You’ve seen these lists before. Best places to live in Montana. Best suburbs in Montana. Best counties in Montana.
Etc., etc., etc.
But they all focus on major cities and towns in the Treasure State, and no one pays attention to the little guy.
Well, that’s all about to change as we put together a list of the superb small towns in Montana based on numbers–not opinions or hearsay.
We’ll dive right into our methodology in the next section, but first, we thought you might want to know which places in Montana ranked the best based on Saturday Night Science.
$109,625 median income · 1.3% unemployment
$90,310 median income · 0.5% unemployment
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$140,517 median income · 1.3% unemployment
$67,188 median income · 0.0% unemployment
$138,805 median income · 1.4% unemployment
$87,865 median income · 0.0% unemployment
$125,000 median income · 3.2% unemployment
$94,500 median income · 0.0% unemployment
$61,134 median income · 1.2% unemployment
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$129,755 median income · 3.9% unemployment
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Montana’s statewide median.
Montana statewide median: $72,509
Montana statewide median: $466,917
Montana statewide median: 3.6%
On the map
Where Montana’s best small towns are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Determined The Coolest Towns In Montana
We threw a lot of criteria at this report to get the best, most complete results of the best small towns in Montana possible.
Using the most recent data from the Census’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Saturday Night Science, this is the criteria we used:
- Population Density (Higher is better)
- Lowest Unemployment Rates
- Housing costs (Higher is better. More demand.)
- Adjusted Median Income (Higher is better)
- Highly Educated Adults (Higher is better)
- Insurance Rates (Higher is better)
- Commute Times (Lower is better)
We looked at places with populations lower than 5,000 people and greater than 1,000, of which there were many – 66 to be exact.
We then ranked each place in each category with scores from 1 to 66, averaged them out, and the lowest scores went to our Best Small Towns in Montana. Top of that list — Wye.
This is our eleventh time ranking the best small places to live in Montana.
The full plate
Best Small Towns In Montana
Click any column to sort. Search by town name.
| Rank | Town | Population | Median Income | Median Home Value | Unemployment Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wye | 1,055 | $109,625 | $707,085 | 1.3% |
| 2 | Glasgow | 3,190 | $90,310 | $156,841 | 0.5% |
| 3 | Helena Valley Northeast | 4,659 | $140,517 | $716,527 | 1.3% |
| 4 | Fort Benton | 1,474 | $67,188 | $290,072 | 0.0% |
| 5 | Big Sky | 2,445 | $138,805 | $1,839,257 | 1.4% |
| 6 | Manhattan | 2,288 | $87,865 | $659,491 | 0.0% |
| 7 | Clancy | 1,874 | $125,000 | $636,846 | 3.2% |
| 8 | Frenchtown | 1,927 | $94,500 | $651,201 | 0.0% |
| 9 | Dillon | 4,085 | $61,134 | $391,900 | 1.2% |
| 10 | Montana City | 3,092 | $129,755 | $709,694 | 3.9% |
| 11 | Malta | 2,100 | $54,483 | $240,906 | 0.0% |
| 12 | Three Forks | 1,919 | $79,784 | $552,348 | 0.0% |
| 13 | King Arthur Park | 1,992 | $109,106 | $0 | 0.0% |
| 14 | Lolo | 4,314 | $86,065 | $541,120 | 0.8% |
| 15 | Malmstrom AFB | 4,302 | $64,833 | $0 | 1.8% |
| 16 | Clinton | 1,040 | $103,750 | $541,564 | 4.1% |
| 17 | Pray | 1,129 | $96,250 | $1,017,985 | 0.0% |
| 18 | Churchill | 1,167 | $108,281 | $858,044 | 1.3% |
| 19 | Helena West Side | 1,417 | $66,921 | $499,842 | 0.3% |
| 20 | Deer Lodge | 3,021 | $60,302 | $285,278 | 3.3% |
| 21 | Lakeside | 2,386 | $77,435 | $852,122 | 2.0% |
| 22 | Chinook | 1,353 | $61,750 | $211,276 | 6.2% |
| 23 | Wheatland | 1,661 | $123,277 | $918,179 | 0.0% |
| 24 | Thompson Falls | 1,500 | $46,313 | $428,928 | 0.0% |
| 25 | West Yellowstone | 1,474 | $58,839 | $639,008 | 2.3% |
| 26 | Red Lodge | 2,502 | $55,750 | $523,072 | 2.8% |
| 27 | Choteau | 1,479 | $51,632 | $296,685 | 0.7% |
| 28 | West Glendive | 2,121 | $54,922 | $222,898 | 1.0% |
| 29 | Somers | 1,280 | $56,917 | $675,309 | 4.7% |
| 30 | Plentywood | 1,654 | $68,438 | $161,039 | 3.3% |
| 31 | Boulder | 1,284 | $72,500 | $357,787 | 6.9% |
| 32 | Colstrip | 2,101 | $82,500 | $226,810 | 8.2% |
| 33 | Baker | 1,489 | $84,750 | $183,653 | 0.0% |
| 34 | Columbus | 2,003 | $65,250 | $455,987 | 3.1% |
| 35 | Bonner-West Riverside | 1,563 | $62,039 | $262,035 | 0.0% |
| 36 | Stevensville | 2,130 | $60,096 | $614,349 | 3.5% |
| 37 | East Missoula | 2,099 | $57,500 | $445,422 | 8.6% |
| 38 | Big Timber | 1,611 | $66,898 | $444,696 | 3.7% |
| 39 | Glendive | 4,810 | $72,670 | $192,739 | 4.3% |
| 40 | Seeley Lake | 1,496 | $49,574 | $539,799 | 0.0% |
| 41 | East Helena | 1,702 | $60,417 | $437,296 | 7.9% |
| 42 | Cut Bank | 3,028 | $49,432 | $178,057 | 3.5% |
| 43 | Vaughn | 1,002 | $56,250 | $389,434 | 1.2% |
| 44 | Harlowton | 1,058 | $55,600 | $160,909 | 0.0% |
| 45 | Sun Prairie | 1,171 | $55,688 | $203,888 | 0.0% |
| 46 | Conrad | 2,618 | $47,857 | $252,616 | 4.3% |
| 47 | Shelby | 3,216 | $58,413 | $179,084 | 3.7% |
| 48 | Hardin | 3,742 | $60,423 | $213,956 | 5.6% |
| 49 | Corvallis | 1,227 | $78,103 | $665,934 | 4.3% |
| 50 | Libby | 3,042 | $34,143 | $346,685 | 3.4% |
| 51 | Forsyth | 1,728 | $39,744 | $221,167 | 4.1% |
| 52 | Eureka | 1,840 | $38,750 | $525,182 | 4.2% |
| 53 | Ronan | 2,001 | $42,298 | $427,544 | 4.9% |
| 54 | Marion | 1,037 | $65,250 | $719,418 | 10.0% |
| 55 | Townsend | 1,967 | $70,752 | $447,240 | 13.3% |
| 56 | Roundup | 2,003 | $57,847 | $240,341 | 10.7% |
| 57 | Plains | 1,195 | $25,491 | $436,252 | 19.2% |
| 58 | Whitehall | 1,156 | $44,844 | $460,059 | 8.9% |
| 59 | Wolf Point | 2,602 | $52,868 | $141,602 | 17.4% |
| 60 | Rocky Boy West | 1,007 | $63,125 | $128,719 | 9.7% |
| 61 | Pablo | 1,632 | $36,400 | $318,940 | 9.5% |
| 62 | North Browning | 3,144 | $37,155 | $232,961 | 17.0% |
| 63 | Crow Agency | 2,192 | $52,339 | $73,057 | 32.4% |
| 64 | Fort Belknap Agency | 1,227 | $46,071 | $90,327 | 38.8% |
| 65 | Hays | 1,009 | $52,250 | $73,554 | 21.1% |
| 66 | Lame Deer | 1,872 | $23,700 | $138,037 | 42.2% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 via Saturday Night Science. 66 Montana towns between 1,000 and 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Science Can Tackle Any Issue, Even Small Ones
We said it once, and we’ll say it again — this list: it’s just science. We did the research, crunched the numbers, and it turns out these small towns in Montana are the best in which to live.
And who can argue with that?
The best small towns in Montana are Wye, Glasgow, Helena Valley Northeast, Fort Benton, Big Sky, Manhattan, Clancy, Frenchtown, Dillon, and Montana City.
