Mysterious exodus from idyllic Montana mountain town despite state booming for years
The idyllic town of Great Falls in Montana has seen an exodus of people while much of the state continues to attract newcomers.
In the latest data from the US Census Bureau, Great Falls was noted as the only large Montana city to consistently see its population decline since 2020.
The city lost 230 people from 2023 to 2024, while many other hubs in the state have grown as people flocked during the pandemic.
Great Falls' population decline is still relatively small compared to its population of over 60,000, and it remains around half the size of Montana's largest city, Billings, at 123,000.
Billings grew by 686 people in that same time frame, with the second most populated city, Missoula, growing its 77,000-people population by 557 people.
Montana's idyllic scenery and low taxes drew in many people during the pandemic as people opted to work remotely from the state.
But the rapid growth has slowed according to the new census data, with cities such as Bozeman still growing but at a much lower rate.
From 2020 to 2021, Bozeman grew at three percent as it added over a thousand new residents, but this fell to a 1.4 percent rate from 2023 to 2024.
The next town over from Bozeman, Belgrade, saw an even bigger drop than the major city as the influx it saw from the pandemic slowed dramatically.
In 2021, Belgrade grew by a huge 8.1 percent, but this dropped to a growth rate of just 2.3 percent this year as its population grew by 280 residents, per the Montana Free Press.
But while much of Montana grew since the pandemic in 2020, Great Falls is the only major city in the state that consistently shrunk.
Statewide, migration from those already living in the US has reportedly been the primary driver of Montana's population surge.
Between 2020 and 2023, over 51,000 more people moved into Montana than moved away, according to the census bureau.
Over 6,000 more people moved into Montana than moved out in 2024 alone, with a huge majority of those coming from other states rather than people born outside the US.
It comes as startling new data on the US population found that the nation's natural-born population could be almost extinct in just 500 years.
Not taking into account immigration or major changes in death rates, statisticians predict this group could be cut by at least one-third every 75 years.
This, economist Dr Abigail Hall told DailyMail.com, is a clear sign the US is heading toward a 'detrimental' crisis.
Dr Hall, an associate professor of economics at the University of Tampa, told DailyMail.com: 'Economically speaking, depopulation is detrimental for economic growth.'
'One thing people would probably witness is that it's going to be harder to find people to fill jobs.'
Experts have warned that as the US population dwindles, there will be fewer people to pay off the nation's debt.
For example, the Heritage Foundation estimates a baby born in 2007 will assume $30,500 in debt. However, a baby born in 2020 will assume $59,000.
Based on the current trends, recent Census data predicts the natural-born population in the US will be back to levels of the post-Civil War era in the next 300 years, with just 60million people.
And around the year 2600, this population could dwindle to only 10million, a number not seen since the early 1800s when the country bounced back from the Revolutionary War.
Dr Hall highlights America's flailing fertility rate, which was laid bare in a report last month by the CDC.
The report found women on average had 1.6 births each in 2023, well below the 2.1 needed to sustain population growth.
Political leaders are warning of dire consequences, with Elon Musk often saying population decline could become one of the most pressing issues to face humanity in the coming decades.
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