The unfortunate fact of the matter is that some places in the Treasure State have a larger percent of their population that never graduated from high school.
While the emphasis on going to college might be overblown, the fact is that not graduating from high school puts you at a significant disadvantage on average. Educational attainment might not be the best way to measure one person’s intelligence, but it does shine a light on the state.
We will use Saturday Night Science to determine what places in Montana have the highest percentage of adults without a high school degree.
A recent study we published found that Montana is the 15th smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 101.
But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in Montana are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Dumbest Places In Montana
Don’t freak out.
Some places are just smarter than others, but that says nothing about the character of the people living there. It’s another data point a real estate agent would never tell you.
For this ranking, we only looked at cities with populations greater than 2,000, leaving us 31 cities in Montana to rank. You can take a look at the data below.
For more Montana reading, check out:
The 10 Dumbest Places In Montana For 2024
/10
2. Conrad
/10
% Adult High School Dropout: 10.0%
% Highly Educated: 20.0%
More on Conrad: Crime | Real Estate
3. Townsend
/10
% Adult High School Dropout: 9.0%
% Highly Educated: 17.0%
More on Townsend: Real Estate
/10
% Adult High School Dropout: 10.0%
% Highly Educated: 22.0%
More on Shelby: Data | Real Estate
5. Libby
/10
% Adult High School Dropout: 7.0%
% Highly Educated: 17.0%
More on Libby: Crime | Real Estate
6. Wolf Point
/10
% Adult High School Dropout: 6.0%
% Highly Educated: 12.0%
More on Wolf Point: Crime | Real Estate
/10
% Adult High School Dropout: 6.0%
% Highly Educated: 16.0%
More on Laurel: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Adult High School Dropout: 9.0%
% Highly Educated: 24.0%
More on Columbia Falls: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
9. Malta
/10
% Adult High School Dropout: 7.0%
% Highly Educated: 23.0%
More on Malta: Real Estate
/10
% Adult High School Dropout: 11.0%
% Highly Educated: 31.0%
More on Hardin: Data | Real Estate
Methodology: How we determined the dumbest cities in the Treasure State
We realize that formal education is only part of it when it comes to being intelligent, but on the other hand, knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.
So, we used Saturday Night Science to narrow down our criteria to focus on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.
In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Montana:
- % of the city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
- % of city’s population with a college degree (Age 25+)
We got the data from the U.S. Census 2018-2022 American Community Survey.
Then, our algorithm generates a rank for each place in these categories. After crunching all the numbers, a ranking of the cities in Montana from dumbest to brightest.
For this ranking, we used every Montana city with at least 2,000 residents. We updated this article for 2024, and it’s our tenth time ranking the dumbest cities in Montana.
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
If you’re measuring the locations in Montana where there are a high number of dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate ranking.
The dumbest cities in Montana are Cut Bank, Conrad, Townsend, Shelby, Libby, Wolf Point, Laurel, Columbia Falls, Malta, and Hardin.
If you’re also curious enough, here are the smartest places in Montana, according to science:
- Bozeman
- Whitefish
- Red Lodge
For more Montana reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Montana
- Cheapest Places To Live In Montana
- Most Dangerous Cities In Montana
- Richest Cities In Montana
- Safest Places In Montana
- Worst Places To Live In Montana
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Montana
Dumbest Cities In Montana For 2024
| Rank | City | Population | % Adult High School Dropout | % Highly Educated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cut Bank, MT | 3,061 | 11.0% | 19.0% |
| 2 | Conrad, MT | 2,640 | 10.0% | 20.0% |
| 3 | Townsend, MT | 2,176 | 9.0% | 17.0% |
| 4 | Shelby, MT | 3,058 | 10.0% | 22.0% |
| 5 | Libby, MT | 2,857 | 7.0% | 17.0% |
| 6 | Wolf Point, MT | 2,634 | 6.0% | 12.0% |
| 7 | Laurel, MT | 7,181 | 6.0% | 16.0% |
| 8 | Columbia Falls, MT | 5,435 | 9.0% | 24.0% |
| 9 | Malta, MT | 2,121 | 7.0% | 23.0% |
| 10 | Hardin, MT | 3,803 | 11.0% | 31.0% |
| 11 | Sidney, MT | 6,257 | 4.0% | 11.0% |
| 12 | Polson, MT | 5,218 | 9.0% | 27.0% |
| 13 | Havre, MT | 9,332 | 8.0% | 26.0% |
| 14 | Hamilton, MT | 4,806 | 9.0% | 28.0% |
| 15 | Glendive, MT | 4,861 | 7.0% | 24.0% |
| 16 | Glasgow, MT | 3,208 | 5.0% | 20.0% |
| 17 | Stevensville, MT | 2,038 | 7.0% | 26.0% |
| 18 | Lewistown, MT | 5,988 | 6.0% | 23.0% |
| 19 | Colstrip, MT | 2,327 | 6.0% | 24.0% |
| 20 | Great Falls, MT | 60,373 | 6.0% | 27.0% |
| 21 | Deer Lodge, MT | 3,030 | 3.0% | 22.0% |
| 22 | Dillon, MT | 3,958 | 6.0% | 33.0% |
| 23 | Kalispell, MT | 25,473 | 4.0% | 32.0% |
| 24 | Billings, MT | 117,093 | 4.0% | 37.0% |
| 25 | Helena, MT | 32,529 | 4.0% | 50.0% |
| 26 | Belgrade, MT | 10,941 | 3.0% | 37.0% |
| 27 | Livingston, MT | 8,489 | 1.0% | 35.0% |
| 28 | Missoula, MT | 74,627 | 3.0% | 51.0% |
| 29 | Red Lodge, MT | 2,321 | 1.0% | 43.0% |
| 30 | Whitefish, MT | 8,098 | 2.0% | 57.0% |
| 31 | Bozeman, MT | 53,500 | 2.0% | 64.0% |
Hey Sam Sparkes, you are dumb as rocks! Why would you publish an article like this? You might want to consider another line of work buddy!
Speaking about the dumbest of anything while having grammar errors throughout one’s writing has to be the epitome of stupid.
Im from sidney, im a highschool grad . growing up there only 5 people have dropped out. How dare you insult my home with ur bull crap u call a study. HOW DARE U
You forgot Eureka. Many of these people are absolutely butt-stupid. I’ve never seen such a large collection of extreme ignorant intellect, if one wishes to be kind and call it ‘intellect’.