Editing Great Falls, Montana (section)

===Current economy===
Since the [[Great Recession]] of 2008–2010, the Great Falls economy proved sluggish, growing at an annual rate of 0.9 percent, compared to a statewide average of 1.8 percent and a national rate of 2.0 percent.<ref name=comenstebbins>{{cite news|last1=Comen|first1=Evan|last2=Stebbins|first2=Samuel|title=What city is hit hardest by extreme poverty in your state?|work=Great Falls Tribune|date=July 13, 2018|access-date=March 28, 2019|url=https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/money/economy/2018/07/13/city-hit-hardest-extreme-poverty/36658191/}}</ref> Growth was strongest in construction and manufacturing,{{sfn|Bureau of Business and Economic Development|2018|pages=6-7}} followed by back-office business services (such as [[Blue Cross Blue Shield Association|Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana]]'s new insurance claims processing center), healthcare (such as the opening of the Great Falls Clinic Hospital), retail sales, social welfare (such as the opening of the Cameron Family Center, which houses 26 homeless families), and tourism.<ref name=johnsonproject>{{cite news|last=Johnson|first=Peter|title=Experts project favorable economy for Great Falls, state|work=Great Falls Tribune|date=January 27, 2016|access-date=March 28, 2019|url=https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2016/01/27/experts-project-favorable-economy-great-falls-state/79430720/}}</ref> The city's lack of population growth, coupled with low commodity prices for agricultural producers, has significantly hindered growth in the city for two decades.{{sfn|Bureau of Business and Economic Development|2018|pages=6-7}}

The lack of growth worsened poverty in the city. There were no neighborhoods of concentrated poverty{{Efn|Concentrated poverty is defined as a neighborhood where more than 40 percent of the residents have an income below the federal poverty line.<ref name=comenstebbins />}} in the city in 2010, but by 2016 1,254 city residents lived in such areas. The number of Great Falls residents living in poverty during the same period rose by 10.37 percent (1,100 people),<ref name=comenstebbins /> for a citywide poverty rate of 19.9 percent. Great Falls suffered from more concentrated poverty than any other city in the state.<ref name=comenstebbins />

Low economic and population growth have also harmed real estate values in the city. While the median price of a home in five other large Montana cities (Billings, [[Bozeman, Montana|Bozeman]], Helena, [[Kalispell, Montana|Kalispell]], and Missoula) was $262,960 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|292960|2017|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) in 2017, it was just $169,500 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|160500|2017|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) in Great Falls during the same period. (That is $93,460, or 35.5 percent, less.) The median price of a home statewide in Montana during that period was $217,200 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|217200|2017|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars), with Great Falls home prices $47,700, or 22 percent, less.{{sfn|Bureau of Business and Economic Development|2018|page=21}}

A 2016 report by the Bureau of Business and Economic Development at the [[University of Montana]] predicted the city's economy would be driven by manufacturing, retail sales, and tourism over the next several years.<ref name=johnsonproject /> The city had long tried to rebuild its agricultural processing industry, and egg production and specialty milling both saw expanded operations in the city in 2015. In 2016, the city won an $8 million grant from the state of Montana to open a Food and Ag Development Center (only one of four in Montana). Working with [[BNSF Railway]], the city's development agency converted {{convert|197|acre}} of disused railroad yard into a full service heavy industrial food and agricultural processing site. Named AgriTech Park, the site won an Excellence in Regional Transportation Award from the National Association of Development Organizations. [[FedEx]] Ground, [[Marubeni|Helena Chemical]], Montana Specialty Mills, Pacific Steel and Recycling,<ref name=busfac>{{cite web|title=Great Falls, Montana Chosen As Food and Ag Development Center|website=Business Facilities|date=November 2, 2017|access-date=March 28, 2019|url=https://businessfacilities.com/2017/11/great-falls-montana-chosen-food-ag-development-center/}}</ref> and [[Cargill]] all took space in the park by the end of 2018.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cargill opens lab in Great Falls to begin omega-3 research and development|work=Helena Independent Record|date=December 10, 2018|access-date=March 28, 2019|url=https://helenair.com/news/local/cargill-opens-lab-in-great-falls-to-begin-omega-/article_c97d56c3-5cef-5dba-a0c3-bce470dcc55e.html}}</ref>