Montanan Updates Montana License Plates With Fascinating Graphic

We all know that Montana has changed drastically in the last three years. But even though this is a given, I still find myself fascinated by evidence of the changes, or data to support the changes we all see and feel every day.  

That’s why the graphic made by this Montanan made such an impression on me (and many other people, if you’ve already seen it). The Montana Arts Council posted to their Facebook page about Cody McCracken, a Montana, who created a Montana map of counties. That alone is not the interesting part. He depicted the counties as they would be represented by our license plates—as they should be now. 

How Montana License Plates Were Designated 

As he points out in his tweet, Montana created license plates based on the population size of the county. That meant that Butte, being the largest city in Silver Bow County at the time, has a “1” at the front of the number, followed by a combination of letters and numbers. Other major Montana cities have the following designations: Great Falls is “2”, Billings is “3”, Missoula is “4” and Helena is “5.” 

How Montana License Plates Should Be Designated 

The graphic that McCracken created shows what numbers each county should be based on their current population. Let’s just say, there are a lot of changes.  

Our major cities above with their new designations are:  

Butte: 8 

Great Falls: 5 

Billings: 1 

Missoula: 3 

Helena: 6 

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The Dramatic Changes in the Population Size of Montana Counties 

But what is more surprising is his second graphic—where he demonstrates which counties saw the most change, whether they were adding residents, or losing them.  

Some of the counties with the most change show rankings moving from 49 to 11 (Park) or 9 to 48 (Powder River).  

This graphic could be used in a lot of ways, but maybe the most useful is if you’re looking to live an even more “Montana” lifestyle, meaning, one with smaller towns and fewer people, this graphic will certainly give you an idea of where to go.  

h/t Montana Arts Council on Facebook