Montana Is Buzzing As One Of The Best Beekeeping States

Buzz... buzz... buzz.

Bees are essential to humans and our food supply. The United Nations Environment Program says "a third of the world's food production depends on bees."

So make sure you are BEEing friendly to all the bees.

via GIPHY

We are buzzing over a recent ranking that placed Montana in the top 5 of the best states for beekeeping. Lawn Love published a study looking at 2024's Best States For Beekeeping.

We compared 39 of the 50 states with available data based on 4 categories - Lawnlove.com

The 4 categories are:

1. Economic/Profitability (Average Beekeeper salaries, price of honey, total production)

2, Colony & Population Health (Max number of colonies, annual change in colony numbers)

3. Education & Support (Number of Beekeeper Associations and apiculture establishments)

4. Environmental & Regulatory Factors (Yard sizes, rainfall averages, number of extreme hot or cold days and droughts)

All 4 categories were combined into a single, cumulative score. Montana ranked #5 in the country with an overall score of 40.32. Montana's best categories were Colony & Population Health and Environmental & Regulatory Factors, ranking #4 in both.

READ MORE: Missoula Airport: No Flights For 6 Days In September 2025

The top 5 is an eclectic mix of states. Ahead of the Treasure State, is #1 California, #2 New York, #3 North Dakota and #4 Texas. The best beekeeping states range from the Northeast to the West Coast to the mountains and upper plains. Who would have guessed? 11 states weren't judged because of insufficient data, but the bottom 5 states were #39 Arkansas, #38 Utah, #37 Arizona, #36 Maine and #35 Kansas.

Good on Montana for supporting the bees and thus supporting Earth's food supply.