Bozeman Mayor Joey Morrison spoke about economics at the Aspen Ideas Summit in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Oct. 14 after the Capital One Insights Center and Center on Rural Innovation selected Bozeman as a standout in rural entrepreneurship. Morrison told the Chronicle he used his time on the panel to emphasize that Bozeman’s success has also come with challenges.
“I think in many ways, we’ve really leveraged the growth and change to as much of our benefit as we can,” Morrison said. “There are still significant challenges that come with a rapid pace of growth and higher-net-worth individuals investing in our community.”
Gallatin County is in the 98th percentile of Capital One’s Rural Entrepreneurship Index based on indicators like job creation rate, self-employment rate and total private funding. The county stands out with a 17% self-employment rate as compared to the 12% rural average.
Though Gallatin County is not technically rural, Dr. Shena Ashley, who leads the Capital One Insight Center, calls Bozeman “rural-rooted.” Ashley notes that Bozeman’s rural roots are a key factor to its entrepreneurial culture.
“[Bozeman] still has rural character, and it has an entrepreneurial ecosystem that was born out of that rural connectedness,” Ashley said.
After identifying Bozeman as a hotspot for entrepreneurship, the Capital One Insights team researched factors that lead to growth. They found that abundant natural capital — access to outdoors, recreation and lifestyle amenities — was a greater predictor of entrepreneurship across rural areas than technological, political or educational capital.
Morrison mentions Bozeman’s outdoor opportunities and growing urban amenities as a reason for recent entrepreneurial growth. He notes that the rise of remote work possibilities and the influx of major employers to the area have allowed people who might otherwise have been vacationers to make their permanent home in Bozeman.
“Maybe 20 or 30 years ago, there were folks that would have considered moving here or starting a business here… Before there wasn’t enough to keep them here, and now there is,” Morrison said.
In May 2026, Capital One announced its <a href="https://www.capitalone.com/about/newsroom/capital-one-announces-investment-to-strengthen-montana-entrepreneurship” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>$3 million investment in Bozeman’s entrepreneurial scene, including a $2 million line of credit to Bozeman-based small business lender MoFi and a $500,000 grant to the Montana State Alumni Foundation to support entrepreneurial programs linked to the university.
Morrison said that city leaders and investors must consider broader community impact to manage the influx of wealth and investment in Bozeman.
“We need to further cultivate an ethic to folks coming here and investing millions and millions of dollars in various industries that to be a part of this community, means you have got to invest in other parts of it as well,” Morrison said.
Morrison mentioned the importance of funding the city’s public transportation system and shelter services. Economic growth is outpacing the city’s ability to handle its consequences, Morrison said.
“At the end of the day, cities like us, our main tool to be able to chase good jobs or solutions to social problems is to chase economic development,” Morrison said. “In the way that the United States is set up, it’s almost inherently a losing fight that it will not keep pace with the impacts that economic development will have.”
Still, Morrison stayed focused on solutions.
“I think the constant fighting (against change) and pretending that it’s all completely terrible has gotten in the way of our ability to actually focus on what that change could and should look like, to maintain our sense of place,” Morrison said.
Ashley echoed the importance of addressing the challenges faced by fast-growing towns and mentioned events like the Aspen Ideas Summit, of which Capital One was an underwriter, as forums for small town leaders to exchange ideas.
“(Capital One) has been trying to bring our institutional knowledge and the network of other people around us who are trying to really put their shoulder to some of these solutions,” Ashley said.
Morrison sees a trend in entrepreneurship and investment towards technology aimed at directly benefiting communities and hopes to encourage that movement.
“Increasing that opportunity base is an important part of creating a prosperous and successful community, and at the end of the day, that also creates a safe community, which I think is the number one charge of local government,” Morrison said.
Despite changing storefronts and rapid growth, Morrison sees hard work and ambition as constants in Bozeman’s culture.
“(Bozeman) is a place where really ambitious people come to throw down and get a lot done,” Morrison said.
EntrepreneurshipBozeman, MontanaEconomic DevelopmentEconomyCommunityInvestmentEconomic Growth
