The 10 Worst Small Towns In Montana For 2023


We used Saturday Night Science to determine the worst small towns in Montana.

By: Nick Johnson | About HomeSnacks
Last Updated: October 14, 2023

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 72 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:

These are the worst small towns in Montana for 2023:

  1. Lame Deer
  2. Fort Belknap Agency
  3. Crow Agency
  4. Hays
  5. South Browning
  6. North Browning
  7. Pablo
  8. Hardin
  9. Ronan
  10. Philipsburg

So what is the worst small town to call home in Montana for 2023? 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.

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

The 10 Worst Small Towns In Montana For 2023

1. Lame Deer

Lame Deer, MT

Source: Wikipedia User Xnatedawgx | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,231
Median Home Value: $85,800 (5th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 18.9% (4th worst)

2. Fort Belknap Agency

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,431
Median Home Value: $62,100 (3rd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 32.8% (2nd worst)

3. Crow Agency

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,993
Median Home Value: $79,300 (4th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 34.4% (worst)

4. Hays

Overall SnackAbility

/10

Population: 1,150
Median Home Value: $56,500 (2nd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 25.9% (3rd worst)

5. South Browning

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,392
Median Home Value: $1,000 (1000th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 14.4% (6th worst)

6. North Browning

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 3,253
Median Home Value: $135,400 (15th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 13.3% (8th worst)

7. Pablo

Pablo, MT

Source: Wikipedia User Djembayz | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,037
Median Home Value: $114,000 (8th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.6% (16th worst)

8. Hardin

Hardin, MT

Source: Wikipedia User Coemgenus at English Wikipedia | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,754
Median Home Value: $124,900 (12th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 9.4% (14th worst)

9. Ronan

Ronan, MT

Source: Wikipedia User Magicpiano | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,785
Median Home Value: $146,300 (19th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.9% (15th worst)

10. Philipsburg

Overall SnackAbility

/10

Population: 1,025
Median Home Value: $147,000 (20th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 10.8% (9th worst)

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 2017-2021 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 – 72 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 2023, 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.

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

  1. Montana City (Pop. 2,735)
  2. Helena Valley Northeast (Pop. 3,607)
  3. King Arthur Park (Pop. 1,951)

For more Montana reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Small Towns In Montana

Rank Town Population Unemployment Rate Home Value
1 Lame Deer 2,231 18.9% $85,800
2 Fort Belknap Agency 1,431 32.8% $62,100
3 Crow Agency 1,993 34.4% $79,300
4 Hays 1,150 25.9% $56,500
5 South Browning 1,392 14.4% $1,000
6 North Browning 3,253 13.3% $135,400
7 Pablo 2,037 8.6% $114,000
8 Hardin 3,754 9.4% $124,900
9 Ronan 1,785 8.9% $146,300
10 Philipsburg 1,025 10.8% $147,000
11 Thompson Falls 1,551 6.5% $157,000
12 Eureka 1,447 5.5% $166,700
13 Wolf Point 2,638 18.5% $105,400
14 Boulder 1,033 6.5% $161,300
15 Harlowton 1,096 2.8% $129,500
16 Cut Bank 3,049 4.4% $114,200
17 Roundup 1,708 3.5% $103,200
18 Libby 2,745 0.7% $157,700
19 Bonner-West Riverside 1,199 6.7% $45,100
20 Stevensville 1,959 5.3% $226,300
21 Lincoln 1,096 0.2% $207,100
22 Sun Prairie 1,728 1.4% $139,700
23 Plains 1,156 0.0% $153,400
24 Shelby 3,139 1.5% $168,400
25 Townsend 2,224 10.0% $170,600
26 Choteau 1,826 2.3% $164,300
27 Conrad 2,758 4.8% $134,900
28 Marion 1,219 3.7% $290,400
29 Plentywood 1,660 3.5% $147,100
30 Corvallis 1,604 4.7% $188,700
31 Seeley Lake 1,566 5.8% $237,900
32 Deer Lodge 2,938 0.0% $121,500
33 Malta 2,031 4.5% $136,300
34 East Missoula 2,162 10.6% $243,300
35 Colstrip 2,094 5.2% $123,700
36 East Helena 1,647 4.7% $201,700
37 Helena West Side 1,743 2.5% $314,000
38 Hamilton 4,632 1.7% $224,400
39 Forsyth 1,562 0.0% $154,100
40 Helena Flats 1,296 5.9% $296,500
41 Red Lodge 2,032 4.1% $296,300
42 Somers 1,169 0.0% $1,000
43 Glendive 4,928 4.8% $160,000
44 Fort Benton 1,396 3.8% $159,000
45 Dillon 3,930 3.0% $171,600
46 Lolo 4,338 0.7% $291,100
47 West Yellowstone 1,096 0.0% $297,800
48 Chinook 1,421 2.1% $144,300
49 Fairview 1,027 13.9% $163,200
50 Scobey 1,059 0.6% $161,100
51 Bigfork 4,683 4.3% $486,600
52 Lakeside 2,463 0.0% $448,300
53 Park City 1,065 4.7% $207,700
54 West Glendive 1,868 2.5% $168,000
55 Baker 1,763 0.0% $156,100
56 Florence 1,000 10.4% $364,200
57 Columbus 2,069 5.0% $212,700
58 White Sulphur Springs 1,123 0.0% $178,500
59 Wye 1,078 10.1% $357,700
60 Churchill 1,031 0.2% $378,800
61 Manhattan 1,884 0.8% $297,800
62 Frenchtown 1,734 3.9% $335,300
63 Big Sky 3,141 2.4% $622,600
64 Big Timber 1,752 4.1% $174,900
65 Three Forks 2,084 2.7% $232,200
66 Glasgow 3,192 1.8% $165,300
67 Helena Valley Northwest 4,653 2.5% $291,900
68 Malmstrom Afb 4,098 1.9% $1,000
69 Clancy 1,902 3.1% $327,900
70 Montana City 2,735 1.4% $389,500
71 Helena Valley Northeast 3,607 1.1% $373,500
72 King Arthur Park 1,951 0.0% $259,000
About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

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