Montana business phone guide

Businesses in Montana

Montana had 1.1 million residents in the Census Bureau's July 2024 estimate, up 4.9% from April 2020. The U.S. population grew 2.6% over the same period. County Business Patterns counted 42,566 business establishments in the state in 2023 with 409,312 mid-March employees and $21.7 billion in annual payroll. The average establishment has 9.6 employees. 60.7% of establishments with employees had fewer than five people. The three largest sectors by establishments are construction (6,766), retail trade (4,706), and health care and social assistance (4,488).

Montana compared with the U.S.

Montana has 37.4 business establishments per 1,000 residents, 52.3% above the U.S. figure of 24.6. Establishments average 9.6 employees against 16.7 nationally, and payroll per employee is $53,068 (22.3% below the U.S. $68,342). 60.7% of establishments with employees have fewer than five people (U.S.: 55.5%), while 2.9% have 50 or more. Most establishments are far smaller than the average suggests, so it pays to price a phone plan at the headcount you actually have rather than the average.

Montana's phone numbering

NANPA lists 1 geographic area code in service in Montana, with 754 central office codes assigned across 260 rate centers and held by 63 carriers. 406 has the most assigned codes (754). The newest in service is 406, since January 1, 1947.

Small-business industries in Montana

Among the 141 phone-heavy small-business industries these guides cover, the largest in Montana by establishment count are offices of real estate agents and brokers (1,100), new single-family housing construction contractors (1,075), and full-service restaurants (1,060). Each links to a page with metro breakdowns, team sizes and phone costs for that industry in Montana.

Metro and micropolitan areas

7 Census metro or micropolitan areas include part of Montana. The largest is Billings, MT with 193,000 residents.

Which Montana area code to pick

Every Montana area code requires ten-digit dialing for local calls, according to NANPA's dialing-plan data, so customers always see and dial the full number. None of Montana's area codes is in an overlay, so each code maps to its own territory. A business that serves one city usually takes a number in that city's dominant code; one that covers a region can hold up to 3 local numbers on Callata's plan.

Largest Montana cities for local numbers

46 Montana cities and towns have their own local-number page. The most populous are Billings (406), Missoula (406), Great Falls (406), and Bozeman (406).

What phone service costs a Montana business

The comparison below uses 10 users, the rounded average establishment size in Montana. At list prices checked September 28, 2026, that is $249.50 a month on Ooma Office Pro and $300.00 on RingCentral RingEX Core. On Callata the same 10 people cost $199.00 a month, less than either per-seat plan.

Callata in Montana

Callata is a business phone system priced at $99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user. Callata Office includes up to 3 local business numbers, unlimited inbound calling, 1,500 pooled outbound US and Canada minutes per user each month, a browser softphone that can also ring your cell, voicemail with transcription, call recording with AI summaries, business-hours routing and E911 on every number.

If you already have a number in Montana, porting it to Callata is free. Texting from a local number requires a one-time carrier registration (10DLC, $49), and the numbers available in any area code depend on carrier inventory when you choose them.

Optional AI agents (receptionist, sales, support or scheduler) can answer calls after hours or when nobody picks up, take messages, text, email and transfer to your team. They are billed from prepaid AI minutes at $0.25 per minute, identify themselves as AI, and may only place outbound calls to people who consented, between 8am and 9pm.