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 34 cities in Montana with more than 2,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
What’s the poorest city in Montana? According to the facts, Libby is the poorest place in Montana for 2023.
This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.
For more Montana reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Montana
- Cheapest Places To Live In Montana
- Most Dangerous Cities In Montana
- The poorest states in the US
- The poorest cities in the US
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Poorest Cities In Montana For 2023
1. Libby
/10
Population: 2,745
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 7)
Median Income: $39,044 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 22.9% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 629
More on Libby: Crime
Libby, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Montana thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 2,745 people averages the 3rd lowest median household income in Montana and the 3rd 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.
2. Dillon
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The second poorest city in Montana is Dillon.
The city ranks as having the 2nd highest incidence of poverty and 4th lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 25th highest in the Treasure State.
3. Lewistown
/10
Population: 5,967
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Median Income: $37,588 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 19.0% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,135
More on Lewistown: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Placing as the third poorest city, Lewistown’s median income ranks as the 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 19.035976248690183% 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.
4. Anaconda-Deer Lodge County
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Population: 9,380
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Median Income: $44,809 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 22.7% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,130
More on Anaconda-Deer Lodge County: Data | Cost Of Living
Anaconda-Deer Lodge County ranks as the fourth poorest place in Montana.
The town ranks as having the 7th lowest median household income and the 5th 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.
5. Hamilton
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The fifth poorest city in Montana is Hamilton.
The city ranks as having the 2nd 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 10th highest in Montana.
Still not the best news for Hamilton.
6. Cut Bank
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Cut Bank ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Treasure State.
It ranks as having the 6th highest incidence of poverty and the 15th highest unemployment rate.
7. Deer Lodge
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Population: 2,938
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 4)
Median Income: $40,515 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 18.1% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 530
More on Deer Lodge: Crime
Deer Lodge places as the seventh poorest city in Montana.
The city of over 2,938 ranks as having the 8th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Wolf Point
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Population: 2,638
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Median Income: $49,509 (12th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 30.9% (highest)
People In Poverty: 815
More on Wolf Point: Crime
Wolf Point ranks as the eighth poorest city in Montana.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as the highest in the state.
9. Hardin
/10
Population: 3,754
Rank Last Year: 9 (No Change)
Median Income: $51,566 (14th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 22.9% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 858
More on Hardin: Data
Hardin couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Montana; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 14th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Hardin ranks as having the 4th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Montana.
10. Conrad
/10
Population: 2,758
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 2)
Median Income: $49,167 (11th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 17.5% (9th highest)
People In Poverty: 482
More on Conrad: Crime
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Montana is Conrad.
The city of 2,758 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Treasure State.
Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Montana for 2023
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 2017-2021 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
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 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 2023”.
This report has been updated for 2023, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in Montana.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In Montana For 2023
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.
If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Montana, according to data:
-
Richest: Colstrip
2nd Richest: Whitefish
3rd Richest: Three Forks
For more Montana reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In Montana
- Safest Places In Montana
- Worst Places To Live In Montana
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Montana
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Montana
| Rank | City | Population | Poverty Rate | Median Income | People In Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Libby | 2,745 | 22.9% | $39,044 | 629 |
| 2 | Dillon | 3,930 | 24.4% | $39,488 | 957 |
| 3 | Lewistown | 5,967 | 19.0% | $37,588 | 1,135 |
| 4 | Anaconda-Deer Lodge County | 9,380 | 22.7% | $44,809 | 2,130 |
| 5 | Hamilton | 4,632 | 17.4% | $37,868 | 806 |
| 6 | Cut Bank | 3,049 | 21.9% | $44,159 | 666 |
| 7 | Deer Lodge | 2,938 | 18.1% | $40,515 | 530 |
| 8 | Wolf Point | 2,638 | 30.9% | $49,509 | 815 |
| 9 | Hardin | 3,754 | 22.9% | $51,566 | 858 |
| 10 | Conrad | 2,758 | 17.5% | $49,167 | 482 |
| 11 | Polson | 5,161 | 13.6% | $45,565 | 703 |
| 12 | Great Falls | 60,381 | 14.5% | $53,126 | 8,733 |
| 13 | Missoula | 73,300 | 16.0% | $54,423 | 11,705 |
| 14 | Livingston | 8,110 | 14.2% | $51,599 | 1,148 |
| 15 | Red Lodge | 2,032 | 10.3% | $47,727 | 209 |
| 16 | Miles City | 8,441 | 14.2% | $54,265 | 1,199 |
| 17 | Shelby | 3,139 | 8.3% | $47,389 | 260 |
| 18 | Havre | 9,417 | 12.9% | $58,513 | 1,217 |
| 19 | Kalispell | 24,260 | 10.5% | $55,411 | 2,554 |
| 20 | Columbia Falls | 5,304 | 11.3% | $56,860 | 598 |
| 21 | Glendive | 4,928 | 8.6% | $51,924 | 423 |
| 22 | Bozeman | 51,574 | 14.9% | $67,354 | 7,659 |
| 23 | Malta | 2,031 | 4.1% | $50,324 | 82 |
| 24 | Billings | 115,689 | 11.1% | $63,608 | 12,829 |
| 25 | Laurel | 7,164 | 9.6% | $59,444 | 688 |
| 26 | Glasgow | 3,192 | 8.1% | $55,943 | 257 |
| 27 | Townsend | 2,224 | 10.3% | $60,587 | 228 |
| 28 | Helena | 32,060 | 9.4% | $59,712 | 3,021 |
| 29 | Sidney | 6,240 | 7.5% | $55,611 | 470 |
| 30 | Belgrade | 10,555 | 12.0% | $72,921 | 1,265 |
| 31 | Columbus | 2,069 | 6.1% | $60,813 | 126 |
| 32 | Three Forks | 2,084 | 7.6% | $70,405 | 158 |
| 33 | Whitefish | 7,783 | 4.9% | $64,595 | 379 |
| 34 | Colstrip | 2,094 | 7.4% | $81,424 | 155 |
Who writes this and where do they get their information? Lol