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Sidney, Belgrade, Laurel: These cities aren't just some of the best places to live in Montana. They are also home to some of the richest people in the Treasure State.
Sidney in particular houses the richest residents in the state thanks, in part, to a median household income of $59,125 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 5.3926947797460425%.
If you're thinking of moving to one of these towns, you'll probably need to start saving. The richest places in Montana share common characteristics such as having a genius level populous, sky high home prices, and a Pleasantville level of married couples.
How did we come up with these mega wealthy cities? We analyzed Census data from the 2015-2019 American Community Survey for the 34 places in Montana with more than 2,000 people.
For more on how we calculated the top ten, read on or skip to the end for the full list of the richest cities in Montana.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about Montana:
The 10 Richest Cities In Montana For 2021
1. Sidney
/10
Population: 6,416
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $59,125
Unemployment Rate: 1.6%
Poverty Rate: 5.4%
More on Sidney: Real Estate | Photos
2. Belgrade
/10
Population: 8,685
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $59,146
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 6.8%
More on Belgrade: Real Estate | Photos
3. Laurel
/10
Population: 6,834
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 6)
Median Income: $55,503
Unemployment Rate: 2.6%
Poverty Rate: 7.4%
More on Laurel: Real Estate | Photos
4. Billings
/10
Population: 109,595
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 2)
Median Income: $59,656
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 10.0%
More on Billings: Real Estate | Photos
5. Whitefish
/10
Population: 7,714
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 7)
Median Income: $52,037
Unemployment Rate: 3.0%
Poverty Rate: 7.6%
More on Whitefish: Real Estate | Photos
6. Colstrip
/10
Population: 2,448
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 1)
Median Income: $86,797
Unemployment Rate: 6.0%
Poverty Rate: 5.4%
More on Colstrip: Real Estate | Photos
7. Glendive
/10
Population: 5,126
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 4)
Median Income: $49,141
Unemployment Rate: 2.0%
Poverty Rate: 11.4%
More on Glendive: Real Estate | Photos
8. Helena
/10
Population: 32,024
Rank Last Year: 14 (Up 6)
Median Income: $61,324
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Poverty Rate: 13.7%
More on Helena: Real Estate | Photos
9. Red Lodge
/10
Population: 2,212
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 1)
Median Income: $48,311
Unemployment Rate: 0.5%
Poverty Rate: 12.5%
More on Red Lodge: Real Estate | Photos
10. Columbus
/10
Population: 2,194
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 3)
Median Income: $64,038
Unemployment Rate: 4.0%
Poverty Rate: 8.8%
More on Columbus: Real Estate | Photos
How We Determined The Richest Places In Montana For 2021
The first thing that comes to most people's minds when they think about determining the richest places is to simply identify personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don't believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the "richest places". So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2015-2019 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
- Unemployment Rate
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place really is. The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for more people to become rich. If more people are employed, the richer the future looks.
After we collected the data for all 34 places with more than 2,000 people in Montana, we ranked each place from 1 to 34 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a "Rich Score" with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Sidney, crowned the "Richest City In Montana For 2021". You can download the data here.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 34 places.
There You Have It - The Wealthiest Places In Montana For 2021
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest 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 top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you're curious enough, here are the poorest cities in Montana, according to data:
Poorest: Wolf Point
2nd Poorest: Dillon
3rd Poorest: Polson
For more Montana reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In Montana
| Rank | City | RichScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sidney | 4.0 |
| 2 | Belgrade | 6.0 |
| 3 | Laurel | 7.0 |
| 4 | Billings | 9.0 |
| 5 | Whitefish | 9.0 |
| 6 | Colstrip | 10.0 |
| 7 | Glendive | 10.33 |
| 8 | Helena | 10.33 |
| 9 | Red Lodge | 10.67 |
| 10 | Columbus | 11.0 |
| 11 | Glasgow | 11.33 |
| 12 | Columbia Falls | 12.33 |
| 13 | Deer Lodge | 14.0 |
| 14 | Bozeman | 14.33 |
| 15 | Townsend | 14.33 |
| 16 | Shelby | 14.33 |
| 17 | Miles City | 14.67 |
| 18 | Livingston | 15.67 |
| 19 | Conrad | 17.0 |
| 20 | Kalispell | 18.33 |
| 21 | Great Falls | 19.0 |
| 22 | Hamilton | 21.0 |
| 23 | Malta | 21.33 |
| 24 | Missoula | 21.67 |
| 25 | Havre | 23.33 |
| 26 | Anaconda-Deer Lodge County | 24.33 |
| 27 | Cut Bank | 27.33 |
| 28 | Lewistown | 27.67 |
| 29 | Hardin | 28.33 |
| 30 | Stevensville | 28.33 |
| 31 | Libby | 28.33 |
| 32 | Polson | 29.67 |
| 33 | Dillon | 29.67 |
| 34 | Wolf Point | 31.33 |
Orchard Homes is Missoula.