Counties in Montana by annual precipitation

Mineral County had the highest annual precipitation of 56 counties in 2017, at 45.52 inches. McCone County had the lowest, at 6 inches. The median was 15.14 inches and the figure for Montana was 17.43 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest45.52Mineral County
Median15.1456 counties
Montana17.43History

Map of counties, 2017

Beaverhead County: 21.7 inchesBig Horn County: 16.6 inchesBlaine County: 8.58 inchesBroadwater County: 15.01 inchesCarbon County: 20.79 inchesCarter County: 13.03 inchesCascade County: 16.23 inchesChouteau County: 11.61 inchesCuster County: 9.52 inchesDaniels County: 7.2 inchesDawson County: 8.19 inchesDeer Lodge County: 23.97 inchesFallon County: 10.53 inchesFergus County: 12.69 inchesFlathead County: 38.34 inchesGallatin County: 25.99 inchesGarfield County: 6.86 inchesGlacier County: 25.54 inchesGolden Valley County: 13.33 inchesGranite County: 27.38 inchesHill County: 9.5 inchesJefferson County: 16.71 inchesJudith Basin County: 16.28 inchesLake County: 28.28 inchesLewis and Clark County: 25.34 inchesLiberty County: 12.59 inchesLincoln County: 33.28 inchesMcCone County: 6 inchesMadison County: 24.74 inchesMeagher County: 19.21 inchesMineral County: 45.52 inchesMissoula County: 35.43 inchesMusselshell County: 11.42 inchesPark County: 29.66 inchesPetroleum County: 9.17 inchesPhillips County: 7.32 inchesPondera County: 16.27 inchesPowder River County: 13.23 inchesPowell County: 30.33 inchesPrairie County: 7.36 inchesRavalli County: 32.6 inchesRichland County: 8.44 inchesRoosevelt County: 6.84 inchesRosebud County: 10.43 inchesSanders County: 35.8 inchesSheridan County: 7.56 inchesSilver Bow County: 17.95 inchesStillwater County: 21.69 inchesSweet Grass County: 22.6 inchesTeton County: 18.06 inchesToole County: 12.71 inchesTreasure County: 11.95 inchesValley County: 6.29 inchesWheatland County: 15.01 inchesWibaux County: 9.99 inchesYellowstone County: 15.26 inches
  • Under 8.5
  • 8.5 to 12
  • 12 to 15
  • 15 to 20
  • 20 to 27
  • 27 and over
inches, 2017. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2017

Mineral County: 45.52 inchesMineral County45.52Flathead County: 38.34 inchesFlathead County38.34Sanders County: 35.8 inchesSanders County35.8Missoula County: 35.43 inchesMissoula County35.43Lincoln County: 33.28 inchesLincoln County33.28Ravalli County: 32.6 inchesRavalli County32.6Powell County: 30.33 inchesPowell County30.33Park County: 29.66 inchesPark County29.66Lake County: 28.28 inchesLake County28.28Granite County: 27.38 inchesGranite County27.38Gallatin County: 25.99 inchesGallatin County25.99Glacier County: 25.54 inchesGlacier County25.54Lewis and Clark County: 25.34 inchesLewis and Clark County25.34Madison County: 24.74 inchesMadison County24.74Deer Lodge County: 23.97 inchesDeer Lodge County23.97Sweet Grass County: 22.6 inchesSweet Grass County22.6Beaverhead County: 21.7 inchesBeaverhead County21.7Stillwater County: 21.69 inchesStillwater County21.69Carbon County: 20.79 inchesCarbon County20.79Meagher County: 19.21 inchesMeagher County19.21Teton County: 18.06 inchesTeton County18.06Silver Bow County: 17.95 inchesSilver Bow County17.95Jefferson County: 16.71 inchesJefferson County16.71Big Horn County: 16.6 inchesBig Horn County16.6Judith Basin County: 16.28 inchesJudith Basin County16.28Pondera County: 16.27 inchesPondera County16.27Cascade County: 16.23 inchesCascade County16.23Yellowstone County: 15.26 inchesYellowstone County15.26Broadwater County: 15.01 inchesBroadwater County15.01Wheatland County: 15.01 inchesWheatland County15.01Golden Valley County: 13.33 inchesGolden Valley County13.33Powder River County: 13.23 inchesPowder River County13.23Carter County: 13.03 inchesCarter County13.03Toole County: 12.71 inchesToole County12.71Fergus County: 12.69 inchesFergus County12.69Liberty County: 12.59 inchesLiberty County12.59Treasure County: 11.95 inchesTreasure County11.95Chouteau County: 11.61 inchesChouteau County11.61Musselshell County: 11.42 inchesMusselshell County11.42Fallon County: 10.53 inchesFallon County10.53Rosebud County: 10.43 inchesRosebud County10.43Wibaux County: 9.99 inchesWibaux County9.99Custer County: 9.52 inchesCuster County9.52Hill County: 9.5 inchesHill County9.5Petroleum County: 9.17 inchesPetroleum County9.17Blaine County: 8.58 inchesBlaine County8.58Richland County: 8.44 inchesRichland County8.44Dawson County: 8.19 inchesDawson County8.19Sheridan County: 7.56 inchesSheridan County7.56Prairie County: 7.36 inchesPrairie County7.36Phillips County: 7.32 inchesPhillips County7.32Daniels County: 7.2 inchesDaniels County7.2Garfield County: 6.86 inchesGarfield County6.86Roosevelt County: 6.84 inchesRoosevelt County6.84Valley County: 6.29 inchesValley County6.29McCone County: 6 inchesMcCone County6Mineral County: 45.52 inchesMineral County45.52Flathead County: 38.34 inchesFlathead County38.34Sanders County: 35.8 inchesSanders County35.8Missoula County: 35.43 inchesMissoula County35.43Lincoln County: 33.28 inchesLincoln County33.28Ravalli County: 32.6 inchesRavalli County32.6Powell County: 30.33 inchesPowell County30.33Park County: 29.66 inchesPark County29.66Lake County: 28.28 inchesLake County28.28Granite County: 27.38 inchesGranite County27.38Gallatin County: 25.99 inchesGallatin County25.99Glacier County: 25.54 inchesGlacier County25.54Lewis and Clark County: 25.34 inchesLewis and Clark County25.34Madison County: 24.74 inchesMadison County24.74Deer Lodge County: 23.97 inchesDeer Lodge County23.97Sweet Grass County: 22.6 inchesSweet Grass County22.6Beaverhead County: 21.7 inchesBeaverhead County21.7Stillwater County: 21.69 inchesStillwater County21.69Carbon County: 20.79 inchesCarbon County20.79Meagher County: 19.21 inchesMeagher County19.21Teton County: 18.06 inchesTeton County18.06Silver Bow County: 17.95 inchesSilver Bow County17.95Jefferson County: 16.71 inchesJefferson County16.71Big Horn County: 16.6 inchesBig Horn County16.6Judith Basin County: 16.28 inchesJudith Basin County16.28Pondera County: 16.27 inchesPondera County16.27Cascade County: 16.23 inchesCascade County16.23Yellowstone County: 15.26 inchesYellowstone County15.26Broadwater County: 15.01 inchesBroadwater County15.01Wheatland County: 15.01 inchesWheatland County15.01Golden Valley County: 13.33 inchesGolden Valley County13.33Powder River County: 13.23 inchesPowder River County13.23Carter County: 13.03 inchesCarter County13.03Toole County: 12.71 inchesToole County12.71Fergus County: 12.69 inchesFergus County12.69Liberty County: 12.59 inchesLiberty County12.59Treasure County: 11.95 inchesTreasure County11.95Chouteau County: 11.61 inchesChouteau County11.61Musselshell County: 11.42 inchesMusselshell County11.42Fallon County: 10.53 inchesFallon County10.53Rosebud County: 10.43 inchesRosebud County10.43Wibaux County: 9.99 inchesWibaux County9.99Custer County: 9.52 inchesCuster County9.52Hill County: 9.5 inchesHill County9.5Petroleum County: 9.17 inchesPetroleum County9.17Blaine County: 8.58 inchesBlaine County8.58Richland County: 8.44 inchesRichland County8.44Dawson County: 8.19 inchesDawson County8.19Sheridan County: 7.56 inchesSheridan County7.56Prairie County: 7.36 inchesPrairie County7.36Phillips County: 7.32 inchesPhillips County7.32Daniels County: 7.2 inchesDaniels County7.2Garfield County: 6.86 inchesGarfield County6.86Roosevelt County: 6.84 inchesRoosevelt County6.84Valley County: 6.29 inchesValley County6.29McCone County: 6 inchesMcCone County6
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2017
inches
Change on 2016
1Mineral County45.52+18.9%
2Flathead County38.34-5.1%
3Sanders County35.8+3.7%
4Missoula County35.43+17.8%
5Lincoln County33.28-9.9%
6Ravalli County32.6+22.6%
7Powell County30.33+24.6%
8Park County29.66+19.9%
9Lake County28.28+1.7%
10Granite County27.38+31.1%
11Gallatin County25.99+10.7%
12Glacier County25.54+0.8%
13Lewis and Clark County25.34+23.5%
14Madison County24.74+10.2%
15Deer Lodge County23.97+24%
16Sweet Grass County22.6+25.1%
17Beaverhead County21.7+8.3%
18Stillwater County21.69+24.9%
19Carbon County20.79+25.8%
20Meagher County19.21-11.7%
21Teton County18.06+6.7%
22Silver Bow County17.95+19.5%
23Jefferson County16.71+3.6%
24Big Horn County16.6-13.3%
25Judith Basin County16.28-21.9%
26Pondera County16.27-2.1%
27Cascade County16.23-8.7%
28Yellowstone County15.26-5.9%
29Broadwater County15.01-10.2%
29Wheatland County15.01-6.4%
31Golden Valley County13.33-16.2%
32Powder River County13.23-18.8%
33Carter County13.03-6%
34Toole County12.71-12.6%
35Fergus County12.69-40.1%
36Liberty County12.59-22.9%
37Treasure County11.95-38.8%
38Chouteau County11.61-37.8%
39Musselshell County11.42-37.5%
40Fallon County10.53-39.3%
41Rosebud County10.43-43.6%
42Wibaux County9.99-47.2%
43Custer County9.52-40.9%
44Hill County9.5-49.9%
45Petroleum County9.17-53.3%
46Blaine County8.58-61.8%
47Richland County8.44-47.6%
48Dawson County8.19-49.5%
49Sheridan County7.56-58.4%
50Prairie County7.36-53.3%
51Phillips County7.32-65.8%
52Daniels County7.2-62.7%
53Garfield County6.86-63.7%
54Roosevelt County6.84-60.6%
55Valley County6.29-69.6%
56McCone County6-64.9%

Other periods

About this ranking

Total precipitation from January to December, in inches: rain plus the water content of snow and other frozen precipitation. NOAA computes it from its climate divisional dataset (nClimDiv): station readings interpolated onto a 5 km grid and averaged over the area.

Values are area averages, not the reading at one weather station. NOAA revises the last two years every month.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. (2026). NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties (Counties in Montana by annual precipitation, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping

MLA 9

NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Montana by annual precipitation, 2017. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 6 Oct. 2026, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/montana-counties?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 2026. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Counties in Montana by annual precipitation, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/montana-counties?period=2017.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Montana by annual precipitation, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/montana-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_montana_by_2017,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Montana by annual precipitation, 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/montana-counties?period=2017. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
TI  - NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Montana by annual precipitation, 2017
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
PB  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/montana-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/montana-counties?period=2017.
N1  - Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest annual precipitation?

Mineral County, with 45.52 inches in 2017, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

McCone County, with 6 inches in 2017.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Annual precipitation: other rankings

Counties in Montana: more rankings