List of municipalities in Montana
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Montana is a state located in the Western United States. According to the 2020 United States Census, Montana is the 8th least populous state with Template:Nts inhabitants but the 4th largest by land area spanning Template:Convert of land.<ref name="2020Pop">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Montana is divided into 56 counties and contains 129 municipalities comprising cities and towns.<ref name="2020Pop" /> Montana's municipalities cover only Template:Percentage of the state's land mass but are home to Template:Percentage of its population.<ref name="Census 2010">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Montana Code 7-1-4124 gives municipal governments in Montana powers to enact ordinances, borrow money, and enact eminent domain among other legal powers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In Montana, municipalities are divided into four classes by state statute based on their population.<ref name="MCA7-1-4111">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Members of the three largest classes are deemed cities, while the members of the fourth class are called towns. Cities and towns are classified at the time of their organization, and are reorganized when they change classification due to an increase or decrease in population. A place may incorporate as a town with the support of 300 electors or two-thirds of the registered electors.<ref name="MCA7-2-4101">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A municipality with a population between 1,000 and 5,000 people is a Third Class city. A municipality with a population between 5,000 and 10,000 people is a Second Class city. And a municipality with a population over 10,000 people is a First Class city. Under certain exceptions municipalities with a population of between 9,000 and 10,000 may elect by resolution to be either a First or Second Class city. Under similar exceptions municipalities with a population of between 5,000 and 7,500 may elect by resolution to be either a Second or Third Class city. Municipalities with a population of between 1,000 and 2,500 may by resolution be classified as either a town or Third Class city.<ref name="MCA7-1-4112">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Unincorporated places such as census-designated places fall outside this scheme, and are subject to county governance, and thus are neither cities nor towns.
The largest municipality by population in Montana is Billings with 117,116 residents, and the smallest municipality by population is Ismay with 17 residents.<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The largest municipality by land area is Anaconda, a consolidated city-county, which spans Template:Convert, while Rexford and Flaxville are the smallest at Template:Convert.<ref name="Census 2010" />
List of cities and towns
- Largest cities and towns in Montana by population
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Downtown Billings, Montana's largest municipality by population
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Missoula, Montana's second largest municipality by population
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Great Falls, third largest municipality by population in Montana
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Downtown Bozeman, Montana's fourth largest municipality by population
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Uptown Butte, fifth largest municipality by population in Montana
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Kalispell, looking toward Glacier National Park
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Havre railroad station and the sculpture "U.S. − Canada Friendship"
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Downtown Anaconda, the largest city in Montana by land area
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Downtown Miles City, Montana's eleventh largest municipality by population
See also
References
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