Electric Consumer

Editor: Katerine G., Editor & Data Researcher · Research & publishing: Electric Consumer Editorial Team · Data retrieved · Sources named on this page: EIA, Census Bureau · How we got these numbers · Report an error

Who heats with electricity where it is cold in Montana?

120,498homes in Montana heat mainly with electricity in counties that are cold in a normal year

All 56 Montana counties average at least 4,000 heating degree days in a normal year, and 27% of the 452,683 occupied homes heat mainly with electricity. Rank 28 of 35 by count, 13 by share. Missoula County holds the most: 17,231 electric-heated homes at 8,618 heating degree days.

Where Montana sits among the states

Share of homes that heat with electricity in cold counties, by state, one tile per stateAlaska: no data in this seriesAKMaine: 10.1% of homesMEVermont: 8.1% of homesVTNew Hampshire: 10.7% of homesNHWashington: 57.7% of homesWAIdaho: 35.0% of homesIDMontana: 26.6% of homesMTNorth Dakota: 39.9% of homesNDMinnesota: 18.8% of homesMNIllinois: 18.2% of homesILWisconsin: 17.3% of homesWIMichigan: 11.6% of homesMINew York: 14.4% of homesNYRhode Island: 12.1% of homesRIMassachusetts: 17.9% of homesMAOregon: 53.1% of homesORNevada: 8.7% of homesNVWyoming: 23.3% of homesWYSouth Dakota: 32.6% of homesSDIowa: 24.3% of homesIAIndiana: 30.7% of homesINOhio: 25.6% of homesOHPennsylvania: 24.8% of homesPANew Jersey: 15.6% of homesNJConnecticut: no data in this seriesCTCalifornia: 2.0% of homesCAUtah: 16.4% of homesUTColorado: 25.2% of homesCONebraska: 31.2% of homesNEMissouri: 37.0% of homesMOKentucky: 49.5% of homesKYWest Virginia: 45.5% of homesWVVirginia: 32.2% of homesVAMaryland: 42.6% of homesMDDelaware: 37.0% of homesDEArizona: 0.9% of homesAZNew Mexico: 13.1% of homesNMKansas: 26.5% of homesKSArkansas: 1.9% of homesARTennessee: 9.9% of homesTNNorth Carolina: 5.6% of homesNCSouth Carolina: 0.0% of homesSCDistrict of Columbia: no data in this seriesDCOklahoma: 0.5% of homesOKLouisiana: 0.0% of homesLAMississippi: 0.0% of homesMSAlabama: 0.0% of homesALGeorgia: 0.4% of homesGAHawaii: no data in this seriesHITexas: 0.1% of homesTXFlorida: 0.0% of homesFL

Darker is a larger share. Montana is outlined.

Montana: cold counties and electric heat

Montana cold counties, electric heating
Missoula County51,64233.417,2318,618-2%14.3
Flathead County43,56836.916,0989,014-3%13.4
Gallatin County50,03131.415,6969,172-2%13.0
Yellowstone County69,27221.815,0937,209+1%12.5
Lewis and Clark County30,65524.97,6438,762-2%6.3
Lake County12,17557.06,9377,941-3%5.8
Cascade County34,90915.25,3218,067-0%4.4
Lincoln County8,85849.24,3618,483-4%3.6
Ravalli County18,77920.43,8278,981-2%3.2
Silver Bow County15,34722.83,5009,221-3%2.9
Park County8,25725.62,1119,411-3%1.8
Glacier County4,17437.71,5729,234-2%1.3
Richland County4,50030.31,3628,616-2%1.1
Beaverhead County4,12131.61,3039,787-2%1.1
Sanders County5,45322.71,2378,071-1%1.0
Custer County5,04423.01,1627,790-2%1.0
Rosebud County3,06935.51,0917,729-1%0.9
Big Horn County3,69128.61,0547,590-1%0.9
Deer Lodge County4,56022.21,0119,750-2%0.8
Carbon County4,71619.39108,215-2%0.8

Largest 20 of 56 cold counties, ranked by electric-heated homes. The 36 smaller cold counties are in the CSV. All counties, CSV.

Where the electric-heated homes are

The 3 largest counties, Missoula County, Flathead County, Gallatin County, hold 41% of the 120,498 electric-heated homes in Montana cold counties. The highest electric-heat share among cold counties with 5,000+ homes is Lake County at 57%. The coldest, Beaverhead County, averages 9,787 heating degree days; Montana as a whole averages 8,474 when weighted by homes.

electric-heated homes, Montana cold counties, 12 largest

  • Missoula County17,231
  • Flathead County16,098
  • Gallatin County15,696
  • Yellowstone County15,093
  • Lewis and Clark County7,643
  • Lake County6,937
  • Cascade County5,321
  • Lincoln County4,361
  • Ravalli County3,827
  • Silver Bow County3,500
  • Park County2,111
  • Glacier County1,572

Montana: the 10 coldest counties

Beaverhead County is coldest at 9,787 heating degree days with 32% electric heat. The 10 coldest hold 11,369 electric-heated homes.

Montana 10 coldest counties
CountyHomesElectric, %Normal HDDRecent HDD
Beaverhead County4,12131.69,7879,544
Deer Lodge County4,56022.29,7509,515
Daniels County71621.99,5449,400
Park County8,25725.69,4119,142
Granite County1,37515.79,3729,089
Sheridan County1,47024.79,3649,167
Glacier County4,17437.79,2349,035
Silver Bow County15,34722.89,2218,986
Powell County2,34820.69,2078,956
Madison County3,70317.69,2068,964

Montana: where electric heat is most common

Among counties with 2,000+ homes, Lake County is highest at 57% and Big Horn County is 10th at 29%.

Montana 10 counties with the highest electric heat share
CountyHomesElectric, %Normal HDDRecent HDD
Lake County12,17557.07,9417,689
Lincoln County8,85849.28,4838,178
Glacier County4,17437.79,2349,035
Flathead County43,56836.99,0148,760
Rosebud County3,06935.57,7297,677
Missoula County51,64233.48,6188,403
Beaverhead County4,12131.69,7879,544
Gallatin County50,03131.49,1728,990
Richland County4,50030.38,6168,431
Big Horn County3,69128.67,5907,497

Winter disconnections and price in Montana

Montana utilities logged 0.08 disconnections per 100 residential accounts a month in December to February 2024 and 0.19 in June to August.

At the 2025 average residential price of 12.98 cents a kWh, 1,000 kWh costs 130 dollars in Montana.

Montana in the ranking

Utah is 26th with 180,092 homes (16.4% of its homes). North Dakota is 27th with 129,646 homes (39.9% of its homes). South Dakota is 29th with 117,036 homes (32.6% of its homes). New Mexico is 30th with 108,308 homes (13.1% of its homes).

Montana beside 4 neighbors

Montana neighbors with a winter page
NeighborElectric homesShare, %Avg HDD
Idaho243,01135.0%6,673
North Dakota129,64639.9%9,106
South Dakota117,03632.6%7,706
Wyoming55,52823.3%8,244

Look up your Montana county

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Sources

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Questions

How many Montana homes heat with electricity in cold counties?

120,498 homes, 26.6% of 452,683 occupied Montana homes, in 56 counties averaging 4,000+ heating degree days.

Which Montana county has the most electric-heated homes among its cold counties?

Missoula County, with 17,231 of its 51,642 homes (33%) at 8,618 normal heating degree days.

Which Montana county is the coldest, and how many of its homes heat with electricity?

Beaverhead County, at 9,787 normal heating degree days: 1,303 of 4,121 homes (32%).

How far did the last decade run from the Montana normal?

Montana cold counties averaged 1.5% below their 1991-2020 heating degree days over 2016-2025.

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120,498 homes in Montana heat mainly with electricity in counties that are cold in a normal year

Cite this page

Underlying data are U.S. government works (EIA, Census Bureau). Our tables and charts: CC BY 4.0, credit Electric Consumer. The access date fills in when you open this page.

APA

Electric Consumer. (2026). Montana winter exposure: 120,498 electric-heated homes in cold counties. Data as of 9 October 2026. Retrieved 9 October 2026, from https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/montana.html

MLA

Electric Consumer. “Montana winter exposure: 120,498 electric-heated homes in cold counties.” Electric Consumer, data as of 9 October 2026, https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/montana.html. Accessed 9 October 2026.

Chicago

Electric Consumer. “Montana winter exposure: 120,498 electric-heated homes in cold counties.” Data as of 9 October 2026. Accessed 9 October 2026. https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/montana.html.

BibTeX

@misc{usedata_winter_states_montana,
  author = "Electric Consumer",
  title = {Montana winter exposure: 120,498 electric-heated homes in cold counties},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://electricconsumer.org/winter/states/montana.html},
  note = {Data as of 9 October 2026. Accessed 9 October 2026}
}
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