# Last Best Future 2026 State of Montana Survey: the questionnaire Every question as it was mailed to Montana adults by Social Data Collection and Analysis Services, Montana State University Bozeman, with its answer options and codes. Fielded 2026-09-16 to 2026-10-23; 484 responses, about 12% response rate, margin of error about ±4.4 points. A random sample of Montana adults was drawn from a general population marketing address list, stratified by county with proportional sampling within counties. Sampled individuals received a mailed questionnaire with a prepaid reply envelope and the option to answer online; authorization codes prevented duplicate responses. Responses were weighted by iterative proportional fitting (raking) to population margins for age, gender, education and a more-urban versus more-rural county identifier, and weights were iteratively trimmed to between 1/6 and 6. Population data: 2024 5-year ACS (age, gender), the October 2024 IPUMS CPS supplement (education) and the 2020 decennial census (percent rural). Results: https://thestateofmontana.org/report.md · Data: https://thestateofmontana.org/data/findings.json · Microdata: https://thestateofmontana.org/data/state-of-montana-2026.csv · MSU report (PDF): https://thestateofmontana.org/reports/LBF_StateOfMT_2026_WeightedFrequencies_26Oct2026.pdf ## Are you generally optimistic or generally pessimistic about each of the following? - **My own personal economic future over the next 2 years** (`perecon`, choice) 1 = Generally pessimistic; 2 = Generally optimistic; 66 = Unsure - **The future of Montana** (`mtfut`, choice) 1 = Generally pessimistic; 2 = Generally optimistic; 66 = Unsure - **The future of the United States of America** (`usafut`, choice) 1 = Generally pessimistic; 2 = Generally optimistic; 66 = Unsure ## To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? - **The American Dream is still attainable** (`amdream`, scale) 1 = Strongly disagree; 2 = Disagree; 3 = Somewhat disagree; 4 = Somewhat agree; 5 = Agree; 6 = Strongly agree; 66 = Unsure - **General advances in technology will positively affect my economic future** (`techec`, scale) 1 = Strongly disagree; 2 = Disagree; 3 = Somewhat disagree; 4 = Somewhat agree; 5 = Agree; 6 = Strongly agree; 66 = Unsure - **Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) will positively affect my economic future** (`aiec`, scale) 1 = Strongly disagree; 2 = Disagree; 3 = Somewhat disagree; 4 = Somewhat agree; 5 = Agree; 6 = Strongly agree; 66 = Unsure ## My Town: Community Ratings - **Shared sense of belonging** (`cbelong`, scale) 1 = Very bad; 2 = Bad; 3 = Somewhat bad; 4 = Somewhat good; 5 = Good; 6 = Very good; 66 = Unsure - **Shared culture** (`csharec`, scale) 1 = Very bad; 2 = Bad; 3 = Somewhat bad; 4 = Somewhat good; 5 = Good; 6 = Very good; 66 = Unsure - **Supportiveness and cooperation** (`csupp`, scale) 1 = Very bad; 2 = Bad; 3 = Somewhat bad; 4 = Somewhat good; 5 = Good; 6 = Very good; 66 = Unsure ## My Town: Economy Ratings - **Health of the economy overall** (`ehealth`, scale) 1 = Very bad; 2 = Bad; 3 = Somewhat bad; 4 = Somewhat good; 5 = Good; 6 = Very good; 66 = Unsure - **Ease of finding a job** (`ejob`, scale) 1 = Very bad; 2 = Bad; 3 = Somewhat bad; 4 = Somewhat good; 5 = Good; 6 = Very good; 66 = Unsure - **As a place to build a business** (`ebuss`, scale) 1 = Very bad; 2 = Bad; 3 = Somewhat bad; 4 = Somewhat good; 5 = Good; 6 = Very good; 66 = Unsure ## My Town: Family Ratings - **General safety** (`fsafe`, scale) 1 = Very bad; 2 = Bad; 3 = Somewhat bad; 4 = Somewhat good; 5 = Good; 6 = Very good; 66 = Unsure - **Quality of schools** (`fschool`, scale) 1 = Very bad; 2 = Bad; 3 = Somewhat bad; 4 = Somewhat good; 5 = Good; 6 = Very good; 66 = Unsure - **Access to quality healthcare** (`fhaccess`, scale) 1 = Very bad; 2 = Bad; 3 = Somewhat bad; 4 = Somewhat good; 5 = Good; 6 = Very good; 66 = Unsure - **Access to quality childcare** (`fccare`, scale) 1 = Very bad; 2 = Bad; 3 = Somewhat bad; 4 = Somewhat good; 5 = Good; 6 = Very good; 66 = Unsure ## My Town: Affordability Ratings - **General affordability** (`aafford`, scale) 1 = Very bad; 2 = Bad; 3 = Somewhat bad; 4 = Somewhat good; 5 = Good; 6 = Very good; 66 = Unsure - **Affordability of available housing** (`ahouse`, scale) 1 = Very bad; 2 = Bad; 3 = Somewhat bad; 4 = Somewhat good; 5 = Good; 6 = Very good; 66 = Unsure ## My Town: Walkability Ratings - **General walkability** (`walkgen`, scale) 1 = Very bad; 2 = Bad; 3 = Somewhat bad; 4 = Somewhat good; 5 = Good; 6 = Very good; 66 = Unsure - **Ease of doing daily activities (groceries, work, school, coffee) by walking or biking** (`walkact`, scale) 1 = Very bad; 2 = Bad; 3 = Somewhat bad; 4 = Somewhat good; 5 = Good; 6 = Very good; 66 = Unsure ## To what extent do you support of oppose each of the following in Montana? - **Allowing communities the option of applying a sales tax to tourist spending to support locals** (`saletax`, scale) 1 = Strongly oppose; 2 = Oppose; 3 = Somewhat oppose; 4 = Somewhat support; 5 = Support; 6 = Strongly support; 66 = Unsure - **Increased property taxes on second homes to fund more affordable housing for others** (`proptax`, scale) 1 = Strongly oppose; 2 = Oppose; 3 = Somewhat oppose; 4 = Somewhat support; 5 = Support; 6 = Strongly support; 66 = Unsure - **Community planning that prioritizes density over sprawl** (`density`, scale) 1 = Strongly oppose; 2 = Oppose; 3 = Somewhat oppose; 4 = Somewhat support; 5 = Support; 6 = Strongly support; 66 = Unsure - **A childcare stipend for working parents for every child aged 0-5** (`childst`, scale) 1 = Strongly oppose; 2 = Oppose; 3 = Somewhat oppose; 4 = Somewhat support; 5 = Support; 6 = Strongly support; 66 = Unsure - **Increased funding to pay public school teachers with increased performance standards** (`teachpay`, scale) 1 = Strongly oppose; 2 = Oppose; 3 = Somewhat oppose; 4 = Somewhat support; 5 = Support; 6 = Strongly support; 66 = Unsure - **Limiting the influence of money in politics** (`polmon`, scale) 1 = Strongly oppose; 2 = Oppose; 3 = Somewhat oppose; 4 = Somewhat support; 5 = Support; 6 = Strongly support; 66 = Unsure - **Limiting the role of political parties in our elections and institutions** (`polpart`, scale) 1 = Strongly oppose; 2 = Oppose; 3 = Somewhat oppose; 4 = Somewhat support; 5 = Support; 6 = Strongly support; 66 = Unsure - **Constructing artificial intelligence (AI) data centers** (`datacen`, scale) 1 = Strongly oppose; 2 = Oppose; 3 = Somewhat oppose; 4 = Somewhat support; 5 = Support; 6 = Strongly support; 66 = Unsure - **Ensuring public lands remain under public management** (`pland`, scale) 1 = Strongly oppose; 2 = Oppose; 3 = Somewhat oppose; 4 = Somewhat support; 5 = Support; 6 = Strongly support; 66 = Unsure ## To what extent do you support of oppose each of the following? - **American defense of democracy abroad** (`defdem`, scale) 1 = Strongly oppose; 2 = Oppose; 3 = Somewhat oppose; 4 = Somewhat support; 5 = Support; 6 = Strongly support; 66 = Unsure - **A legal pathway to citizenship for immigrants who already live here and can meet certain conditions** (`immpath`, scale) 1 = Strongly oppose; 2 = Oppose; 3 = Somewhat oppose; 4 = Somewhat support; 5 = Support; 6 = Strongly support; 66 = Unsure - **Government treating everyone equally regardless of their identity** (`equalt`, scale) 1 = Strongly oppose; 2 = Oppose; 3 = Somewhat oppose; 4 = Somewhat support; 5 = Support; 6 = Strongly support; 66 = Unsure - **Addressing the federal debt with a bipartisan solution that must include spending cuts to core programs** (`bidebt`, scale) 1 = Strongly oppose; 2 = Oppose; 3 = Somewhat oppose; 4 = Somewhat support; 5 = Support; 6 = Strongly support; 66 = Unsure ## Were you born in Montana? - **Were you born in Montana?** (`mtborn`, choice) 0 = No; 1 = Yes; 66 = Unsure ## What is your gender? - **What is your gender?** (`gender`, choice) 1 = Male; 2 = Female; 3 = Other / prefer not to say ## Do you own or rent your residence? - **Do you own or rent your residence?** (`rentown`, choice) 1 = Own; 2 = Rent; 3 = Other ## How long have you lived in Montana? - **How long have you lived in Montana?** (`longlive`, choice) 1 = Less than 2 years; 2 = 2-5 years; 3 = 6-10 years; 4 = 11-20 years; 5 = 20+ years; 66 = Don't know ## Which of the following age categories applies to you? - **Which of the following age categories applies to you?** (`age2`, choice) 1 = 18-34; 2 = 35-44; 3 = 45-54; 4 = 55-64; 5 = 65-74; 6 = 75-84; 7 = 85+ ## About what percent of your household income goes to housing each month? - **About what percent of your household income goes to housing each month?** (`phouse`, choice) 1 = Less than 20%; 2 = 20-29%; 3 = 30-39%; 4 = 40-49%; 5 = 50% or more; 66 = Unsure ## What is the highest degree or level of school you have completed? - **What is the highest degree or level of school you have completed?** (`educ`, choice) 1 = Less than high school; 2 = High school diploma/GED; 3 = Associate/junior college degree; 4 = Bachelor's degree; 5 = Graduate degree ## Which of the following best describes your current work situation? - **Which of the following best describes your current work situation?** (`employ`, choice) 1 = Work locally for a Montana employer; 2 = Work remotely for an out-of-state employer; 3 = Self-employed; 4 = Retired; 5 = Primarily a student; 6 = Doing uncompensated work; 7 = Not currently employed ## What grade would you give each of the following elected officials for their job performance? - **Your local town mayor or equivalent** (`gmayor`, grade) 1 = F; 2 = D; 3 = C; 4 = B; 5 = A; 66 = Unsure - **Montana Governor Greg Gianforte** (`ggian`, grade) 1 = F; 2 = D; 3 = C; 4 = B; 5 = A; 66 = Unsure - **U.S. Senator Steve Daines** (`gdaines`, grade) 1 = F; 2 = D; 3 = C; 4 = B; 5 = A; 66 = Unsure - **U.S. Senator Tim Sheehy** (`gsheehy`, grade) 1 = F; 2 = D; 3 = C; 4 = B; 5 = A; 66 = Unsure - **U.S. President Donald Trump** (`gtrump`, grade) 1 = F; 2 = D; 3 = C; 4 = B; 5 = A; 66 = Unsure ## Generally speaking, do you think of yourself as a Republican, a Democrat, an Independent, or something else? - **Generally speaking, do you think of yourself as a Republican, a Democrat, an Independent, or something else?** (`party`, choice) 1 = Republican; 2 = Democrat; 3 = Independent; 4 = Something else ## Where do you place yourself on the political ideology scale below? - **Where do you place yourself on the political ideology scale below?** (`ideology`, choice) 1 = Extremely conservative; 2 = Conservative; 3 = Slightly conservative; 4 = Moderate / middle of the road; 5 = Slightly liberal; 6 = Liberal; 7 = Extremely liberal ## Finish the following. "Montana values are ... " - **Finish the following. "Montana values are ... "** (`mtvalues`, open) ## What is one big idea you have that would improve your town or the state of Montana? - **What is one big idea you have that would improve your town or the state of Montana?** (`bigidea`, open)