The 10 Worst Small Towns In Montana For 2024

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:

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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 2024:

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

So what is the worst small town to call home in Montana for 2024? 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 2024

1. Lame Deer

Source: Wikipedia User Xnatedawgx | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,064
Median Home Value: $150,299
Median Income: $31,250
Unemployment Rate: 26.3%

2. Fort Belknap Agency

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,473
Median Home Value: $100,932
Median Income: $29,766
Unemployment Rate: 36.3%

3. Crow Agency

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,965
Median Home Value: $126,128
Median Income: $32,721
Unemployment Rate: 41.8%

4. Hays

Overall SnackAbility

/10

Population: 1,095
Median Home Value: $93,168
Median Income: $49,423
Unemployment Rate: 27.5%

5. South Browning

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,654
Median Home Value: $0
Median Income: $26,101
Unemployment Rate: 15.3%

6. North Browning

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 3,001
Median Home Value: $193,221
Median Income: $38,462
Unemployment Rate: 11.6%

7. Pablo

Source: Wikipedia User Djembayz | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,799
Median Home Value: $196,297
Median Income: $35,395
Unemployment Rate: 8.2%

8. Ronan

Source: Wikipedia User Magicpiano | CC BY-SA 4.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,868
Median Home Value: $394,642
Median Income: $36,310
Unemployment Rate: 8.7%

9. Wolf Point

Source: Wikipedia User Royalbroil | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,634
Median Home Value: $277,061
Median Income: $46,389
Unemployment Rate: 16.6%

10. Cut Bank

Source: Wikipedia User Royalbroil | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,061
Median Home Value: $171,155
Median Income: $41,759
Unemployment Rate: 2.6%

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 2018-2022 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 2024, 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, Hays, South Browning, North Browning, Pablo, Ronan, Wolf Point, and Cut Bank.

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

1. Three Forks (Pop. 1,895)
2. Montana City (Pop. 2,716)
3. King Arthur Park (Pop. 2,033)

For more Montana reading, check out:

Worst Small Towns In Montana

Rank	Town	Population	Unemployment Rate	Home Value	Median Income
1	Lame Deer	2,064	26.3%	$150,299	$31,250
2	Fort Belknap Agency	1,473	36.3%	$100,932	$29,766
3	Crow Agency	1,965	41.8%	$126,128	$32,721
4	Hays	1,095	27.5%	$93,168	$49,423
5	South Browning	1,654	15.3%	$0	$26,101
6	North Browning	3,001	11.6%	$193,221	$38,462
7	Pablo	1,799	8.2%	$196,297	$35,395
8	Ronan	1,868	8.7%	$394,642	$36,310
9	Wolf Point	2,634	16.6%	$277,061	$46,389
10	Cut Bank	3,061	2.6%	$171,155	$41,759
11	Whitehall	1,129	9.6%	$427,620	$41,477
12	Plains	1,181	2.5%	$407,744	$25,313
13	Libby	2,857	2.1%	$342,272	$36,373
14	Eureka	1,790	4.2%	$508,352	$54,531
15	Boulder	1,214	6.0%	$327,309	$54,609
16	St. Ignatius	1,019	6.9%	$478,152	$46,250
17	Hardin	3,803	11.5%	$231,596	$57,266
18	Conrad	2,640	4.6%	$225,365	$49,135
19	Sun Prairie	1,366	0.0%	$217,392	$52,311
20	Stevensville	2,038	4.9%	$560,086	$39,836
21	Lincoln	1,005	0.2%	$341,110	$42,900
22	Marion	1,219	11.2%	$646,380	$58,704
23	Townsend	2,176	12.8%	$405,794	$65,522
24	Roundup	1,824	3.8%	$226,081	$54,167
25	Plentywood	1,781	2.5%	$190,844	$66,607
26	West Yellowstone	1,147	1.6%	$578,545	$48,750
27	East Helena	1,829	7.9%	$408,301	$54,485
28	Harlem	1,005	8.7%	$160,531	$61,818
29	Choteau	1,714	1.9%	$258,169	$54,679
30	Bonner-West Riverside	1,281	5.0%	$0	$58,673
31	Shelby	3,058	1.2%	$169,827	$51,667
32	Corvallis	1,396	7.5%	$602,104	$62,034
33	Forsyth	1,458	2.6%	$215,207	$56,397
34	Red Lodge	2,321	4.2%	$480,258	$39,472
35	Hamilton	4,806	2.4%	$485,729	$45,973
36	Dillon	3,958	3.8%	$353,022	$42,037
37	East Missoula	2,105	7.0%	$407,536	$58,991
38	Fort Benton	1,544	6.4%	$249,207	$67,656
39	Chinook	1,488	2.3%	$224,444	$47,067
40	Seeley Lake	1,590	6.1%	$506,145	$42,254
41	Columbus	1,932	5.0%	$420,659	$59,150
42	Thompson Falls	1,658	0.6%	$411,891	$43,125
43	Helena West Side	1,591	0.0%	$489,425	$71,141
44	Somers	1,037	0.0%	$660,046	$54,466
45	Colstrip	2,327	5.0%	$249,251	$87,321
46	Malta	2,121	4.3%	$258,529	$60,735
47	Park City	1,022	2.2%	$470,050	$61,875
48	Glendive	4,861	4.1%	$218,024	$65,663
49	Lolo	4,573	1.0%	$501,100	$69,035
50	White Sulphur Springs	1,112	0.0%	$300,681	$55,775
51	Big Timber	1,702	4.0%	$388,098	$60,842
52	Malmstrom Afb	4,281	3.7%	$0	$62,684
53	Baker	1,500	0.0%	$208,952	$96,667
54	Florence	1,046	11.7%	$598,773	$74,615
55	Deer Lodge	3,030	3.4%	$265,269	$52,813
56	Manhattan	1,986	0.0%	$625,658	$57,045
57	Frenchtown	1,570	3.6%	$597,936	$86,184
58	Bigfork	4,953	3.5%	$752,328	$73,443
59	Big Sky	2,825	1.7%	$1,688,764	$94,176
60	West Glendive	1,912	2.4%	$298,840	$66,725
61	Glasgow	3,208	0.8%	$167,389	$65,850
62	Helena Valley Northeast	4,245	1.5%	$674,589	$137,500
63	Lakeside	2,564	0.0%	$759,771	$71,006
64	Helena Flats	1,071	2.9%	$668,583	$68,194
65	Wye	1,074	5.7%	$689,970	$93,264
66	Churchill	1,081	0.6%	$677,812	$90,250
67	Wheatland	1,017	0.0%	$833,385	$105,500
68	Pray	1,017	3.7%	$979,307	$104,512
69	Clancy	1,970	1.4%	$586,221	$95,357
70	Three Forks	1,895	1.4%	$522,069	$77,674
71	Montana City	2,716	2.2%	$672,831	$113,679
72	King Arthur Park	2,033	0.0%	$0	$101,281