Resident Survey

This survey is closed and the responses were analyzed and posted on the Updates + Resources page.


In September 2021, Western Montana's Glacier Country kicked off a year-long destination stewardship planning process to balance visitor growth with the long-term health and vibrancy of Montana’s communities, natural resources and quality of life for our residents. 

The resident survey is a foundational step of the destination stewardship planning process with the goal to identify and define general attitudes towards living in Western Montana’s Glacier Country and tourism’s impact on resident quality of life.

Residents of Flathead, Glacier, Lake, Lincoln, Mineral, Missoula or Ravalli or Sanders county were invited to take this survey. Their response helped identify and gauge perceptions on a variety of key characteristics with respect to livability, culture, economy and sense of place for Western Montana.

Except for the first question verifying if respondents were a resident of Western Montana, all questions were optional, and could be answered or skipped. This research aimed to answer the following questions.

  • What do residents think of their county as a place to live?
  • What are the most important attributes of a resident’s quality of life?
  • How do residents view the tourism industry and its impact on their county?