View/Download GFDA 3rd Quarter Index 2026
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Numbers to Celebrate
Groundbreakings for $800 million aerospace manufacturing campus in Great Falls: 1
New homes being built in Meadowview Village development in Great Falls: 163
New homes being built in Bayview development: 90
Number of homes in Little Shell housing development approved: 115
Great Falls housing projects in pre-development: 10
Medical residents in Benefis Health System residency program: 32
Number of local employers who participated in 2026 Worlds of Work: 70
NeighborWorks Great Falls endowment raised to date: $3,300,000
New Great Falls tourism record set in 2025: over 1 million visitors
Investment in Montana Air National Guard new fuel facility: $33 million
Size of Admiral Beverage distribution facility opened in Great Falls AgriTech Park: 120,000 SF
Size of new Amazon distribution facility in Great Falls: 35,000 SF
Childcare professionals who attended Teaching Through Learning conference in Great Falls: 406
Number of Montana kids receiving Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library books each month: 31,000
City of Great Falls new Strategic Capital Investment Reserve funds put to work: $2,000,000+
High School House groundbreakings in Great Falls to date: 49
Date Allegiant plans to start direct Las Vegas flights from GTF: March 5, 2027
Total number of loans provided by GFDA in our first 30 years of lending: 258
Total amount of loans: $96,774,266
Total investment leveraged by these loans: over $400,000,000
Our cumulative loss of loan principal over 30 years: $455,528
Gap and bridge loans closed: 219
SBA 504 loans closed: 39
Brownfields sub-grants provided by GFDA in our first 30 years of lending: 12
GFDA Quarter Numbers
Site selection consultants met with at Logistics Development Forum: 8
Primary sector prospects who visited Great Falls: 5
Foreign direct investment prospects who visited Great Falls: 2
Proposals submitted to primary sector Requests for Information (RFIs): 2
National defense related out-of-state trips: 1
Developers who participated in GFDA Housing Development Red Carpet Tour: 7
Registrants for first Montana Rural Impact Federal Forum hosted by GFDA: 155
Experts brought to Great Falls to provide free business guidance and resources to local communities: 29
Opportunity Zone 2.0 nominations submitted to state: 3
GFDA gap and bridge loans closed: $2,250,000
Additional private investment leveraged by these loans: $6,278,414
More gap and bridge loans approved: $250,000
Additional private investment to be leveraged by these loans: $1,005,000
New loan capital secured during quarter: $881,000
Entrepreneurs and small business (SBDC) clients advised: 128
Rural clients advised: 60
Total client advising hours: 203
Capital secured by small business advising clients: $327,479
Businesses started by advising clients: 2
Businesses purchased by advising clients: 1
Entrepreneur and small business trainings: 4
Number of training participants: 29
Government contracting (APEX) clients advised: 60
New government contracting clients advised: 14
Government contracting advising sessions: 104
Active government contracting clients at end of quarter: 366
Government contracts won by clients: $16,165,665
Government contracting trainings: 2
Number of training participants: 31
Great Falls AgriTech Park acreage sold for business expansion: 11.6 acres
Total number of attendees at GFDA’s Data Center Task Force meetings to date: 298
High-skill and specialized job openings promoted through Live in Great Falls: 8
International economic development accreditation visits conducted: 3
International economic development reaccreditation visit hosted: 1
State Impact Awards won by GFDA: 3
National Impact Awards won by GFDA: 3
International Economic Development Organization of the Year Award won by GFDA: 1
Recent Economic Data
Average annual wage increase in Cascade County in four quarters ending 2026Q2: 4.5%
Dollar amount of average annual wage increase in Cascade County: $2,506
Cascade County average annual wage in 2026Q2: $58,681
Wage increase statewide during same four quarters: 3.9%
Total wage earnings increase in Cascade County for those quarters: $83,000,000
Interesting Factoids
Number of oil and gas rig applications in Montana in 2024: 6
Number of oil and gas rig applications in Montana 2026 to date: 500+
Percent of homes in Great Falls built pre-1978: 78%
Percent of homes pre 1978 that likely have lead paint: 70-80%
Size of Foreign-Trade Zone at Great Falls International Airport: 1,979 acres
Average acres of canola grown annually in Montana: 200,000
Trillions of dollars in predicted data center and AI investment from the top six hyperscalers through 2030: 7
Projected increase in data center investment in 2026 over 2025: 91%
Projected additional increase in 2027: 35%
Estimated annual property taxes a 500 MW data center in Montana would pay: $33.2 million
Estimated number of permanent jobs that would operate center: 168
Median wait time in months for new US solar projects to connect to the electric grid: 60
Average number of Americans applying to start a business each month since 2024: 466,000
Pacific Northwest high voltage transmission system owned by Bonneville Power Administration: 75%
For info contact Jolene Schalper at
JSchalper@GrowGreatFalls.org or 1-406-750-4481
