Best Counties for Land Flipping in Montana (2026)
The best counties for land flipping in Montana are Flathead County, Gallatin County and Lincoln County. We ranked 56 Montana counties on how much vacant land they have and how many owners live away from their property, using Montana State Library cadastral parcel records (2026-06 cadastral).
The top 5 and why
1. Flathead County
Score 95/100
14,086 vacant parcels, 17% of owners live out of state and 59% of owners are absentee. The typical vacant parcel is 3.5 acres.
2. Gallatin County
Score 85/100
9,312 vacant parcels, 15% of owners live out of state and 45% of owners are absentee. The typical vacant parcel is 9.7 acres.
3. Lincoln County
Score 83/100
17% of owners live out of state and 46% of owners are absentee. The typical vacant parcel is 5.1 acres.
4. Carbon County
Score 81/100
19% of owners live out of state and 44% of owners are absentee. The typical vacant parcel is 40 acres.
5. Lake County
Score 78/100
60% of owners are absentee. The typical vacant parcel is 10 acres.
Montana county ranking
The top 25 of 56 ranked counties. Every county's numbers are on the Montana land statistics page, with a CSV download. To compare Montana with other states, see the national ranking.
| # | County | Score | Vacant parcels | Out-of-state | Absentee | Median vacant acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flathead County | 95 | 14,086 | 17% | 59% | 3.5 |
| 2 | Gallatin County | 85 | 9,312 | 15% | 45% | 9.7 |
| 3 | Lincoln County | 83 | 6,336 | 17% | 46% | 5.1 |
| 4 | Carbon County | 81 | 5,919 | 19% | 44% | 40 |
| 5 | Lake County | 78 | 5,842 | 14% | 60% | 10 |
| 6 | Sanders County | 77 | 4,684 | 16% | 60% | 12.1 |
| 7 | Madison County | 73 | 7,343 | 27% | 21% | 20.1 |
| 8 | Big Horn County | 73 | 6,520 | 17% | 27% | 156.1 |
| 9 | Ravalli County | 73 | 7,494 | 12% | 36% | 9.9 |
| 10 | Park County | 72 | 3,920 | 21% | 46% | 21.8 |
| 11 | Fergus County | 66 | 11,089 | 10% | 27% | 80 |
| 12 | Stillwater County | 65 | 4,550 | 13% | 42% | 39.8 |
| 13 | Missoula County | 64 | 7,299 | 9% | 45% | 4.8 |
| 14 | Mineral County | 62 | 1,529 | 17% | 51% | 4.3 |
| 15 | Jefferson County | 59 | 4,205 | 10% | 47% | 17.1 |
| 16 | Cascade County | 58 | 9,665 | 7% | 31% | 36.3 |
| 17 | Lewis and Clark County | 58 | 7,754 | 8% | 32% | 12.4 |
| 18 | Yellowstone County | 57 | 11,843 | 6% | 36% | 5 |
| 19 | Custer County | 57 | 5,050 | 11% | 29% | 320 |
| 20 | Granite County | 57 | 2,332 | 16% | 37% | 20 |
| 21 | Rosebud County | 56 | 6,153 | 11% | 25% | 320 |
| 22 | Musselshell County | 55 | 4,016 | 16% | 27% | 49.6 |
| 23 | Sweet Grass County | 53 | 2,474 | 15% | 35% | 181.8 |
| 24 | Powell County | 51 | 2,854 | 14% | 30% | 40.5 |
| 25 | Beaverhead County | 49 | 5,049 | 10% | 24% | 87.9 |
How the ranking works
- Vacant land supply: the number of parcels the county itself codes as vacant land. More vacant parcels means more owners to make offers to.
- Out-of-state owners: the share of owners whose mailing address is in another state. Distant owners rarely use their land and are the core of most land mail campaigns.
- Absentee owners: the share whose mailing address is not the parcel's address, a wider version of the same signal.
- Each county is ranked against the rest of Montana on all three, and the score is the average, from 0 to 100. Counties with fewer than 500 vacant parcels or 1,000 mailable owners are left out, as are counties whose address records can't support the owner-location comparison.
- What it doesn't measure: sale prices, how fast land sells, or buyer demand. Parcel records don't carry those, so check sold comps and access for any parcel before you buy.
Ready to mail? Build a list of vacant-land owners in any of these counties, filtered by acreage and owner location.
Land flipping in Montana: FAQ
What is the best county for land flipping in Montana?
On our parcel-record ranking, Flathead County comes first in Montana, followed by Gallatin County and Lincoln County. 14,086 vacant parcels, 17% of owners live out of state and 59% of owners are absentee. The typical vacant parcel is 3.5 acres. The ranking covers 56 Montana counties and measures how much vacant land a county has and how many of its owners live away from their property.
How is the land flipping score calculated?
Each county is ranked against the other counties in its state on three figures from its own parcel roll: the number of vacant land parcels, the share of owners whose mailing address is in another state, and the share whose mailing address is not the parcel's address. The score is the average of those three rankings, from 0 to 100, so a county scores high only when it does well on more than one. Counties with fewer than 500 vacant parcels or fewer than 1,000 owners with a mailing address are left out.
Why do out-of-state and absentee owners matter for land flipping?
An owner who lives far from a vacant parcel rarely visits it, still pays taxes on it, and often has no plan for it. Those owners are the ones land investors usually mail with cash offers, and a county with many of them gives a mail campaign more owners to reach.
Does a high score mean land is cheap or sells fast there?
No. The score uses parcel records only, and parcel records carry no sale prices, days on market or buyer demand. Before you buy, check recent sold comps, road access, zoning and back taxes for the specific parcel.
Other states
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