Like all states, Montana has certain places that are going on hard times. These Montana places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in Montana.
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 36 cities in Montana with more than 2,000 people.
$34,143 median income · 24.0% poverty · #1 lowest income in Montana
Libby, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Montana thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 3,042 people averages the lowest median household income in Montana and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
$42,298 median income · 21.6% poverty · #2 lowest income in Montana
The second poorest city in Montana is Ronan.
The city ranks as having the 3rd highest incidence of poverty and 2nd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 8th highest in the Treasure State.
$48,750 median income · 20.9% poverty · #4 lowest income in Montana
Located in
Fergus County, Montana
Placing as the third poorest city, Lewistown’s median income ranks as the 4th lowest.
And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 20.9% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Treasure State.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$52,868 median income · 23.3% poverty · #8 lowest income in Montana
Wolf Point ranks as the fourth poorest place in Montana.
The town ranks as having the 8th lowest median household income and the 2nd highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
$47,857 median income · 17.6% poverty · #3 lowest income in Montana
The fifth poorest city in Montana is Conrad.
The city ranks as having the 3rd lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 7th highest in Montana.
Still not the best news for Conrad.
$49,432 median income · 18.9% poverty · #6 lowest income in Montana
Cut Bank ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Treasure State.
It ranks as having the 5th highest incidence of poverty and the 17th highest unemployment rate.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$50,329 median income · 18.2% poverty · #7 lowest income in Montana
Located in
Hill County, Montana
Havre places as the seventh poorest city in Montana.
The city of over 9,258 ranks as having the 6th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$53,418 median income · 17.5% poverty · #9 lowest income in Montana
Polson ranks as the eighth poorest city in Montana.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$57,527 median income · 16.3% poverty · #12 lowest income in Montana
Anaconda-Deer Lodge County couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Montana; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 12th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County ranks as having the 10th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Montana.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$57,847 median income · 16.6% poverty · #13 lowest income in Montana
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Montana is Roundup.
The city of 2,003 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Treasure State.
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: 11.5%
Montana statewide median: 3.6%
On the map
Where poverty hits hardest in Montana
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the poorest places in Montana for 2026
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2020-2024 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 36 places with more than 2,000 people in Montana, we ranked each place from 1 to 36 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Libby, crowned the “Poorest Place In Montana For 2026”. The median Montana home is 43 years old — old enough that it pays to compare home warranty plans before something expensive breaks.
The full plate
Detailed list of the poorest places to live in Montana
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Poor Score | Population | Median income | Poverty | Unemployment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Libby | 1.00 | 3,042 | $34,143 | 24.0% | 3.4% |
| 2 | Ronan | 2.50 | 2,001 | $42,298 | 21.6% | 4.9% |
| 3 | Lewistown | 4.00 | 6,087 | $48,750 | 20.9% | 7.0% |
| 4 | Wolf Point | 5.00 | 2,602 | $52,868 | 23.3% | 17.4% |
| 5 | Conrad | 5.00 | 2,618 | $47,857 | 17.6% | 4.3% |
| 6 | Cut Bank | 5.50 | 3,028 | $49,432 | 18.9% | 3.5% |
| 7 | Havre | 6.50 | 9,258 | $50,329 | 18.2% | 2.9% |
| 8 | Polson | 8.50 | 5,428 | $53,418 | 17.5% | 7.9% |
| 9 | Anaconda-Deer Lodge County | 11.00 | 9,597 | $57,527 | 16.3% | 3.4% |
| 10 | Roundup | 11.00 | 2,003 | $57,847 | 16.6% | 10.7% |
| 11 | Shelby | 13.50 | 3,216 | $58,413 | 13.8% | 3.7% |
| 12 | Stevensville | 15.50 | 2,130 | $60,096 | 13.6% | 3.5% |
| 13 | Great Falls | 16.00 | 60,329 | $63,373 | 14.5% | 3.7% |
| 14 | Hamilton | 17.50 | 5,101 | $49,204 | 8.8% | 2.0% |
| 15 | Malta | 17.50 | 2,100 | $54,483 | 9.9% | 0.0% |
| 16 | Livingston | 18.50 | 8,780 | $65,861 | 13.7% | 1.9% |
| 17 | Dillon | 18.50 | 4,085 | $61,134 | 11.5% | 1.2% |
| 18 | Columbia Falls | 21.00 | 5,615 | $75,766 | 15.2% | 5.6% |
| 19 | Columbus | 22.00 | 2,003 | $65,250 | 11.0% | 3.1% |
| 20 | Miles City | 22.00 | 8,407 | $67,727 | 11.4% | 3.9% |
| 21 | Missoula | 22.00 | 76,514 | $70,392 | 11.8% | 3.8% |
| 22 | Glendive | 22.50 | 4,810 | $72,670 | 13.5% | 4.3% |
| 23 | Kalispell | 22.50 | 28,504 | $63,415 | 10.0% | 2.6% |
| 24 | Red Lodge | 23.00 | 2,502 | $55,750 | 6.7% | 2.8% |
| 25 | Bozeman | 24.00 | 56,114 | $85,747 | 13.7% | 3.0% |
| 26 | Laurel | 24.00 | 7,215 | $68,474 | 10.0% | 2.4% |
| 27 | Deer Lodge | 24.50 | 3,021 | $60,302 | 7.2% | 3.3% |
| 28 | Hardin | 25.50 | 3,742 | $60,423 | 7.2% | 5.6% |
| 29 | Sidney | 25.50 | 6,171 | $62,538 | 7.7% | 3.4% |
| 30 | Billings | 27.50 | 119,434 | $73,712 | 9.8% | 3.5% |
| 31 | Helena | 28.00 | 33,639 | $71,036 | 8.8% | 2.9% |
| 32 | Belgrade | 28.50 | 11,872 | $97,328 | 11.2% | 3.0% |
| 33 | Whitefish | 29.00 | 8,749 | $73,811 | 9.4% | 2.4% |
| 34 | Colstrip | 29.50 | 2,101 | $82,500 | 9.4% | 8.2% |
| 35 | Glasgow | 33.00 | 3,190 | $90,310 | 8.0% | 0.5% |
| 36 | Manhattan | 35.00 | 2,288 | $87,865 | 2.9% | 0.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 36 cities with more than 2,000 residents.
Summary
The poorest cities in Montana for 2026
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Montana, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Montana.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there. Not sold on Montana? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
