Municipality · Deer Lodge County, Montana

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County is a municipality in Deer Lodge County, Montana. It has 9,597 residents. Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana has a quality-of-life score of 55 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,035 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Montana it ranks #67 of 94 cities and towns. It ranks best on hot days (low), natural hazard risk (low) and pharmacies (high). It ranks worst on firearm deaths (high), mental health care shortage (high) and distance to an Amtrak station (high).

55Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,035 of 15,651 cities and towns
Montana: #67 of 94 in MT
Population: 9,597 (2020-2024)
Land area: 737 mi²
Density: 13.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 3001675

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety13#13,584/15,637
Economy36#10,028/15,631
Housing88#1,801/14,977
Health35#10,132/15,609
Healthcare66#5,267/15,650
Environment98#319/15,453
Education31#10,720/15,649
Infrastructure15#13,314/15,650
Community61#6,072/15,651
Leisure & amenities98#333/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Deer Lodge County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Hot days · low0 days
100/100Montana 15 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationDeer Lodge County value
Natural hazard risk · low1.0
99/100Montana 35.22025Federal Emergency Management AgencyDeer Lodge County value
Pharmacies · high4.1 /10k
99/100Montana 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDeer Lodge County value
Restaurants and bars · high21.6 /10k
99/100Montana 13.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDeer Lodge County value
Hospital quality rating · high5.0
98/100Montana 3.2United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesDeer Lodge County value
High school diploma or higher · high92.4%
97/100Montana 94.6%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Weaknesses

Firearm deaths · high28.3 /100k
3/100Montana 23.6 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataDeer Lodge County value
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
3/100Montana 15.3United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationDeer Lodge County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high151 mi
4/100Montana 117 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauDeer Lodge County value
Broadband subscriptions · low81.6%
6/100Montana 89.4%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Suicide rate · high27.1 /100k
6/100Montana 30.3 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataDeer Lodge County value
Comfortable days · low22.9%
7/100Montana 22.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationDeer Lodge County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
9,106 (2015-2019) → 9,597 (2020-2024)
+5.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
27.5% (2015-2019) → 11.1% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
42.0% (2015-2019) → 34.3% (2020-2024)
−7.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$41,820 (2015-2019) → $57,527 (2020-2024)
+38%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
74.1% (2015-2019) → 81.6% (2020-2024)
+7.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.1× (2015-2019) → 4.0× (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Child poverty−16 points27.5% → 11.1%
Household income+38%$41,820 → $57,527
Broadband+7.5 points74.1% → 81.6%

Declined1

Price / income+0.9×3.1× → 4.0×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.1 min2015-2019	18.6 min2020-2024	+1.5 min	Within the margin of error	32%
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.4%2015-2019	24.1%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Broadband subscriptions	74.1%2015-2019	81.6%2020-2024	+7.5 points	Improved	46%
Child poverty rate	27.5%2015-2019	11.1%2020-2024	−16 points	Improved	91%
Effective property tax rate	0.95%2015-2019	0.66%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	73%
High school diploma or higher	91.1%2015-2019	92.4%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	4.0×2020-2024	+0.9×	Declined	27%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4452015-2019	0.4232020-2024	−0.022	Within the margin of error	69%
Median household income	$41,8202015-2019	$57,5272020-2024	+38%	Improved	70%
Poverty rate	20.2%2015-2019	16.3%2020-2024	−3.9 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Rent as share of income	26.0%2015-2019	26.1%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Rent-burdened households	42.0%2015-2019	34.3%2020-2024	−7.7 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Unemployment rate	3.6%2015-2019	3.4%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.7%2015-2019	7.3%2020-2024	−2.4 points	Within the margin of error	72%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana itself moved +3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

9,597 residents

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

4,473 households (±221)

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana
Montana share

Under $25k20%912
$25k–50k24%1,066
$50k–75k19%852

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

4,473 households (±221)

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana
Montana share

Own73%3,267
Rent27%1,206

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+5.3 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

4,507 workers (±322)

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana
Montana share

Drive alone75%3,393
Carpool6.1%†274
Public transit0.0%0

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Deer Lodge County, the county holding most of Anaconda-Deer Lodge County's residents.

Deer Lodge County has 312 employer establishments, 323 for every 10,000 residents (1.30× the US rate of 248; 0.86× Montana's), with 2,957 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,956. The Census Bureau also counts 604 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 312; 604 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 323; US 248 · Montana 376
Paid employees: 2,957
Average annual pay: $49,956; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Deer Lodge County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	22	22.8	1.47×More than typical	147	$79,714	50
Ambulatory health care services	21	21.7	1.04×About typical	165	$111,933	36
Restaurants and other eating places	19	19.7	1.07×About typical	288	$18,521	4
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	14	14.5	5.45×More than typical	76	$27,684	7
Construction of buildings	14	14.5	1.92×More than typical	42	$43,476	34
Full-service restaurants	11	11.4	1.48×More than typical	205	$17,859	—
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	9	9.3	7.68×Too few to compare	43	$11,744	—
Building equipment contractors	8	8.3	1.38×Too few to compare	86	$87,767	3
Lessors of real estate	8	8.3	0.67×Too few to compare	16	$30,125	78
Offices of other health practitioners	8	8.3	1.36×Too few to compare	30	$35,667	22
Limited-service restaurants	7	7.2	0.90×Too few to compare	79	$20,658	—
Other amusement and recreation industries	7	7.2	2.99×Too few to compare	25	$42,480	7

Rank places for an industry Open Deer Lodge County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 9,658 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $4.8M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana: $504 per resident (US $2,007).

Obligations: $4.8M; −70% vs FY2025
Per resident: $504; US $2,007
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 1.5%; US 8.7%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Office of the Chief Financial Officer$4.1M84%
Forest Service$631.4K13%
Defense Logistics Agency$80.2K1.7%
Environmental Protection Agency$70.4K1.5%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

1.1MFY2017
1.8MFY2018
31MFY2019
6.9MFY2020
17.4MFY2021
1.2MFY2022
3.7MFY2023
887.5K

Top industries (NAICS)

Computer systems design and related services · 5415$4.1M85%
Other food manufacturing · 3119$394.7K8.2%
Other general purpose machinery manufacturing · 3339$73.7K1.5%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$73.7K1.5%
Other support services · 5619$73.4K1.5%
Employment services · 5613

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana

RAF DES TASK ORDER FOR: ANACONDA SMELTER SUPERFUND SITE OU4 & 16; OVERSIGHT OF PRP RA AND O&M ACTIVITIES$4.8M
CDM FEDERAL PROGRAMS CORPORATION· Deer Lodge County, MT· Facilities & utilities· Dec 18, 2020 – Nov 4, 2025· 68HE0821F0037
JOB CORPS PROJECT FOR THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA), DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES CENTER (DISC), ENTERPRISE NETWORK SERVICES (ENS)$4.1M
COLOSSAL CONTRACTING LLC· Deer Lodge County, MT· IT & telecom· May 29, 2026 – Aug 28, 2026· 12314426F0192
ANACONDA JOB CORPS CCC FOOD SUPPLIES WITH US FOODS FOR 01/01/2026 THRU 12/31/2026$455.5K
US FOODS INC· Deer Lodge County, MT· Other equipment & supplies· Dec 19, 2025 – Jul 27, 2026· 1282A726F0019

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 9, 2026, loaded Oct 9, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana, so they do not add up across cities.

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana's figures are part of those of Deer Lodge County, MT ($4.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 100.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Anaconda-Deer Lodge County is mostly in Deer Lodge County.

See federal money in Deer Lodge County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Ryan K. ZinkeR-MT-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 3.0%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Deer Lodge County60100% of residents

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3001675

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends