City · Pondera County, Montana

Conrad, Montana

Conrad is a city in Pondera County, Montana. It has 2,618 residents. Conrad, Montana has a quality-of-life score of 46 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,406 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Montana it ranks #71 of 94 cities and towns. It ranks best on time spent in the emergency room (low), average commute time (low) and high school diploma or higher (high). It ranks worst on mental health care shortage (high), child care cost burden (high) and suicide rate (high).

46Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,406 of 15,651 cities and towns
Montana: #71 of 94 in MT
Population: 2,618 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 2,058.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 3017275

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.

Safety53#7,405/15,637
Economy23#12,026/15,631
Housing74#3,883/14,977
Health22#12,167/15,609
Healthcare10#14,050/15,650
Environment99#208/15,453
Education44#8,835/15,649
Infrastructure36#10,027/15,650
Community54#7,203/15,651
Leisure & amenities72#4,343/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Conrad, Montana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Pondera 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

Time spent in the emergency room · low89 min
98/100Montana 123 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesPondera County value
Average commute time · low14.8 min
98/100Montana 19.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
High school diploma or higher · high91.1%
97/100Montana 94.6%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Public libraries · high3.3 /10k
97/100Montana 1.0 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesPondera County value
Grocery stores · high3.3 /10k
96/100Montana 2.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPondera County value
Social associations · high16.3 /10k
94/100Montana 13.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePondera County value

Weaknesses

Mental health care shortage · high21.0
0/100Montana 15.3United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationPondera County value
Child care cost burden · high50.3%
0/100Montana 40.6%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePondera County value
Suicide rate · high37.1 /100k
1/100Montana 30.3 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100k2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimatePondera County value
Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100Montana 8.7United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationPondera County value
Primary care shortage · high20.0
1/100Montana 12.5United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationPondera County value
Traffic deaths · high43.1 /100k
2/100Montana 19.4 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataPondera County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
60.2% (2015-2019) → 37.4% (2020-2024)
−23 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
39.0% (2015-2019) → 20.6% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Average commute timeWorsening
8.0 min (2015-2019) → 14.8 min (2020-2024)
+84%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.6% (2015-2019) → 88.0% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.5× (2015-2019) → 3.9× (2020-2024)
+59%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent as share of incomeImproving
32.9% (2015-2019) → 23.0% (2020-2024)
−9.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Conrad, Montana improved on 4 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 7 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.

Improved4

Child poverty−18 points39.0% → 20.6%
Rent burden−23 points60.2% → 37.4%
Rent / income−9.9 points32.9% → 23.0%
Broadband+16 points71.6% → 88.0%

Declined3

Commute+6.8 min8.0 min → 14.8 min
Uninsured+5.8 points5.7% → 11.5%
Price / income+1.5×2.5× → 3.9×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Conrad, Montana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	8.0 min2015-2019	14.8 min2020-2024	+6.8 min	Declined	6%
Bachelor's degree or higher	19.8%2015-2019	23.4%2020-2024	+3.6 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Broadband subscriptions	71.6%2015-2019	88.0%2020-2024	+16 points	Improved	84%
Child poverty rate	39.0%2015-2019	20.6%2020-2024	−18 points	Improved	92%
Effective property tax rate	0.67%2015-2019	0.92%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	2%
High school diploma or higher	95.5%2015-2019	91.1%2020-2024	−4.4 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	3.9×2020-2024	+1.5×	Declined	10%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3792015-2019	0.4142020-2024	+0.035	Within the margin of error	23%
Median household income	$48,6362015-2019	$47,8572020-2024	−1.6%	Within the margin of error	6%
Poverty rate	17.3%2015-2019	17.6%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	32.9%2015-2019	23.0%2020-2024	−9.9 points	Improved	93%
Rent-burdened households	60.2%2015-2019	37.4%2020-2024	−23 points	Improved	95%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.7%2015-2019	11.5%2020-2024	+5.8 points	Declined	8%

“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 Conrad, Montana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Conrad, 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, Conrad, Montana itself moved −0.2 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

2,618 residents (±245)

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

1,026 households (±97)

Conrad, Montana
Montana share

Under $25k19%†191
$25k–50k37%376
$50k–75k14%†143

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,026 households (±97)

Conrad, Montana
Montana share

Own63%647
Rent37%379

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−10.2 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,215 workers (±166)

Conrad, Montana
Montana share

Drive alone78%947
Carpool4.9%†59
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 Pondera County, the county holding most of Conrad's residents.

Pondera County has 182 employer establishments, 298 for every 10,000 residents (1.20× the US rate of 248; 0.79× Montana's), with 1,103 paid employees at an average annual pay of $39,978. The Census Bureau also counts 428 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 182; 428 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 298; US 248 · Montana 376
Paid employees: 1,103
Average annual pay: $39,978; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	22	36.1	2.33×More than typical	68	$50,853	39
Building equipment contractors	10	16.4	2.73×More than typical	39	$53,410	4
Religious organizations	10	16.4	2.96×More than typical	31	$13,065	—
Restaurants and other eating places	9	14.8	0.80×Too few to compare	79	$9,595	—
Banks and credit unions	7	11.5	3.55×Too few to compare	42	$50,405	—
Construction of buildings	6	9.8	1.30×Too few to compare	48	$54,188	25
Electrical contractors and wiring installation	6	9.8	3.98×Too few to compare	15	$61,733	3
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	6	9.8	3.12×Too few to compare	8	$26,250	4
Truck transportation	6	9.8	1.95×Too few to compare	15	$42,333	17
Automotive repair and maintenance	5	8.2	1.63×Too few to compare	11	$30,727	10
Full-service restaurants	5	8.2	1.07×Too few to compare	48	$9,688	—
Ambulatory health care services	4	6.6	0.31×Too few to compare	15	$54,667	9

Rank places for an industry Open Pondera County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 6,098 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Conrad is mostly in Pondera County.

See federal money in Pondera 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.

Conrad, Montana is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

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

Pondera County42100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Pondera County

Largest first.

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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/3017275

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends