Rankings → Montana
Montana
Across the 48 Montana counties NASS published directly for 2026, the median pasture rent was $9.80 an acre. The spread ran $4.40 in Treasure County to $29 in Ravalli — which is the point: a state average tells you almost nothing about your own fence line. Find your county below; an entry marked with an older year is that county's most recent published figure, not a 2026 number.
Every county
| County | 2026 rate | Percentile in state |
|---|---|---|
| Beaverhead (most recent published: 2025) | $11 | 79th percentile |
| Big Horn | $6.90 | 16th percentile |
| Blaine | $9.60 | 49th percentile |
| Broadwater | $13.50 | 82nd percentile |
| Carbon | $10 | 52nd percentile |
| Carter | $10.50 | 58th percentile |
| Cascade | $14 | 86th percentile |
| Chouteau | $10.50 | 58th percentile |
| Custer | $5.90 | 7th percentile |
| Daniels | $10.50 | 58th percentile |
| Dawson | $8.30 | 32nd percentile |
| Deer Lodge (most recent published: 2024) | $8 | 55th percentile |
| Fallon | $11.50 | 71st percentile |
| Fergus | $11 | 66th percentile |
| Flathead | $16 | 93rd percentile |
| Gallatin | $14.50 | 90th percentile |
| Garfield | $7.40 | 22nd percentile |
| Glacier | $8 | 26th percentile |
| Golden Valley | $12.50 | 78th percentile |
| Granite (most recent published: 2022) | $14 | 92nd percentile |
| Hill | $10.50 | 58th percentile |
| Jefferson | $8 | 26th percentile |
| Judith Basin | $14.50 | 90th percentile |
| Lake | $22 | 97th percentile |
| Lewis And Clark (most recent published: 2025) | $6.20 | 17th percentile |
| Liberty (most recent published: 2025) | $10 | 70th percentile |
| Lincoln (most recent published: 2010) | $3.70 | 24th percentile |
| Madison | $11 | 66th percentile |
| McCone (most recent published: 2025) | $9.60 | 66th percentile |
| Meagher | $8.50 | 34th percentile |
| Missoula | $8.70 | 42nd percentile |
| Musselshell | $5.60 | 5th percentile |
| Park | $12 | 75th percentile |
| Petroleum | $13.50 | 82nd percentile |
| Phillips | $10 | 52nd percentile |
| Pondera | $16.50 | 95th percentile |
| Powder River | $7.30 | 20th percentile |
| Powell | $8.70 | 42nd percentile |
| Prairie | $6 | 9th percentile |
| Ravalli | $29 | 99th percentile |
| Richland | $8.60 | 38th percentile |
| Roosevelt | $9.30 | 45th percentile |
| Rosebud | $6.70 | 14th percentile |
| Sanders | $4.70 | 3rd percentile |
| Sheridan | $8 | 26th percentile |
| Silver Bow | $8.60 | 38th percentile |
| Stillwater | $9.50 | 47th percentile |
| Sweet Grass | $8.10 | 30th percentile |
| Teton | $11.50 | 71st percentile |
| Toole | $12 | 75th percentile |
| Treasure | $4.40 | 1st percentile |
| Valley | $11 | 66th percentile |
| Wheatland | $7.10 | 18th percentile |
| Wibaux | $13.50 | 82nd percentile |
| Yellowstone | $6.50 | 11th percentile |
Grazing fee, 2025
Montana is one of the 17 states NASS surveys for private grazing-land lease rates (paying to graze cattle on someone else's rangeland, distinct from leasing the land itself).
- per animal-unit-month (AUM): $29.50 (81st percentile among the states publishing this rate)
- per cow-calf pair: $32.50/month (50th percentile among the states publishing this rate)
- per head: $29/month (73rd percentile among the states publishing this rate)
Every year on record, 1979–2025
The record runs deep: $7.78 per AUM in 1979, $29.50 in 2025 — 47 published years.
| Year | $/AUM | $/pair/mo | $/head/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $29.50 | $32.50 | $29 |
| 2024 | $29 | $31.50 | $28 |
| 2023 | $27.50 | $28.50 | $27 |
| 2022 | $27 | $28 | $26.50 |
| 2021 | $26.50 | $28 | $26 |
| 2020 | $23.50 | $26 | $24 |
| 2019 | $24.50 | $26 | $24 |
| 2018 | $24.50 | $26 | $24.50 |
| 2017 | $24.50 | $27 | $24 |
| 2016 | $24 | $26 | $24 |
| 2015 | $23 | $26 | $23 |
| 2014 | $23 | $26 | $23 |
| 2013 | $21 | $23.60 | $20.80 |
| 2012 | $20.50 | $23.60 | $20.30 |
| 2011 | $19.40 | $21.60 | $19.50 |
| 2010 | $18.40 | $20.20 | $19.30 |
| 2009 | $18 | $20.20 | $18.90 |
| 2008 | $18.10 | $20 | $19.80 |
| 2007 | $17.80 | $20.10 | $19.20 |
| 2006 | $16.20 | $18.70 | $18.30 |
| 2005 | $16.20 | $18.70 | $17.30 |
| 2004 | $15.90 | $17.40 | $16.20 |
| 2003 | $15.20 | $17.40 | $15.90 |
| 2002 | $15.10 | $17.30 | $16.30 |
| 2001 | $14.90 | $16.70 | $16 |
| 2000 | $14.10 | $15.60 | $14.70 |
| 1999 | $13.20 | $15 | $14 |
| 1998 | $12.60 | $14.30 | $13.30 |
| 1997 | $12.30 | $13.90 | $13.20 |
| 1996 | $11.80 | $13.20 | $11.70 |
| 1995 | $11.90 | $13.70 | $12.80 |
| 1994 | $11.80 | $13.50 | $12.90 |
| 1993 | $11.40 | $12.90 | $11.50 |
| 1992 | $11.86 | $12.61 | $11.97 |
| 1991 | $10.58 | $12.13 | $10.53 |
| 1990 | $9.61 | $11.46 | $10.57 |
| 1989 | $9.61 | $11.35 | $7.72 |
| 1988 | $9.79 | $11.30 | $8.79 |
| 1987 | $7.94 | $9.52 | — |
| 1986 | $8.30 | $9.35 | $7.85 |
| 1985 | $8.80 | $10.63 | $9.38 |
| 1984 | $9.48 | $11.28 | $9.94 |
| 1983 | $9.23 | $11.12 | $9.99 |
| 1982 | $8.90 | $10.67 | — |
| 1981 | $9.40 | $11.30 | $8.63 |
| 1980 | $9.07 | $10.52 | $8.04 |
| 1979 | $7.78 | $9.37 | $7.33 |
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