Reasons We Should Be Very Happy MSU Students Are Back

More traffic? Yeah. A few more loud parties? Definitely. However, Bozeman should thank it's lucky stars that Montana State students have returned.

Now more than ever, students have choices about their college career. They can even get their degrees from the comfort of their couch. Are things getting a little crowded around here? Sure. Are Montana State Football tickets hard to come by? Yup.

We all know an MSU student...or we WERE an MSU student. Even though Montana State is not even in the Top 8 employers in the state of Montana, it's certainly the cornerstone to Bozeman itself. And it's heartbeat.

We've got a healthy, vibrant University in our town and it's easy to forget just how awesome that is. Just because you're in a college town, doesn't mean the town is booming.

• This Fall, there are about 17,000 total enrolled students at MSU
• Well over 8,000 of those enrolled are Montana kids
• There are approximately 59,000 Bozeman residents in 2024 (with nearly 98,000 in Gallatin County)
• Montana PBS and the Museum of the Rockies are closely associated with Montana State. Without a healthy university, those two entities would look much different (and not in a good way).

According to the World Population Review:

Montana State students are also some of the biggest cheerleaders for the school and Bozeman itself. Sure, we all bitch from time to time about "how big Bozeman is getting" but rest assured if you're not growing...you're dying. Truth. 

This sort of blew my mind too:

Montana State University is the largest research and development entity of any kind in the state.

Our commitment to groundbreaking research and embracing opportunity has landed us among the top 3% of colleges and universities in the nation for research expenditures, of which we average over $120 million annually.

Montana State is amazing hub of activity unto itself, but the rest of us get to reap so many of the benefits. Having to wait in line a bit longer for our avocado toast or 6-pack at the kwick-y-mart is well worth the way of life that Montana State (and therefore it's students) afford us.

BTW - this is strictly "quality of life" stuff, not a measure of Bozeman's affordability or anything. The students make that college and that college makes a big piece of Bozeman, well, Bozeman. Go, Cats, Go!

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