City · Beaverhead County, Montana

Dillon, Montana

Dillon is a city in Beaverhead County, Montana. It has 4,085 residents. Dillon, Montana has a quality-of-life score of 92 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,328 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Montana it ranks #14 of 94 cities and towns. It ranks best on preventable hospital stays (low), hot days (low) and restaurants and bars (high). It ranks worst on distance to an Amtrak station (high), traffic deaths (high) and suicide rate (high).

92Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,328 of 15,651 cities and towns
Montana: #14 of 94 in MT
Population: 4,085 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 2,119.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 3020800

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety79#3,241/15,637
Economy54#7,239/15,631
Housing84#2,431/14,977
Health65#5,419/15,609
Healthcare56#6,932/15,650
Environment94#859/15,453
Education86#2,212/15,649
Infrastructure69#4,897/15,650
Community85#2,291/15,651
Leisure & amenities99#87/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Preventable hospital stays · low133 /100k
100/100Montana 1,824 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBeaverhead County value
Hot days · low0 days
100/100Montana 15 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationBeaverhead County value
Restaurants and bars · high26.9 /10k
99/100Montana 13.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBeaverhead County value
Median Air Quality Index · low13
99/100Montana 332025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyBeaverhead County value
Property crime rate · low188 /100k
99/100Montana 1,449 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationBeaverhead County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Montana 23.6 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBeaverhead County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an Amtrak station · high215 mi
2/100Montana 117 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauBeaverhead County value
Traffic deaths · high37.1 /100k
4/100Montana 19.4 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataBeaverhead County value
Suicide rate · high26.2 /100k
7/100Montana 30.3 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataBeaverhead County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Montana 3.2United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesBeaverhead County value
Distance to an emergency room · high13.8 mi
9/100Montana 12.2 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesBeaverhead County value
Pharmacies · low1.0 /10k
14/100Montana 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBeaverhead County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
73.9% (2015-2019) → 40.1% (2020-2024)
−34 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
44.5% (2015-2019) → 26.8% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$32,833 (2015-2019) → $61,134 (2020-2024)
+86%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
26.8% (2015-2019) → 11.5% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
12.8% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.3% (2015-2019) → 90.5% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Dillon, Montana improved on 6 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 5 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.

Improved6

Rent / income−18 points44.5% → 26.8%
Poverty−15 points26.8% → 11.5%
Household income+86%$32,833 → $61,134
Rent burden−34 points73.9% → 40.1%
Inequality−0.0870.493 → 0.407

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Dillon, Montana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	12.0 min2015-2019	16.7 min2020-2024	+4.7 min	Within the margin of error	11%
Bachelor's degree or higher	34.3%2015-2019	37.2%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Broadband subscriptions	79.3%2015-2019	90.5%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	65%
Effective property tax rate	0.89%2015-2019	0.75%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	45%
High school diploma or higher	94.5%2015-2019	91.5%2020-2024	−3 points	Within the margin of error	11%
Home price to income ratio	5.0×2015-2019	4.2×2020-2024	−0.8×	Within the margin of error	96%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4932015-2019	0.4072020-2024	−0.087	Improved	94%
Median household income	$32,8332015-2019	$61,1342020-2024	+86%	Improved	97%
Poverty rate	26.8%2015-2019	11.5%2020-2024	−15 points	Improved	98%
Rent as share of income	44.5%2015-2019	26.8%2020-2024	−18 points	Improved	98%
Rent-burdened households	73.9%2015-2019	40.1%2020-2024	−34 points	Improved	98%

“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 Dillon, Montana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Dillon, 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, Dillon, Montana itself moved +19.8 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

4,085 residents (±22)

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

1,764 households (±143)

Dillon, Montana
Montana share

Under $25k16%†277
$25k–50k27%†471
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,764 households (±143)

Dillon, Montana
Montana share

Own56%982
Rent44%782

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,056 workers (±182)

Dillon, Montana
Montana share

Drive alone75%1,535
Carpool13%†259
Public transit2.7%†56

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 Beaverhead County, the county holding most of Dillon's residents.

Beaverhead County has 399 employer establishments, 404 for every 10,000 residents (1.63× the US rate of 248; 1.07× Montana's), with 2,643 paid employees at an average annual pay of $40,504. The Census Bureau also counts 1,133 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 399; 1,133 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 404; US 248 · Montana 376
Paid employees: 2,643
Average annual pay: $40,504; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	37	37.4	2.42×More than typical	142	$43,387	77
Restaurants and other eating places	28	28.3	1.54×More than typical	339	$19,743	9
Construction of buildings	25	25.3	3.35×More than typical	39	$44,154	50
Ambulatory health care services	19	19.2	0.92×About typical	108	$43,926	37
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	16	16.2	6.09×More than typical	118	$21,542	29
Full-service restaurants	16	16.2	2.11×More than typical	209	$20,722	6
Building equipment contractors	14	14.2	2.35×More than typical	54	$45,222	10
Lessors of real estate	14	14.2	1.15×About typical	19	$26,053	135
Other amusement and recreation industries	14	14.2	5.84×More than typical	105	$20,029	28
Traveler accommodation	11	11.1	6.17×More than typical	140	$20,521	11
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	10	10.1	8.35×More than typical	30	$10,600	—
Limited-service restaurants	10	10.1	1.26×More than typical	127	$18,386	—

Rank places for an industry Open Beaverhead County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 9,882 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: Dillon is mostly in Beaverhead County.

See federal money in Beaverhead 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.

Dillon, 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.

Beaverhead County86100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Beaverhead 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/3020800

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends