City · Park County, Montana

Livingston, Montana

Livingston is a city in Park County, Montana. It has 8,780 residents. Livingston, Montana has a quality-of-life score of 75 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,905 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Montana it ranks #39 of 94 cities and towns. It ranks best on arts, entertainment and recreation (high), hot days (low) and restaurants and bars (high). It ranks worst on distance to an Amtrak station (high), suicide rate (high) and pharmacies (low).

75High

Quality-of-life score: #3,905 of 15,651 cities and towns
Montana: #39 of 94 in MT
Population: 8,780 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 1,446.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 3043975

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety23#12,114/15,637
Economy58#6,611/15,631
Housing46#8,157/14,977
Health58#6,586/15,609
Healthcare53#7,310/15,650
Environment87#2,071/15,453
Education67#5,222/15,649
Infrastructure74#4,109/15,650
Community90#1,547/15,651
Leisure & amenities99#215/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Arts, entertainment and recreation · high44.5 /10k
100/100Montana 13.7 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPark County value
Hot days · low0 days
100/100Montana 15 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationPark County value
Restaurants and bars · high24.7 /10k
99/100Montana 13.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPark County value
High school diploma or higher · high97.6%
99/100Montana 94.6%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Job growth · high6.4%
99/100Montana 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataPark County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.7 µg/m³
98/100Montana 6.6 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyPark County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an Amtrak station · high208 mi
2/100Montana 117 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauPark County value
Suicide rate · high29.3 /100k
4/100Montana 30.3 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataPark County value
Pharmacies · low0.6 /10k
4/100Montana 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPark County value
Traffic deaths · high31.6 /100k
6/100Montana 19.4 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataPark County value
Firearm deaths · high24.4 /100k
7/100Montana 23.6 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataPark County value
Comfortable days · low23.0%
8/100Montana 22.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationPark County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
7,575 (2015-2019) → 8,780 (2020-2024)
+16%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
4.6 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.2% (2015-2019) → 91.5% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
28.8% (2015-2019) → 38.6% (2020-2024)
+9.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$46,097 (2015-2019) → $65,861 (2020-2024)
+43%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
47.0% (2015-2019) → 55.1% (2020-2024)
+8.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Livingston, Montana improved on 3 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 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.

Improved3

Bachelor's++9.8 points28.8% → 38.6%
Broadband+14 points77.2% → 91.5%
Household income+43%$46,097 → $65,861

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Livingston, Montana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.1 min2015-2019	25.5 min2020-2024	+4.4 min	Within the margin of error	12%
Bachelor's degree or higher	28.8%2015-2019	38.6%2020-2024	+9.8 points	Improved	89%
Broadband subscriptions	77.2%2015-2019	91.5%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	77%
Child poverty rate	14.0%2015-2019	20.9%2020-2024	+6.9 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Effective property tax rate	0.84%2015-2019	0.64%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	57%
High school diploma or higher	95.5%2015-2019	97.6%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Home price to income ratio	4.9×2015-2019	6.0×2020-2024	+1.1×	Within the margin of error	19%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4502015-2019	0.4372020-2024	−0.013	Within the margin of error	62%
Median household income	$46,0972015-2019	$65,8612020-2024	+43%	Improved	77%
Poverty rate	14.5%2015-2019	13.7%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Rent as share of income	28.8%2015-2019	31.9%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Rent-burdened households	47.0%2015-2019	55.1%2020-2024	+8.1 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.9%2015-2019	9.7%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“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 Livingston, Montana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Livingston, 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, Livingston, Montana itself moved +0 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

8,780 residents (±19)

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

4,276 households (±195)

Livingston, Montana
Montana share

Under $25k18%773
$25k–50k19%826
$50k–75k18%†764

Homes

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

Owners and renters

4,276 households (±195)

Livingston, Montana
Montana share

Own60%2,563
Rent40%1,713

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

4,730 workers (±295)

Livingston, Montana
Montana share

Drive alone68%3,234
Carpool11%†508
Public transit1.0%†

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 Park County, the county holding most of Livingston's residents.

Park County has 943 employer establishments, 525 for every 10,000 residents (2.11× the US rate of 248; 1.39× Montana's), with 5,399 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,203. The Census Bureau also counts 2,736 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 943; 2,736 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 525; US 248 · Montana 376
Paid employees: 5,399
Average annual pay: $52,203; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	96	53.4	3.45×More than typical	339	$67,348	264
Restaurants and other eating places	66	36.7	2.00×More than typical	674	$30,088	11
Lessors of real estate	57	31.7	2.57×More than typical	51	$56,627	351
Construction of buildings	49	27.3	3.61×More than typical	135	$61,007	165
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	47	26.2	9.84×More than typical	171	$39,620	40
Ambulatory health care services	42	23.4	1.12×About typical	266	$57,857	98
Other amusement and recreation industries	42	23.4	9.64×More than typical	109	$46,486	40
Traveler accommodation	41	22.8	12.6×More than typical	475	$47,989	35
Building equipment contractors	38	21.1	3.51×More than typical	198	$62,904	31
Full-service restaurants	38	21.1	2.75×More than typical	402	$33,119	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	30	16.7	2.48×More than typical	44	$52,318	165
Offices of other health practitioners	26	14.5	2.38×More than typical	97	$44,784	69

Rank places for an industry Open Park County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 17,970 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: Livingston is mostly in Park County.

See federal money in Park 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.

Livingston, 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.

Park County84100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Park 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/3043975

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends