City · Phillips County, Montana

Malta, Montana

Malta is a city in Phillips County, Montana. It has 2,100 residents. Malta, Montana has a quality-of-life score of 66 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,370 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Montana it ranks #55 of 94 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an Amtrak station (low), public libraries (high) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on dentists (low), distance to an airport (high) and distance to an emergency room (high).

66High

Quality-of-life score: #5,370 of 15,651 cities and towns
Montana: #55 of 94 in MT
Population: 2,100 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,956.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 3047425

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety67#5,204/15,637
Economy37#9,880/15,631
Housing67#4,924/14,977
Health24#11,833/15,609
Healthcare13#13,547/15,650
Environment83#2,570/15,453
Education73#4,191/15,649
Infrastructure76#3,781/15,650
Community60#6,194/15,651
Leisure & amenities99#85/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Distance to an Amtrak station · low1 mi
100/100Montana 117 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauPhillips County value
Public libraries · high7.2 /10k
100/100Montana 1.0 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesPhillips County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low78 min
99/100Montana 123 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesPhillips County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Montana 23.6 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataPhillips County value
Average commute time · low11.8 min
99/100Montana 19.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Grocery stores · high4.8 /10k
99/100Montana 2.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPhillips County value

Weaknesses

Dentists · low0 /100k
0/100Montana 75 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2020University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePhillips County value
Distance to an airport · high180 mi
1/100Montana 53 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauPhillips County value
Distance to an emergency room · high23.6 mi
2/100Montana 12.2 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesPhillips County value
Flu vaccinations · low22.0%
2/100Montana 39.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePhillips County value
Job growth · low-5.0%
2/100Montana 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataPhillips County value
Child care cost burden · high44.7%
2/100Montana 40.6%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePhillips County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
19.3% (2015-2019) → 49.6% (2020-2024)
+30 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
64.5% (2015-2019) → 93.4% (2020-2024)
+29 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
1.6% (2015-2019) → 19.3% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
19.4% (2015-2019) → 6.0% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
18.6% (2015-2019) → 30.8% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Average commute timeWorsening
8.2 min (2015-2019) → 11.8 min (2020-2024)
+43%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Malta, Montana improved on 4 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 4 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

Unemployment−8.3 points8.3% → 0.0%
Broadband+29 points64.5% → 93.4%
Bachelor's++12 points18.6% → 30.8%
Household income+23%$44,189 → $54,483

Declined1

Inequality+0.1020.357 → 0.459

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Malta, Montana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	8.2 min2015-2019	11.8 min2020-2024	+3.5 min	Within the margin of error	16%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.6%2015-2019	30.8%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	94%
Broadband subscriptions	64.5%2015-2019	93.4%2020-2024	+29 points	Improved	97%
Effective property tax rate	1.01%2015-2019	1.03%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	13%
High school diploma or higher	88.1%2015-2019	94.7%2020-2024	+6.5 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	75%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3572015-2019	0.4592020-2024	+0.102	Declined	4%
Median household income	$44,1892015-2019	$54,4832020-2024	+23%	Improved	40%
Unemployment rate	8.3%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	−8.3 points	Improved	99%

“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 Malta, Montana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Malta, 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, Malta, Montana itself moved +5.7 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

2,100 residents (±345)

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

854 households (±139)

Malta, Montana
Montana share

Under $25k24%†206
$25k–50k19%†163
$50k–75k24%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

854 households (±139)

Malta, Montana
Montana share

Own62%528
Rent38%326

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−17.6 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

861 workers (±168)

Malta, Montana
Montana share

Drive alone78%672
Carpool11%†91
Public transit0.5%†4

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 Phillips County, the county holding most of Malta's residents.

Phillips County has 135 employer establishments, 319 for every 10,000 residents (1.28× the US rate of 248; 0.85× Montana's), with 796 paid employees at an average annual pay of $37,698. The Census Bureau also counts 380 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 135; 380 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 319; US 248 · Montana 376
Paid employees: 796
Average annual pay: $37,698; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	13	30.7	1.98×More than typical	36	$73,778	48
Other specialty trade contractors	8	18.9	7.52×Too few to compare	14	$126,214	18
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	7	16.5	13.6×Too few to compare	52	$11,788	—
Lessors of real estate	7	16.5	1.34×Too few to compare	6	$55,333	27
Restaurants and other eating places	7	16.5	0.90×Too few to compare	47	$15,681	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	6	14.2	2.81×Too few to compare	17	$40,529	12
Legal services	6	14.2	2.63×Too few to compare	6	$38,833	—
Full-service restaurants	5	11.8	1.54×Too few to compare	24	$15,458	—
Real estate agents and brokers	5	11.8	2.42×Too few to compare	5	$58,200	3
Building equipment contractors	4	9.4	1.57×Too few to compare	18	$43,444	8
Gasoline stations	4	9.4	2.91×Too few to compare	65	$23,354	—
Truck transportation	4	9.4	1.87×Too few to compare	4	$20,500	15

Rank places for an industry Open Phillips County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 4,237 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: Malta is mostly in Phillips County.

See federal money in Phillips 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.

Malta, 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.

Phillips County61100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Phillips 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/3047425

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends