These Are The 10 Most Miserable Cities In Montana

Do you live in one of the most miserable places in Montana?

According to a Harris Poll taken in October of 2015, only a third of Americans say they are truly happy. That’s too bad, considering that Americans – especially folks in Montana – don’t really have it too bad, in the grand scheme of things.

But, we were curious – which Montana cities might be the most miserable? We’re about to find out, using science and data.

After analyzing the largest cities, we sadly present the most miserable cities in the Treasure State:

1. Pablo
2. Lame Deer
3. Hamilton
4. North Browning
5. Lakeside
6. South Browning
7. Polson
8. Hardin
9. Missoula (Photos)
10. Libby

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked. If you have a smile on your face, you probably don’t live in one of these cities.

Oh, and by the way, Montana City is the happiest place in Montana.

Or check out the Most Miserable Cities In America.

If you’re looking for something more positive, check out the best states in America or the best places to live in America.

How We Measured The Most Miserable Cities In Montana

In order to rank the unhappiest places in Montana, we had to determine what criteria makes people happy. It isn’t a stretch to assume that happy people earn great salaries, are relatively stress free, and have a stable home life.

So we went to the Census’s American Community Survey 2010-2014 report for the criteria, flipped the list, and it spit out the answer. Like magic.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:

• Percentage of residents with a college degree
• Average commute times
• Unemployment rates
• Cost of living
• % of married couples
• % of home owners
• Poverty rate

After we decided on the criteria, we gathered the data for the 108 places in Montana with over 2,000 people.

We then ranked each place from one to 52 for each of the seven criteria with a score of one being the most miserable (Any ties were given to the larger place).

Next, we averaged the seven rankings into a Miserable Index for each place with the lowest overall Miserable Index ‘earning’ the title ‘Most Miserable City In Montana’.

If you’d like to see the complete list of states, most miserable to happiest, scroll to the bottom of this post to see the unabridged chart.

1. Pablo

Population: 2,616
People Who Own Their Home: 43.13%
Married Adults: 32.85%

2. Lame Deer

Population: 2,131
People Who Own Their Home: 36.84%
Married Adults: 32.27%

3. Hamilton

Population: 4,486
People Who Own Their Home: 45.27%
Married Adults: 41.93%

4. North Browning

Population: 2,363
People Who Own Their Home: 30.03%
Married Adults: 28.27%

5. Lakeside

Population: 2,755
People Who Own Their Home: 52.62%
Married Adults: 51.37%

6. South Browning

Population: 2,045
People Who Own Their Home: 29.76%
Married Adults: 38.12%

7. Polson

Population: 4,580
People Who Own Their Home: 39.83%
Married Adults: 43.75%

8. Hardin

Population: 3,720
People Who Own Their Home: 47.35%
Married Adults: 45.48%

9. Missoula

Population: 68,377
People Who Own Their Home: 44.85%
Married Adults: 38.13%

10. Libby

Population: 2,667
People Who Own Their Home: 47.02%
Married Adults: 35.43%

There You Have It

Like we said earlier, trying to determine the most miserable cities in {state} is usually a subjective matter. But if you’re analyzing cities where people are not stable, where you’re stuck in traffic, and no one spent the time to go to college, then this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious enough, here are the happiest cities in {state}, according to science:
For more Montana reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Worst Places To Live In Montana
• These Are The 10 Dumbest Cities In Montana
• These Are The 10 Snobbiest Places In Montana

Detailed List Of Miserable Places In Montana

City	Rank	People Who Own Their Home
Pablo	1	43.13%
Lame Deer	2	36.84%
Hamilton	3	45.27%
North Browning	4	30.03%
Lakeside	5	52.62%
South Browning	6	29.76%
Polson	7	39.83%
Hardin	8	47.35%
Missoula	9	44.85%
Libby	10	47.02%
East Missoula	11	71.18%
Kalispell	12	48.76%
Bozeman	13	40.93%
Dillon	14	47.0%
Livingston	15	56.86%
Big Sky	16	18.26%
Anaconda-Deer Lodge County	17	55.56%
Whitefish	18	39.23%
Shelby	19	49.52%
Cut Bank	20	51.36%
Red Lodge	21	40.42%
Billings	22	59.72%
Wolf Point	23	50.91%
Great Falls	24	57.37%
Helena	25	52.27%
Belgrade	26	51.57%
Orchard Homes	27	61.13%
Townsend	28	66.78%
Helena Valley Southeast	29	85.67%
Evergreen	30	66.04%
Columbia Falls	31	52.86%
Glendive	32	54.44%
Lolo	33	83.23%
Lockwood	34	79.12%
Bigfork	35	46.22%
Glasgow	36	54.92%
Conrad	37	59.36%
East Helena	38	58.07%
Sidney	39	57.98%
Miles City	40	60.09%
Columbus	41	67.31%
Havre	42	58.98%
Deer Lodge	43	57.61%
Laurel	44	66.81%
Four Corners	45	66.71%
Helena Valley West Central	46	82.28%
Malmstrom Afb	47	0.79%
Helena Valley Northeast	48	79.39%
Helena Valley Northwest	49	90.01%
Lewistown	50	61.4%
Colstrip	51	75.06%
Montana City	52	90.86%