City · Cascade County, Montana

Great Falls, Montana

Great Falls is a city in Cascade County, Montana, part of the Great Falls, MT metro area. It has 60,329 residents. Great Falls, Montana has a quality-of-life score of 44 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,706 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Montana it ranks #72 of 94 cities and towns. It ranks best on high school diploma or higher (high), average commute time (low) and arts, entertainment and recreation (high). It ranks worst on suicide rate (high), property crime rate (high) and distance to an airport (high).

44Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,706 of 15,651 cities and towns
Montana: #72 of 94 in MT
Population: 60,329 (2020-2024)
Land area: 23 mi²
Density: 2,604.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 3032800

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.

Safety7#14,598/15,637
Economy33#10,476/15,631
Housing74#3,957/14,977
Health23#11,995/15,609
Healthcare42#9,041/15,650
Environment54#7,115/15,453
Education65#5,521/15,649
Infrastructure53#7,432/15,650
Community52#7,476/15,651
Leisure & amenities75#3,850/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

High school diploma or higher · high94.8%
98/100Montana 94.6%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Average commute time · low14.9 min
98/100Montana 19.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high11.6 /10k
96/100Montana 13.7 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCascade County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.5 µg/m³
94/100Montana 6.6 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCascade County value
Dentists · high103 /100k
91/100Montana 75 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCascade County value
Mammography screening · high54.0%
88/100Montana 47.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCascade County value

Weaknesses

Suicide rate · high37.7 /100k
1/100Montana 30.3 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCascade County value
Property crime rate · high2,761 /100k
3/100Montana 1,449 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCascade County value
Distance to an airport · high119 mi
6/100Montana 53 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauCascade County value
Comfortable days · low22.7%
6/100Montana 22.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCascade County value
Violent crime rate · high565 /100k
6/100Montana 419 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCascade County value
Distance to an emergency room · high15.4 mi
7/100Montana 12.2 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCascade County value

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.2% (2015-2019) → 90.1% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New homes permittedImproving
1.6 /1k (2021) → 2.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+53%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$46,965 (2015-2019) → $63,373 (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
49.9% (2015-2019) → 45.7% (2020-2024)
−4.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
High school diploma or higherImproving
91.5% (2015-2019) → 94.7% (2020-2024)
+3.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
25.4% (2015-2019) → 27.8% (2020-2024)
+2.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Great Falls, Montana improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 moved within the margin of error and 1 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.

Improved2

Broadband+13 points77.2% → 90.1%
Household income+35%$46,965 → $63,373

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Great Falls, Montana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	14.1 min2015-2019	14.9 min2020-2024	+0.8 min	Within the margin of error	38%
Bachelor's degree or higher	25.4%2015-2019	27.8%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Broadband subscriptions	77.2%2015-2019	90.1%2020-2024	+13 points	Improved	72%
Child poverty rate	18.0%2015-2019	19.3%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Effective property tax rate	0.97%2015-2019	0.85%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	40%
High school diploma or higher	91.5%2015-2019	94.7%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Home price to income ratio	3.8×2015-2019	4.1×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	62%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4812015-2019	0.4592020-2024	−0.022	Within the margin of error	69%
Median household income	$46,9652015-2019	$63,3732020-2024	+35%	Improved	65%
Poverty rate	14.7%2015-2019	14.5%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Public transit commuters	1.0%2015-2019	0.8%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Rent as share of income	29.9%2015-2019	28.2%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Rent-burdened households	49.9%2015-2019	45.7%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Unemployment rate	3.8%2015-2019	3.7%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.2%2015-2019	8.8%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	63%

“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 Great Falls, Montana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Great Falls, 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, Great Falls, Montana itself moved +7.5 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

60,329 residents (±45)

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

26,379 households (±431)

Great Falls, Montana
Montana share

Under $25k18%4,640
$25k–50k22%5,801
$50k–75k17%4,596

Homes

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

Owners and renters

26,379 households (±431)

Great Falls, Montana
Montana share

Own66%17,439
Rent34%8,940

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+3.5 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

28,699 workers (±871)

Great Falls, Montana
Montana share

Drive alone79%22,760
Carpool9.7%2,773
Public transit0.8%†219

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Great Falls, MT

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 Cascade County, the county holding most of Great Falls's residents.

Cascade County has 2,472 employer establishments, 292 for every 10,000 residents (1.18× the US rate of 248; 0.78× Montana's), with 30,050 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,632. The Census Bureau also counts 5,799 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,472; 5,799 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 292; US 248 · Montana 376
Paid employees: 30,050
Average annual pay: $48,632; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	199	23.5	1.13×About typical	2,519	$86,685	253
Specialty trade contractors	176	20.8	1.34×More than typical	1,284	$76,878	440
Restaurants and other eating places	158	18.7	1.02×About typical	3,080	$21,294	24
Lessors of real estate	107	12.6	1.03×About typical	240	$42,567	730
Construction of buildings	100	11.8	1.56×More than typical	328	$72,762	216
Services to buildings and dwellings	75	8.9	1.31×More than typical	514	$35,018	246
Limited-service restaurants	72	8.5	1.06×About typical	1,547	$19,435	5
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	71	8.4	3.16×More than typical	746	$19,891	57
Legal services	68	8	1.49×More than typical	286	$79,514	45
Offices of other health practitioners	68	8	1.32×More than typical	357	$44,384	157
Automotive repair and maintenance	66	7.8	1.55×More than typical	374	$45,144	99
Religious organizations	61	7.2	1.30×More than typical	498	$21,956	—

Rank places for an industry Open Cascade County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 84,623 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 $15.5M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Great Falls, Montana: $258 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $15.5M; +87% vs FY2025
Per resident: $258; US $1,994
Sole-source: 21%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

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

Top buying agencies

Agricultural Marketing Service$9.2M59%
Indian Health Service$1.8M12%
Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education$1.4M9.1%
Department of the Army$1.3M8.6%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$970.3K6.2%
Defense Logistics Agency$602.4K3.9%
Forest Service$131K0.8%
Department of the Air Force$100.9K0.6%

Top recipients

PASTA MONTANA LLC$5.1M33%
JM GRAIN INC$4M26%
INDIAN FAMILY HEALTH CLINIC OF GREAT FALLS INC$1.8M12%
CASCADE COUNTY COMMISSION$1.4M9.1%
HYDROGEOLOGIC, INC.$1.3M8.1%

Spending by fiscal year

3.2MFY2017
8.3MFY2018
5.3MFY2019
11.6MFY2020
21.2MFY2021
15.6MFY2022
9.9MFY2023
7.9M

Top industries (NAICS)

Bakeries and tortilla manufacturing · 3118$9.2M59%
Outpatient care centers · 6214$1.8M12%
Justice, public order, and safety activities · 9221$1.4M9.1%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$1.3M8.1%
Other residential care facilities · 6239$904.1K5.8%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$115.5K

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Great Falls, Montana

FRONT RANGE OPTIMIZED REMEDIATION CONTRACT$24.1M
HYDROGEOLOGIC, INC.· Cascade County, MT· Facilities & utilities· Jul 20, 2020 – May 20, 2026· W9128F20F0144
COMMODITIES FOR USG FOOD DONATIONS: 2000011157/4100033785/PASTA MACARONI PLAIN ELBOW BOX-20/1 LB$4M
JM GRAIN INC· Cascade County, MT· Other equipment & supplies· Feb 12, 2026 – Apr 7, 2026· 123J1426C0717
URBAN CONTRACT: INDIAN FAMILY HEALTH CLINIC$3.1M
INDIAN FAMILY HEALTH CLINIC OF GREAT FALLS INC· Cascade County, MT· Health & medical· Feb 18, 2025 – Sep 28, 2026· 75H70925C00004
COMMODITIES FOR USG FOOD DONATIONS: 2000011282/4100034178/PASTA SPAGHETTI CTN-20 LB,WHOLE GRAIN BLEND MACARONI CTN-20 LB,WHOLE GRAIN BLEND ROTINI MAC CTN-20 LB,WHOLE GRAIN BLEND SPAGHETTI CTN-20 LB,WHOLE GRAIN BLEND PENNE CTN-2/10 LB,EGGNOODLE 1/2 IN

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 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 Great Falls, Montana, so they do not add up across cities.

Great Falls, Montana's figures are part of those of Cascade County, MT ($162.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 9.6% of that total.

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

See federal money in Cascade 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.

Great Falls, Montana is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Troy DowningR-MT-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.6%

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.

Cascade County59100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Great Falls, MT57

Other cities and towns in Cascade 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/3032800

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends