Arborlook
Risk & Response
by Arborlook Insights

Montana

Statewide risk profile

1.1M
Population
56
Counties
274
Departments
532
Stations

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, separate from agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
46.3
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
28th highest of 52
Life Safety per 100k
4.15
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
2nd highest of 52
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$413.8M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
43rd highest of 52
Property Loss per Resident
$370
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
13th highest of 52

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not included in the National Risk Index and are not counted here, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Montana, the largest single contributor is Avalanche, 53% of the life-safety total.

Montana carries an expected 46 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $413.8M in building loss per year. Ranks compare all 50 states plus DC and Puerto Rico. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is one half of the picture. The other half is what your departments run on: fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, dollar loss per incident. That comes from NERIS incident reporting, and it grows as departments in Montana enroll. Our Regional tier brings it together across your jurisdiction, with participating departments, alongside response time analytics, cross-department benchmarking, and coverage gap analysis.

Talk to us about Montana See what a department sees

What Drives the Loss

38%
59%
Property (buildings): $413.8M (38.4%)
Life safety: $634.9M (58.8%)
Agriculture: $30.3M (2.8%)

Total expected annual loss: $1,078,989,994 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Avalanche
$336.7M
Cold Wave
$220.3M
Earthquake
$21.5M
Winter Weather
$16.0M
Lightning
$14.7M
Strong Wind
$6.9M

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$272.0M
Wildfire
$69.4M
Earthquake
$55.6M
Hail
$5.9M
Tornado
$2.7M
Winter Weather
$2.3M

County Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across counties in this state. Click any county for its full profile.

Fire Service Profile

11%
81%
Career: 4%
Combination: 11%
Volunteer: 81%
Unreported: 4%
Residents per Station
2,099
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
47.6
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 274 departments registered in NERIS Public for Montana. Departments that have not registered are not counted. The mix is computed over the departments NERIS registers to Montana; departments based elsewhere that respond into it are counted in the total above but not in the mix. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

County Rankings

Counties in Montana ranked by risk. Click column headers to sort. Click a county to see its departments.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department and station counts are derived from boundaries self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. A department serving several counties is counted in each, so the Departments column adds up to more than the statewide department total. Risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 56 counties
County Population Departments Life-Safety Loss NRI Rating
Flathead County 110,695 18 $142.8M Very High
Gallatin County 124,074 19 $68.7M Relatively High
Park County 17,710 7 $61.4M Very High
Missoula County 120,672 11 $53.6M Relatively High
Cascade County 84,606 13 $27.9M Relatively High
Madison County 9,223 12 $26.3M Very High
Yellowstone County 168,957 9 $25.0M Relatively Moderate
Lake County 32,561 10 $23.5M Very High
Ravalli County 46,727 15 $20.8M Very High
Lewis and Clark County 73,464 18 $20.2M Relatively High
Richland County 11,235 5 $17.1M Very High
Dawson County 8,827 4 $16.9M Very High
Lincoln County 21,175 9 $9.9M Very High
Deer Lodge County 9,597 5 $9.1M Very High
Silver Bow County 35,785 13 $7.9M Relatively Moderate
Fergus County 11,687 13 $7.7M Very High
Hill County 16,155 7 $7.2M Relatively High
Roosevelt County 10,526 6 $6.6M Very High
Beaverhead County 9,713 10 $6.2M Very High
Custer County 11,961 3 $5.8M Relatively High
Wibaux County 1,193 0 $5.5M Very High
Glacier County 13,637 6 $5.4M Very High
Big Horn County 12,891 3 $4.4M Very High
Valley County 7,519 3 $4.1M Very High
Blaine County 6,949 6 $4.0M Very High
Phillips County 4,221 3 $3.3M Very High
Chouteau County 5,906 11 $3.2M Very High
Broadwater County 7,668 7 $2.7M Very High
Granite County 3,462 3 $2.7M Very High
Jefferson County 12,774 14 $2.7M Very High
Fallon County 2,760 2 $2.6M Very High
Teton County 6,353 8 $2.4M Relatively High
Carbon County 11,116 8 $2.3M Very High
Sheridan County 3,669 4 $2.0M Very High
Rosebud County 8,165 7 $1.9M Very High
Pondera County 6,035 6 $1.9M Very High
Toole County 5,061 3 $1.9M Relatively High
Musselshell County 5,152 3 $1.8M Relatively High
Sanders County 13,285 9 $1.7M Very High
Mineral County 4,959 6 $1.4M Relatively High
Stillwater County 9,182 6 $1.4M Relatively High
McCone County 1,670 2 $1.3M Very High
Powell County 7,053 9 $1.3M Relatively High
Petroleum County 447 3 $950.8K Relatively High
Prairie County 1,250 1 $950.4K Very High
Judith Basin County 2,071 6 $905.7K Very High
Daniels County 1,494 3 $848.4K Relatively High
Liberty County 1,952 2 $719.2K Very High
Sweet Grass County 3,720 4 $714.2K Very High
Garfield County 1,094 2 $664.8K Very High
Meagher County 2,007 2 $560.1K Very High
Wheatland County 2,056 1 $545.8K Very High
Carter County 1,308 2 $530.2K Relatively High
Powder River County 1,815 4 $442.3K Very High
Golden Valley County 899 1 $321.7K Relatively Moderate
Treasure County 732 1 $164.1K Relatively Moderate
No counties match your search.
Don't see your department? Profiles exist for every department in NERIS Public with a published boundary polygon. Departments registered without a boundary, or not yet registered with NERIS, do not have a page yet because the analysis is geography-based. See why a department might be missing or contact us and we will look into it.

Risk Snapshot

11.5%
Poverty Rate
20.1%
Age 65+
14.5%
Disability Rate
8.6%
Uninsured
48.9%
Pre-1980 Housing
9.4%
Mobile Homes
13.2%
Vacancy Rate
6.6%
Wood Heat
$74,985
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

245
Last 10 Years
425
Last 25 Years
Flood
Most Frequent

Response-level intelligence for your region

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