The Meaning Of The First Number On Your Montana Plate

Montana has a bunch of license plates to choose from. There are over 200 different plates at the time of writing. A lot of times, the plates help support a charity that gets money every time you license your rig. It's nice.

READ MORE: Montana IDs Are Going Digital

There's just this one thing that people ask about all the time:

What Does The First Number On A Montana License Plate Mean?

According to all of my research, the first number on the plate represents the population of the county you reside in as of the 1930 census. Basically, they based the numbers on population, and at the time, even though Great Falls was bigger, Butte had more people.

That's why before the 2 zillion billion quadrillion or so plates Montana had available, you could always tell where someone lived by their license plate. Now, not so much.

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What Are The Counties and Their Seats On Montana License Plates?

1. Butte/Silverbow County

2. Great Falls/Cascade County

3. Billings/Yellowstone County

4. Missoula/Missoula County

5. Helena/Lewis and Clark County

6. Bozeman/Gallatin County

7. Kalispell/Flathead County

8. Lewistown/Fergus County

9. Broadus/Powder River County

10. Red Lodge/Carbon County

11.Malta/Phillips County

12. Havre/Hill County

13. Hamilton/Ravalli County

14. Miles City/Custer County

15. Polson/Lake County

16. Glendive/Dawson County

17. Wolf Point/Roosevelt County

18. Dillon/Beaverhead County

19. Fort Benton/Choteau County

20. Glascow/Valley County

21. Shelby/Toole County

22. Hardin/Big Horn County

23. Roundup/Musselshell County

24. Chinook/Blaine County

25. Virginia City/Madison County

26. Conrad/Pondera County

27. Sidney/Richland County

28. Deer Lodge/Powell County

29. Forsyth/Rosebud County

30. Anaconda/Deer Lodge County

31. Choteau/Teton County

32. Columbus/Stillwater County

33. Hysham/Treasure County

34. Plentywood/Sheridan County

35. Thompson Falls/Sanders County

36. Stanford/Judith Basin County

37. Scobey/Daniels County

38. Cutbank/Glacier County

39. Baker/Fallon County

40. Big Timber/Sweet Grass County

41. Circle/McCone County

42. Ekalaka/Carter County

43. Townsend/Broadwater County

44. Harlowton/Wheatland County

45. Terry/Prairie County

46. Philipsburg/Granite County

47. White Sulphur Springs/Meagher County

48. Chester/Liberty County

49. Livingston/Park County

50. Jordan/Garfield County

51. Boulder/Jefferson County

52. Wibaux/Wibaux County

53. Ryegate/Golden Valley

54. Superior/Mineral County

55. Winnett/Petroleum County

56. Libby/Lincoln County

Now who's the smartest one on the road-trip?

Sources: NBC Montana, Montana Motor Vehicle Division, Wikipedia, Montana Association of Counties, Montana Senior News