Montana

Innovation Scorecard

Total Patents

2,896

National Rank

#45

Top Category

Software & Computing

YoY Growth

15.9%

Population

1,119,563

Patents / $B GDP

Patents / 100K Pop

259

Innovation DNA

Patent activity distribution across technology categories

Innovation Ecosystem

Economic and research indicators that shape Montana's innovation landscape.

State GDP

$78B

Median Income

$70,804

Unemployment

3.4%

Bachelor's+

34.6%

Per Capita Income

$67,615

Fed. Spending

$4.2B

NIH Grants

125

NSF Awards

SBIR/STTR

866

~$284M awarded

Biz Formation

678/mo

STEM Workers

6.4%

35,875 employed

Sources: FRED, Census ACS, USAspending.gov, NIH RePORTER, NSF, SBIR.gov

Patent Activity by Year

252

2016

256

2017

238

2018

323

2019

260

2020

304

2021

305

2022

320

2023

371

2024

267

2025

Top Patent Holders

Rank	Organization	Patents
1	Applied Materials, Inc.	150
2	Vista Outdoor Operations LLC	73
3	StreetCar ORV, LLC	56
4	AURORA OPERATIONS, INC.	46
5	BLACKMORE SENSORS & ANALYTICS, LLC.	41
6	The Fynder Group, Inc.	41
7	WORKIVA INC.	40
8	GoPro, Inc.	34
9	Montana State University	30
10	IGT	30

Technology Categories

Category	Patents	Share
software & computing	660	26.3%
biotech & life sciences	540	21.6%
electronics & semiconductors	377	15.0%
mechanical & manufacturing	288	11.5%
mechanical engineering	271	10.8%
chemistry & materials	262	10.5%
construction	94	3.8%
textiles	13	0.5%

Universities in Montana