The 10 Worst Small Towns In Montana For 2025

Most Americans have never been to small town Montana. However, as the Montanan who live there know, small town Montana is an awesome place to call home.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Montana has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using Saturday Night Science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Treasure State. Don’t freak out, we will use data to show which places have high crime, poverty, and unemployment.

After analyzing more than 69 of Montana’s smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Montana where you’d never want to live:

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Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

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These are the worst small towns in Montana for 2025:

1. Lame Deer
2. Fort Belknap Agency
3. Crow Agency
4. North Browning
5. South Browning
6. Eureka
7. Pablo
8. Whitehall
9. Ronan
10. Wolf Point

So what is the worst small town to call home in Montana for 2025? According to the most recent census data, Lame Deer is the worst small town to live in Montana.

While many of these small towns have seen better days, they have wonderful communities and people. This report in no way means to knock the folks that call towns like Lame Deer home. Everyone

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Montana or the worst places to live in Montana.

If you’re looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.

The 10 Worst Small Towns In Montana For 2025

1. Lame Deer

Source: Wikipedia User Xnatedawgx | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,939
Median Home Value: $117,300
Median Income: $26,364
Unemployment Rate: 29.9%

2. Fort Belknap Agency

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,434
Median Home Value: $73,000
Median Income: $1,000
Unemployment Rate: 43.6%

3. Crow Agency

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 2,110
Median Home Value: $88,500
Median Income: $49,333
Unemployment Rate: 38.1%

4. North Browning

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,894
Median Home Value: $131,300
Median Income: $40,813
Unemployment Rate: 15.1%

5. South Browning

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,852
Median Home Value: $1,000
Median Income: $1,000
Unemployment Rate: 17.6%

6. Eureka

Source: Wikipedia User Royalbroil | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,009
Median Home Value: $172,300
Median Income: $43,750
Unemployment Rate: 8.1%

7. Pablo

Source: Wikipedia User Djembayz | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,808
Median Home Value: $255,200
Median Income: $38,430
Unemployment Rate: 6.9%

8. Whitehall

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,151
Median Home Value: $180,600
Median Income: $38,750
Unemployment Rate: 7.0%

9. Ronan

Source: Wikipedia User Magicpiano | CC BY-SA 4.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,962
Median Home Value: $201,700
Median Income: $41,429
Unemployment Rate: 9.0%

10. Wolf Point

Source: Wikipedia User Royalbroil | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,604
Median Home Value: $124,600
Median Income: $48,750
Unemployment Rate: 16.1%

Next 10 Towns

Methodology: How do you decide if a small place in Montana is lousy or not?

To rank the worst small towns to live in Montana, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. Assuming that people like low crime, solid education, things to do, and a stable economy isn’t a stretch.

We then analyzed the criteria using Saturday Night Science, the thinking you’d use at a bar. It seems like even your crazy Uncle would agree that a town with high crime is worse than a town with low crime; all else the same.

Using FBI crime data and the Census’s 2019-2023 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

• Population Density (The lower, the worse)
• Highest Unemployment Rates
• Low housing costs (meaning there’s no demand)
• Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
• Education (Number of high school dropouts)
• High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which there were many – 69 to be exact.

We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets them from the cities. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

We base all our research on facts, which is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2025, which is our tenth time ranking the worst small places to live in Montana.

There You Have It – The Worst Small Towns In Montana

If you’re analyzing teeny places in the Treasure State with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and there’s not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

The worst small towns in Montana are Lame Deer, Fort Belknap Agency, Crow Agency, North Browning, South Browning, Eureka, Pablo, Whitehall, Ronan, and Wolf Point.

If you’re curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Montana, according to science:

1. Clancy (Pop. 1,729)
2. Montana City (Pop. 2,899)
3. King Arthur Park (Pop. 2,343)

For more Montana reading, check out:

Worst Small Towns In Montana

Rank	Town	Population	Unemployment Rate	Home Value	Median Income
1	Lame Deer	1,939	29.9%	$117,300	$26,364
2	Fort Belknap Agency	1,434	43.6%	$73,000	$1,000
3	Crow Agency	2,110	38.1%	$88,500	$49,333
4	North Browning	2,894	15.1%	$131,300	$40,813
5	South Browning	1,852	17.6%	$1,000	$1,000
6	Eureka	2,009	8.1%	$172,300	$43,750
7	Pablo	1,808	6.9%	$255,200	$38,430
8	Whitehall	1,151	7.0%	$180,600	$38,750
9	Ronan	1,962	9.0%	$201,700	$41,429
10	Wolf Point	2,604	16.1%	$124,600	$48,750
11	St. Ignatius	1,053	8.2%	$194,200	$50,781
12	Conrad	2,553	6.0%	$158,400	$47,348
13	Plains	1,077	3.6%	$209,200	$24,661
14	Philipsburg	1,012	13.5%	$304,200	$40,096
15	Roundup	1,964	5.3%	$118,300	$57,632
16	East Helena	1,855	10.2%	$254,400	$53,611
17	Libby	2,948	1.9%	$218,500	$39,261
18	Hardin	3,766	6.1%	$142,800	$60,463
19	Harlowton	1,054	0.0%	$178,800	$53,750
20	Townsend	2,232	11.4%	$212,800	$70,774
21	Marion	1,149	9.1%	$370,900	$52,105
22	Plentywood	1,677	4.4%	$148,800	$62,163
23	Sun Prairie	1,514	0.0%	$156,800	$61,004
24	Shelby	3,129	2.2%	$206,000	$53,357
25	Bonner-West Riverside	1,445	2.0%	$162,100	$59,609
26	Cut Bank	3,040	2.2%	$161,400	$55,848
27	West Yellowstone	1,457	0.9%	$402,600	$57,167
28	Stevensville	2,172	6.2%	$336,500	$52,745
29	Boulder	1,326	6.5%	$194,800	$61,250
30	Seeley Lake	1,335	0.0%	$270,400	$46,031
31	Dillon	4,020	4.2%	$237,500	$51,458
32	Forsyth	1,682	2.4%	$185,100	$58,375
33	Hamilton	4,949	1.9%	$299,800	$52,917
34	Colstrip	2,156	6.5%	$193,700	$86,000
35	Glendive	4,831	5.2%	$176,900	$71,063
36	Choteau	1,719	1.0%	$194,900	$53,929
37	East Missoula	2,072	8.9%	$323,900	$65,541
38	Big Timber	1,530	5.0%	$235,100	$63,514
39	Columbus	1,925	4.3%	$264,000	$62,500
40	Helena West Side	1,584	0.0%	$411,800	$67,692
41	Thompson Falls	1,568	0.0%	$182,200	$53,203
42	Somers	1,181	3.4%	$477,300	$56,501
43	Red Lodge	2,399	4.1%	$374,900	$43,857
44	West Glendive	1,968	1.9%	$179,700	$57,743
45	Gallatin Gateway	1,092	3.9%	$747,900	$81,429
46	Corvallis	1,356	4.2%	$237,900	$83,011
47	Deer Lodge	3,035	2.3%	$196,400	$53,676
48	Lolo	4,378	1.9%	$353,700	$73,700
49	Malta	1,902	0.0%	$139,000	$59,449
50	Baker	1,535	0.0%	$198,800	$78,971
51	Chinook	1,460	2.7%	$205,900	$71,500
52	White Sulphur Springs	1,097	0.0%	$231,700	$56,424
53	Pray	1,018	4.8%	$601,400	$102,143
54	Helena Valley Northeast	4,398	1.7%	$462,400	$137,724
55	Big Sky	2,388	2.1%	$884,700	$103,625
56	Glasgow	3,194	0.5%	$206,000	$76,985
57	Fort Benton	1,470	0.0%	$201,900	$67,171
58	Malmstrom Afb	4,191	3.4%	$1,000	$64,079
59	Frenchtown	1,629	0.0%	$391,600	$90,767
60	Wheatland	1,185	0.0%	$581,100	$108,580
61	Helena Flats	1,014	5.1%	$544,900	$88,125
62	Manhattan	2,149	0.0%	$460,400	$69,671
63	Wye	1,222	4.4%	$520,700	$106,667
64	Churchill	1,120	0.7%	$588,800	$95,550
65	Lakeside	2,730	0.0%	$589,500	$83,958
66	Three Forks	2,034	1.1%	$382,400	$80,394
67	Clancy	1,729	1.0%	$443,500	$116,800
68	Montana City	2,899	1.1%	$519,100	$125,223
69	King Arthur Park	2,343	0.0%	$333,500	$107,341