# Where to Buy a Business in Montana

Buyable means an establishment with five to ninety-nine employees in the 36 trades this site covers, counted from SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level dataset (as of June 30, 2026) and the Census establishment file.

Source: https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/montana
Last checked: 2026-09-23

## The Opportunity

- Buyable businesses: 4,973 of 10,459 establishments in the covered trades
- Buyable per 100,000 residents: 437.3
- Share of the national buyable market: 0.4%
- Rank among the guided states: 42
- SBA change-of-ownership loans: 221 since FY2020, 40 of them in FY2025
- Median loan: $475,000
- Population: 1,137,233

## The Deepest Counties in Montana

Nobody searches a state; they search a metro they can drive across. These hold the most buyable targets in the covered trades, each with its share of the state's.

- Yellowstone: 746 buyable (15% of the state's)
- Gallatin: 657 buyable (13.2% of the state's)
- Missoula: 546 buyable (11% of the state's)
- Flathead: 537 buyable (10.8% of the state's)
- Cascade: 324 buyable (6.5% of the state's)
- Lewis and Clark: 264 buyable (5.3% of the state's)
- Silver Bow: 127 buyable (2.6% of the state's)
- Ravalli: 110 buyable (2.2% of the state's)
- Park: 55 buyable (1.1% of the state's)
- Lake: 53 buyable (1.1% of the state's)

## What Trades Run Deepest in Montana

- Full-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722511): 776 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Limited-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722513): 630 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Offices of Dentists (NAICS 621210): 348 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-dental-practice
- Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores (NAICS 447110): 335 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-convenience-store
- Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (NAICS 722515): 256 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors (NAICS 238220): 251 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-an-hvac-business

## Before You Close in Montana

A successor is liable for the full amount of the tax and withholds from the sales price enough to pay it until the seller produces the department's receipt or a statement that none is due. Written notice of the acquisition clears the successor if no assessment against the former operator issues within six months. The rule sits in Montana's selective sales tax, which reaches accommodations and rental vehicles rather than every business.

Cited as 15-68-808, MCA.

## Next Door to Montana

Nobody buys a state. These are the states Montana touches, with the buyable businesses each holds in the same 36 trades.

- Idaho: 7,784 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/idaho)
- North Dakota: 3,278 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/north-dakota)
- South Dakota: 3,651 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/south-dakota)
- Wyoming: 2,640 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/wyoming)

## Method and Source

- Establishment counts: 2023, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp.html
- Population: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest.html
- Lending: SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level dataset (as of June 30, 2026), FY2020 through FY2025

Site index for machines: https://searchspheresource.com/llms.txt