2026 Compare Cities Economy:
Missoula, MT vs Ridgecrest, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Ridgecrest, is 42% more than it is in Missoula and is 11% above the National Average.
- Missoula unemployment rate is 4.4%.
- Ridgecrest unemployment rate is 4.1%.
 Missoula, MTRidgecrest, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock4.1%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.2%1.6%
 Future Job Growth33.0%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes0.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$36,010  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$77,534$69,021
 Family Median Income$82,930  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Missoula, MTRidgecrest, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock11.1%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K3.5%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock5.5%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K10.2%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock7.1%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K6.6%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock9.2%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K11.4%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock19.4%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K5.3%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock8.0%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Missoula, MTRidgecrest, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance13.9%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock20.3%6.5%
 Community, social services1.9%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.0%1.2%
 Education, library5.6%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock1.2%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.4%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.8%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.5%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock4.4%5.4%
 Building maintenance4.3%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.5%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support22.4%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.5%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair6.4%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock12.2%13.1%
Reviews for Missoula    48 Reviews

I've lived here for 10 years and my view of the city has turned as we (barely) managed to buy a home, started a family, and the blight of homelessness has escalated out  More

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Over 6 years ago

I lived here for 6 years, and it never got any easier to live, I'm a Native American, these people her look down on us, I have been put in jail for sitting in a parking  More

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I have lived in Missoula on and off for the last 30 years, but consistently for the last 12. I met my wife and had my kids here. My father and my wife's entire family  More

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Reviews for Ridgecrest    7 Reviews

For context, I grew up in Ridgecrest and moved away after graduating high school. I have since lived in LA and the Bay Area but I visit RC often. RC is in the high  More

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Ridgecrest and Kern County are red state bastions in a land of blue voting counties. If you want a concealed weapons permit, you'll get it. Want to own any firearm  More

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Over 14 years ago

The hardest thing to get used to in Ridgecrest is the weather. It can get quite windy. And hot. 115 hot. But it's a dry heat! It does cool off in the evening, and it  More

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