Ham radio operators in Montana: new licenses by county
4,479 licensed amateur radio operators; 145 new in the past 12 months. Updated weekly from FCC data.
At a glance · Data as of
- New hams · last 30 days
- 4
- New hams · last 12 months
- 145
- ▲ 19% vs prior 12 mo
- Active licensed hams
- 4,479
- Upgrades · 12 mo
- 74
- Vanity callsigns · 12 mo
- 42
- Address updates · 12 mo
- 48
- Often a move into the area
- Expiring · next 6 mo
- 297
About ham radio in Montana
Montana added 145 new amateur radio operators in the past 12 months, up 19% from the year before. Montana ranks #41 of 52 states and territories for new licenses. Gallatin County leads the state with 22 new hams. Technicians make up 49% of the state’s licensees, close to the U.S. average of 48%. 74 operators upgraded their license in the past year, the moment many buy their first HF rig.
New hams by month
Show data table
| Month | New hams |
|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | 18 |
| Dec 2025 | 6 |
| Jan 2026 | 11 |
| Feb 2026 | 17 |
| Mar 2026 | 8 |
| Apr 2026 | 21 |
| May 2026 | 33 |
| Jun 2026 | 10 |
| Jul 2026 | 7 |
| Aug 2026 | 10 |
| Sep 2026 | 4 |
| Total | 148 |
License classes
| Class | Hams | Share | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technician | 2,211 | 49% | 48% |
| General | 1,195 | 27% | 25% |
| Amateur Extra | 858 | 19% | 21% |
| Advanced | 139 | 3% | 3% |
| Novice / Other | 76 | 2% | 2% |
Bar = Montana share · Tick = U.S. share
In the past 12 months, 39 operators upgraded to General and 26 to Amateur Extra.
How Montana compares
#41 of 52 states and territories for new hams in the past 12 months
| Per 1,000 active hams | Montana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| New hams, past 12 months | 32.4 | 32.3 |
| Upgrades, past 12 months | 16.5 | 14.7 |
| Expiring, next 6 months | 66.3 | 57.3 |
145 new hams in Montana this past year. Get next month’s list free.
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| # | County | New hams 12 mo | Change vs prior year | Active hams | New per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gallatin County | 22 | ▲ 47% | 530 | 41.5 |
| 2 | Lewis and Clark County | 17 | — | 350 | 48.6 |
| 3 | Yellowstone County | 17 | ▲ 21% | 534 | 31.8 |
| 4 | Missoula County | 15 | ▼ 32% | 371 | 40.4 |
| 5 | Ravalli County | 13 | — | 312 | 41.7 |
| 6 | Lincoln County | 10 | — | 355 | 28.2 |
| 7 | Flathead County | 7 | ▼ 61% | 594 | 11.8 |
| 8 | Sanders County | 3 | — | 105 | 28.6 |
| 9 | Cascade County | 1 | — | 225 | 4.4 |
— in Change means fewer than 10 new hams the year before.
All Montana counties
9 counties with their own page. Numbers are new hams in the past 12 months.
- Cascade County1 new hams in 12 months
- Flathead County7 new hams in 12 months
- Gallatin County22 new hams in 12 months
- Lewis and Clark County17 new hams in 12 months
- Lincoln County10 new hams in 12 months
- Missoula County15 new hams in 12 months
- Ravalli County13 new hams in 12 months
- Sanders County3 new hams in 12 months
- Yellowstone County17 new hams in 12 months
Smaller Montana counties
These 47 counties have too few licensees or too little recent activity for a page of their own, so their numbers are listed here.
Show all 47 smaller counties
| County | Active hams | New hams · 12 mo |
|---|---|---|
| Beaverhead County | 31 | 0 |
| Big Horn County | 9 | 0 |
| Blaine County | 6 | 0 |
| Broadwater County | 17 | 0 |
| Carbon County | 52 | 1 |
| Carter County | 5 | 0 |
| Chouteau County | 10 | 0 |
| Custer County | 37 | 1 |
| Daniels County | 10 | 0 |
| Dawson County | 17 | 0 |
| Deer Lodge County | 29 | 0 |
| Fallon County | 15 | 0 |
| Fergus County | 37 | 0 |
| Garfield County | 0 | 0 |
| Glacier County | 21 | 1 |
| Golden Valley County | 3 | 0 |
| Granite County | 17 | 1 |
| Hill County | 40 | 0 |
| Jefferson County | 62 | 0 |
| Judith Basin County | 7 | 0 |
| Lake County | 94 | 4 |
| Liberty County | 4 | 0 |
| Madison County | 35 | 2 |
| McCone County | 3 | 0 |
| Meagher County | 2 | 0 |
| Mineral County | 40 | 2 |
| Musselshell County | 27 | 0 |
| Park County | 89 | 1 |
| Petroleum County | 0 | 0 |
| Phillips County | 4 | 0 |
| Pondera County | 3 | 1 |
| Powder River County | 1 | 0 |
| Powell County | 17 | 0 |
| Prairie County | 7 | 0 |
| Richland County | 24 | 0 |
| Roosevelt County | 19 | 0 |
| Rosebud County | 20 | 1 |
| Sheridan County | 11 | 0 |
| Silver Bow County | 92 | 0 |
| Stillwater County | 37 | 0 |
| Sweet Grass County | 19 | 0 |
| Teton County | 12 | 0 |
| Toole County | 19 | 0 |
| Treasure County | 2 | 0 |
| Valley County | 15 | 0 |
| Wheatland County | 3 | 0 |
| Wibaux County | 2 | 0 |
Neighboring states
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Figures may be reused with credit to Ham Recruiter (CC BY 4.0).
Questions about hams in Montana
How many ham radio operators are in Montana?
4,479 active amateur radio licensees are on file for Montana as of Oct 1, 2026.
How many new hams were licensed in Montana last year?
145 people in Montana received their first FCC amateur radio license in the 12 months ending Oct 1, 2026.
Which Montana counties have the most new hams?
In the past 12 months: Gallatin County (22), Lewis and Clark County (17) and Yellowstone County (17).
Where does this data come from?
From the FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) public amateur license database, which we download every Monday. Addresses are matched to counties with the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder. This page shows totals only.
Can I see the names or call signs on this page?
No. Public pages show totals only. Verified Ham Recruiter users can search and export lists for outreach; see how licensee information is handled.
About this data
Data as of . Source: FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) weekly amateur license database; county from U.S. Census Bureau geocoding. Aggregates only, no individual licensee data is shown. Aggregate figures © Ham Recruiter, CC BY 4.0.
How we count
- New ham: an active licensee whose first license was granted in the period.
- Address updates: a change of FCC mailing address, often a move into the area.
- Counts use each licensee’s current FCC address. Someone licensed here who later moved is counted where they live now.
- Each license keeps only its most recent event of each type, so two upgrades in one year count once.
- PO-box-only addresses often can’t be matched to a county, so rural counties are slightly undercounted.
99% of Montana licensees could be matched to a county.