Montana’s 22 beer and wine distributors support more than 2,000 jobs, says a July 2014 study prepared by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research of the University of Montana. They aren’t primarily minimum wage jobs either, with average annual earnings of nearly $54,000.

The study was conducted at the request of the Montana Beer and Wine Distributors Association to research the economic contribution of the Association’s members to the Montana economy.

The data, collected from MBWDA’s members, demonstrated that in 2012 members accounted directly for:

$356,009,531 in gross sales,
1,173 beverage distribution jobs, and
$57,642865 in employee compensation (including benefits). 

(See page 10 of the study.)

Other jobs supported by the industry include construction, retail trade, state and local government, manufacturing and, of course, the breweries.

You’ll find the complete report at this link. A similar study of the economic impact from Montana’s craft brewing industry was prepared in 2012 for the Montana Brewers Association using data from 2010-2011, numbers which are certain to be out of date with 14 more breweries added since then.