← All posts · Q1 2026 report · Montana dashboard

Montana new construction report — Q1 2026

The bottom line

Montana's residential permit volume is up 16% quarter-on-quarter — a strong signal of demand acceleration. Trade contractors and suppliers serving this state should expect builder accounts to scale upward in the next 12 months. The state's top markets are visibly heating up.

Top movers this quarter

The Montana counties with the biggest quarter-on-quarter permit-volume change. Click any county for the full local market dashboard.

1. Yellowstone County: 280 permits this quarter (+73 vs 207 prior quarter).
2. Missoula County: 75 permits this quarter (-51 vs 126 prior quarter).
3. Gallatin County: 210 permits this quarter (+45 vs 165 prior quarter).
4. Flathead County: 76 permits this quarter (+24 vs 52 prior quarter).
5. Cascade County: 53 permits this quarter (+16 vs 37 prior quarter).
6. Lewis and Clark County: 60 permits this quarter (+12 vs 48 prior quarter).

Most-active builders

Licensed home builders in Montana ranked by Q1 2026 permit count. Click any name for the builder's full profile, permit history, and county footprint.

Per-permit builder attribution for Montana is limited this quarter. Per-permit feeds outside Florida are added quarterly — Montana will deepen as we add county portals.

What this means for trade operators

If you're an LBM operator, roofing contractor, HVAC company, plumber, concrete crew, or any trade serving Montana's new single-family construction market, this quarter's data points to a few practical actions:

• If you're not actively quoting the top 6 builders listed above, that's the call list for this week.
• If your service area covers any of the top-mover counties, you have leverage right now — builders there are scaling and looking for capacity.
• If you're considering expansion into Montana, the Montana dashboard has all counties scored against the trade you select. Drive-time analysis from your existing yard tells you which counties are reachable today.

This report is automatically refreshed every quarter from Census Bureau Building Permits Survey data plus county public records. The methodology is documented in our Census BPS data explainer.