According to the 1899 Montana Pioneer Register, ninety individuals are known to have settled in Montana Territory who came over the Bridger Trail. They came from many states and had widely varied occupations. Many of those that came to try their luck at gold mining soon turned to more traditional ways of making a living, and in doing so, contributed to the settlement of Montana towns and ranches.

For those ninety emigrants who took the Bridger Trail, the occupations listed in the pioneer register are overwhelmingly oriented toward agriculture (farmers and stockmen 23.3% and 12.2%, respectively, and 4.4% who practiced both, for a total of almost 40%). Occupations in the mining industry came in a distant second (10%). Women, whether wives or unmarried young women, accounted for a larger number of the population than miners (14.4%). Other occupations listed included merchants (5.6%), freighters and teamsters (3.3%), ministers (3.3%) lawyers (2.2%), and carpenters (2.2%). Bankers, physicians, blacksmiths, wagon makers, editors, brewers, and real estate speculators, each made up approximately 1.1% of those who arrived via the Bridger Trail (see Table). These ninety emigrants made up 5% of the 1,808 pioneers listed in the register, representing a diversified cross section of those settlers who made Montana their home.