Manufacturing builds healthy communities

When we talk about health and wellness, we often think first about hospitals, clinics, exercise, food or time outdoors. Those all matter. But healthy communities also need strong jobs, steady paychecks, local employers and a durable tax base. Manufacturing helps provide all four. 

In Montana, manufacturing remains one of the state’s most important economic engines. The 2025 Montana Manufacturing Report, prepared by the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research for the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center at Montana State University, found that manufacturing generated more than $2 billion in base labor earnings in 2024. That made it Montana’s second-largest base industry, behind hospitality. Manufacturing also produced about $3 billion in real gross domestic product. 

Those numbers matter because base industries bring new dollars into the state. Manufacturers sell products beyond their local communities, then bring that revenue home through wages, purchases, property investment and taxes. A strong manufacturer supports employees directly, but it also supports suppliers, contractors, restaurants, schools, nonprofits and local governments. 

Northwest Montana plays a leading role in that story. Flathead County now has the highest number of manufacturing establishments in Montana, with 903. Northwestern Montana ranks as the second-largest manufacturing region in the state by total wages, with nearly $296 million in manufacturing wages in 2024. Wood products remain the region’s largest sector, with nearly 1,200 jobs and about $82 million in wages. Machinery, computer and electronic products, fabricated metal and chemical manufacturing also contribute meaningful payrolls. 

That mix tells an important story. Manufacturing in Northwest Montana no longer means one kind of job or one kind of product. It includes skilled trades, engineering, production, logistics, sales, accounting, technology, operations and management. These are careers where people can build expertise, earn good wages and stay rooted in the communities they love. 

Manufacturing also connects directly to wellness through the products we make. Food and beverage manufacturing turns Montana agriculture into higher-value products and helps build more resilient local food systems. Across Montana, food and beverage products are one of the state’s largest nondurable manufacturing sectors. In Western Montana, food and beverage manufacturing leads manufacturing employment, supported in part by the region’s strong brewing and food culture. 

Good food manufacturing creates jobs, preserves quality, extends shelf life, and improves access to Montana-grown products for consumers. When communities can process more of what they grow, they keep more value close to home and strengthen the connection between producers, workers and families. 

A community's health and wellness depend on more than individual choices. It depends on whether people can find meaningful work, support families, buy homes, volunteer, pay taxes and contribute to civic life. Manufacturing gives communities that foundation. 

In Northwest Montana, manufacturing builds products, careers, resilience, and community wellness. 

Suzanne Tilleman is the Sprunk and Burnham Endowed Dean at the College of Business at the University of Montana.