# Granite County, Montana: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Hall and Maxville No data center or power plant project is on record in Granite County, but the national build-out still reaches it through its utility bill, its labor market and the projects next door. Granite County is home to Philipsburg. Unemployment was 3.9% in August 2026, against 6.9% in 2019. Next door, Missoula County has 3 data centers. 3,658 people live here, up 10.6% since 2020. Its power plants have 2 MW of capacity, 100% of it hydro. 2 MW of operating power plants, mostly hydro -0.9% total jobs since 2019, now 931 14.23¢ per kWh for NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT) residential customers, 2024 ## Cities and towns in Granite County Granite County is home to Philipsburg. Philipsburg926 residents Drummond298 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Hall, Maxville. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Granite County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Montana | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 3,307 | 3,658 | ▲ 10.6% | 40th of 56 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 939 | 931 | ▼ 0.9% | 39th of 56 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $32,909 | $46,380 | ▲ 40.9% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 38 | 53 | ▲ 39.5% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 6.9% | 3.9% | ▼ 3.0pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT) is the largest utility serving Granite County, one of 3 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 14.23¢/kWh in 2024, above the 10.95¢ median for Montana utilities. Employers here counted 931 jobs in 2025, down 0.9% from 2019. ## Who powers Granite County ### Utilities with service territory in Granite County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT) | Investor Owned | Bundled | 328,127 | 14.23¢ | 49% | | Missoula Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 14,686 | 10.50¢ | 20% | | Bonneville Power Administration | — | — | — | — | — | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Hydro | 2 MW | 100% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Flint Creek Hydroelectric LLC | Hydrodynamics Inc | Hydro | 2 MW | 2013 | ## The Granite County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 931 | $46,380 | 1.00 | | Construction | 53 | $52,683 | 1.07 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Granite County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Granite County. Montana has 5 local measures on record statewide, and 1 neighboring county has one: [Missoula County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/montana/missoula-county). ## Granite County and its neighbors Of the 4 counties that border Granite County, Missoula County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Granite County | 3,658 | ▼ 0.9% | 2 MW | — | — | — | | Deer Lodge County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/montana/deer-lodge-county) | 9,709 | ▲ 7.6% | 203 MW | — | — | — | | Missoula County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/montana/missoula-county) | 123,513 | ▲ 7.3% | 6 MW | — | 3 | 1 | | Powell County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/montana/powell-county) | 7,157 | ▲ 1.8% | — | — | — | — | | Ravalli County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/montana/ravalli-county) | 48,582 | ▲ 13.5% | — | — | — | — | ## More of Montana [All Montana countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/montana)[Missoula County123,513 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/montana/missoula-county)[Ravalli County48,582 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/montana/ravalli-county)[Deer Lodge County9,709 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/montana/deer-lodge-county)[Powell County7,157 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/montana/powell-county) ## Granite County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Granite County, Montana? 3 utilities have service territory in Granite County in the EIA-861 2024 report: NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT), Missoula Electric Coop, Inc, Bonneville Power Administration. The largest, NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT), charged residential customers 14.23¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Granite County? 1 operating plant with 2 MW of capacity. The largest is Flint Creek Hydroelectric LLC (2 MW, hydro). ### Are there data centers in Granite County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Granite County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Missoula County. ### Is Granite County adding jobs? Employers counted 931 jobs in 2025 against 939 in 2019 (-0.9%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 38 to 53. ### Does Granite County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Granite County. Montana has 5 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/montana/granite-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).