Welcome to Missoula ...
The city of Missoula is located in Missoula County<1> and is the County Seat for Missoula County.
The location of Missoula has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
The pronunciation of Missoula: mih-ZOO-luh<3>
Missoula was established in 1860.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Missoula has a population of 75,836 people<4> (see below for details).
The community of Missoula is 3,180 feet [969 m] above sea level.<5> In other words, the elevation of Missoula is about ½ mile above sea level.
Time Zone: Missoula lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
Note: If you leave Missoula and travel west, you will leave Mountain Time and cross into the Pacific Time Zone (PST/PDT).
The telephone area code for Missoula: (406)
Websites for Missoula ...
Official Website: www.ci.missoula.mt.us/
Chamber of Commerce: www.missoulachamber.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Missoula had an population of 75,836 people. This is an increase of 13.55% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 32.92% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Missoula had a population of 66,788 people (or 61.11% of the total population of Missoula County). This makes Missoula the county's most populous community.
The population of Missoula represents 6.75% of the population of Montana (which has 989,415 people), making it the state's 2nd most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 66,788 people, the population of Missoula increased 17.06% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 57,053 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Missoula.
Communities near Missoula ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Missoula.
- Milltown
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
- Milltown is located in Missoula County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milltown <6>
- Bonner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonner
- Bonner is located in Missoula County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bonner <6>
- Piltzville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piltzville
- Piltzville is located in Missoula County
- Grass Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grass Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grass Valley
- Grass Valley is located in Missoula County
- Wye
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wye have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wye
- Wye is located in Missoula County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wye <6>
- Lolo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lolo
- Lolo is located in Missoula County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lolo <6>
- Evaro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Frenchtown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frenchtown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchtown
- Frenchtown is located in Missoula County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frenchtown <6>
- Clinton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clinton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Clinton is located in Missoula County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clinton <6>
- Florence
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Florence is located in Ravalli County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Florence <6>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Missoula. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Missoula.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Missoula. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Missoula.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Missoula. Our list includes 51 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Missoula.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Missoula ...
Looking for more information about Missoula? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Missoula, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Missoula.
Adding Missoula to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Missoula in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Missoula was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Missoula post office opened in 1866.
We also found Missoula in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Missoula.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Missoula: www.ci.missoula.mt.us/
The official website for Missoula County: www.co.missoula.mt.us/
The official website for State of Montana: https://mt.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Montana's counties, including Missoula, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Missoula. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Missoula. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Missoula - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |