield County runs a close second at 59:1, while Powder River County in the southeastern corner of the state clocks in at 50:1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"946\" src=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/montanaMapEmbed.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-249728\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Compare that to urban strongholds like Missoula County, where humans outnumber cattle 15:1. In Yellowstone County around Billings, people hold a 2.5-to-1 advantage \u2014 making it the lone eastern county where humans have the numerical advantage. Then there&#8217;s Mineral County in heavily forested northwestern Montana, an outlier that doesn&#8217;t fit the rural mold. Despite its smaller population, cattle numbers have dropped from 400 to 300 head, giving it the state&#8217;s most human-heavy ratio at 17:1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The raw numbers tell their own story, too. Beaverhead County, around Dillon, leads the herd with 110,000 cattle, while Fergus (Lewistown) and Big Horn (Hardin) each top 90,000. Custer County, home to the livestock hub of Miles City, maintains 86,000 cows among its 12,000 residents \u2014 a solid 7:1 ratio that somehow feels modest compared to those eastern plains where cattle still rule by margins of 50 or 60 to 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\t<div\n\t\tclass=\"wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles  wpnbha ts-2 \"\n\t\tstyle=\"\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t<div data-posts data-current-post-id=\"259308\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"article-section-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>LATEST STORIES<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"262736\"\n\t\tclass=\"tag-montana-insights category-montana-insights type-post post-has-image\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2026\/03\/03\/75-of-voters-want-montana-to-have-at-least-as-much-federal-land-as-it-does-now\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">75% of voters want Montana to have at least as much federal land as it does now<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Federal land transfer has been a party of the GOP party platform at both the state and national level, but a recent MTFP-Eagleton poll indicates that a majority of Republican voters oppose reducing the amount of land in federal ownership.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"byline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"author-prefix\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/author\/aeggert\/\">Amanda Eggert<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><!-- .author-name -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-03-03T14:34:54-07:00\">03.03.2026<\/time><time class=\"updated\" datetime=\"2026-03-03T14:35:02-07:00\">03.03.2026<\/time>\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-meta -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"262727\"\n\t\tclass=\"tag-westerndev category-politics type-post post-has-image\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2026\/03\/03\/christi-jacobsen-zinke-western-house\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen joins contest for Zinke\u2019s western U.S. House District seat<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Jacobsen made her announcement on Facebook with a campaign video portraying her as both a political outsider and the favorite of Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"byline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"author-prefix\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/author\/tom-lutey\/\">Tom Lutey<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><!-- .author-name -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-03-03T12:29:26-07:00\">03.03.2026<\/time><time class=\"updated\" datetime=\"2026-03-03T22:45:03-07:00\">03.03.2026<\/time>\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-meta -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"262679\"\n\t\tclass=\"tag-bob-morris tag-data-centers tag-energy tag-greg-gianforte tag-montana-insights tag-northwestern-energy tag-public-service-commission tag-ryan-zinke tag-steve-daines tag-troy-downing tag-u-s-congress tag-unleashing-energy-task-force category-energy category-montana-insights type-post post-has-image\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2026\/03\/03\/montanans-want-more-solar-natural-gas-development-are-less-interested-in-new-coal-plants\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Montanans want more solar, natural gas development, are less interested in new coal plants<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The poll results on Montana\u2019s energy mix come as politicians and policymakers grapple with surging electricity demand spurred by investment in artificial intelligence and the data centers that support it.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"byline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"author-prefix\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/author\/aeggert\/\">Amanda Eggert<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><!-- .author-name -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"entry-date published updated\" datetime=\"2026-03-03T08:00:00-07:00\">03.03.2026<\/time>\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-meta -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Montana&#8217;s famous cow-to-person ratio has narrowed a bit. U.S. Department of Agriculture data from early 2024 shows 2.12 million cattle roaming the state alongside 1.14 million people. That&#8217;s still nearly two cows for every Montanan, but it\u2019s down from the more dramatic ratios of years past. As recently as 2022, the ratio was more than two cows per person.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19651,"featured_media":68670,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-feature.php","format":"standard","meta":{"everlit_article_id":"","everlit_hide_embed":false,"everlit_embed_size":"","everlit_generation_settings":[],"_everlit_article_id":"","_everlit_hide_embed":false,"_everlit_embed_size":"","_everlit_generation_settings":[],"_everlit_content_hash":"","_everlit_metadata_hash":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-07-18T21:16:17Z","apple_news_api_id":"bd0f7f8b-9617-4cfe-8850-ec451af98bf6","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-07-18T21:17:20Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAw==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AvQ9_i5YXTP6IUOxFGvmL9g","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_primary_brand":0,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":" In Petroleum County, there are 62 cows per person.","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[1623],"tags":[35294,35293],"post_format":[],"brand":[],"partner":[],"series":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[34719],"class_list":["post-249730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","tag-cows","tag-montana-population","entry"],"slp_mobile_featured_image":{"id":68670,"href":"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68670","image_path":"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AdobeStock_cow_298352777-e1588096439488-2.jpeg","caption":""},"slp_coauthors":[{"display_name":"Jacob Olness","user_nicename":"jolness","author_link":"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/author\/jolness\/"}],"slp_primary_category":{"id":1623,"name":"Agriculture"},"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<title>Montana still has more cows than people, but the cows\u2019 lead is narrowing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In Petroleum County, there are 62 cows per person.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2025\/07\/18\/montana-still-has-more-cows-than-people-but-the-cows-lead-is-narrowing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Montana still has more cows than people, but the cows\u2019 lead is narrowing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In Petroleum County, there are 62 cows per person.\" \/>\n<meta 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cow-to-person ratio has narrowed a bit. U.S. Department of Agriculture data from early 2024 shows 2.12 million cattle roaming the state alongside 1.14 million people. That&#039;s still nearly two cows for every Montanan, but it\u2019s down from the more dramatic ratios of years past. As recently as 2022, the ratio was more than two cows per person.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mtfreepress\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@mtfreepress\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jacob Olness\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2025\/07\/18\/montana-still-has-more-cows-than-people-but-the-cows-lead-is-narrowing\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2025\/07\/18\/montana-still-has-more-cows-than-people-but-the-cows-lead-is-narrowing\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jacob 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Among other topics, his reporting covers trends in industry, politics, transportation and health issues. His past experience ranges from work as an ASE-certified master mechanic to a software engineering role at a financial services company. He was born and raised in Billings, where he lives with his wife and two sons. You can reach Jacob at jolness@montanafreepress.org.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/author\/jolness\/\"}]}<\/script>","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Montana still has more cows than people, but the cows\u2019 lead is narrowing","description":"In Petroleum County, there are 62 cows per person.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2025\/07\/18\/montana-still-has-more-cows-than-people-but-the-cows-lead-is-narrowing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Montana still has more cows than people, but the cows\u2019 lead is narrowing","og_description":"In Petroleum County, there are 62 cows per person.","og_url":"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2025\/07\/18\/montana-still-has-more-cows-than-people-but-the-cows-lead-is-narrowing\/","og_site_name":"Montana Free Press","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/mtfreepress","article_published_time":"2025-07-18T21:16:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-18T21:17:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1170,"height":776,"url":"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AdobeStock_cow_298352777-e1588096439488-2.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jacob Olness","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_description":"Montana's famous cow-to-person ratio has narrowed a bit. U.S. Department of Agriculture data from early 2024 shows 2.12 million cattle roaming the state alongside 1.14 million people. That's still nearly two cows for every Montanan, but it\u2019s down from the more dramatic ratios of years past. 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