Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety23#12,114/15,637
Economy84#2,533/15,631
Housing70#4,563/14,977
Health63#5,805/15,609
Healthcare67#5,178/15,650
Environment87#2,071/15,453
Education60#6,204/15,649
Infrastructure95#841/15,650
Community90#1,547/15,651
Leisure & amenities99#215/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Pray, 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
Job growth · high6.4%
99/100Montana 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataPark County value
High school diploma or higher · high98.8%
99/100Montana 94.6%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100Montana 3.3%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025

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
749 (2015-2019) → 1,129 (2020-2024)
+51%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
43.6% (2015-2019) → 3.0% (2020-2024)
−41 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Child poverty rateImproving
23.4% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−23 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
42.6% (2015-2019) → 63.8% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
27.1% (2015-2019) → 42.2% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$65,972 (2015-2019) → $96,250 (2020-2024)
+46%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Pray, Montana improved on 1 of 7 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 6 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.

Improved1

Household income+46%$65,972 → $96,250

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 7 measures

Change of every measure of Pray, Montana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Bachelor's degree or higher	24.1%2015-2019	30.7%2020-2024	+6.5 points	Within the margin of error	77%
Broadband subscriptions	88.9%2015-2019	95.7%2020-2024	+6.7 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Effective property tax rate	0.42%2015-2019	0.50%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	8%
High school diploma or higher	98.6%2015-2019	98.8%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Home price to income ratio	6.4×2015-2019	6.5×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	71%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3722015-2019	0.4342020-2024	+0.062	Within the margin of error	12%
Median household income	$65,9722015-2019	$96,2502020-2024	+46%	Improved	81%

“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 Pray, Montana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Pray, 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, Pray, Montana itself moved −3.8 points in standing on average over the same 7 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

1,129 residents (±288)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 50–59 women (−8.7 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,129 residents (±288)

Pray, Montana
Montana share

White84%951
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino0.4%†5

Education

884 residents (±193)

Pray, Montana
Montana share

No high school diploma1.2%†11
High school or GED34%†301
Some college21%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

438 households (±104)

Pray, Montana
Montana share

Under $25k16%†69
$25k–50k8.0%†35
$50k–75k14%†61
$75k–100k16%†72
$100k–150k27%†119
$150k–200k10%†44
$200k or more8.7%†38

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $150k–200k (+8.7 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

438 households (±104)

Pray, Montana
Montana share

Own79%346
Rent21%†92

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

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

58 households (±49)

Pray, Montana
Montana share

Under $75047%†27
$750–1,0008.6%†5
$1,000–1,50028%†16

Home values

346 homes (±91)

Pray, Montana
Montana share

Under $150k3.2%†11
$150k–250k10%†36
$250k–400k5.8%†20

Age of homes

558 homes (±121)

Pray, Montana
Montana share

2010 or later22%†120
2000–200920%†110
1980–199935%†196

Size of homes

558 homes (±121)

Pray, Montana
Montana share

Studio1.4%†8
1 bedroom5.9%†33
2 bedrooms40%†223

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

390 workers (±144)

Pray, Montana
Montana share

Drive alone60%†233
Carpool17%†66
Public transit6.2%†24
Walk1.8%†7
Bike0.0%0
Work from home13%†50
Other2.6%†10

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

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

340 workers (±141)

Pray, Montana
Montana share

Under 15 min20%†69
15–29 min22%†76
30–44 min34%†114

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Pray'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

In FY2026, an estimated $29K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Pray, Montana: $25.70 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $29K; −3.2% vs FY2025
Per resident: $25.70; US $1,994
Sole-source: 7.4%; 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

Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services$17.1K59%
National Park Service$4,57316%
Bureau of Land Management$2,7419.4%
Forest Service$2,3988.3%
Department of the Army$2,1497.4%

Top recipients

TERRA SOIL & ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS LLC$17.1K59%
FRANCK AG, LLC$4,57316%
DANA SAFETY SUPPLY, INC.$2,7419.4%
LG FORESTRY, LLC$2,1527.4%
LUCCOCK PARK METHODIST CAMP ASSOCIATION$2,1497.4%

Spending by fiscal year

18KFY2017
13KFY2018
9KFY2019
6.1KFY2020
8.7KFY2021
18.7KFY2022
33.4KFY2023
20.6KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$17.1K59%
Other crop farming · 1119$4,57316%
Automotive repair and maintenance · 8111$2,7419.4%
Support activities for forestry · 1153$2,1527.4%
RV parks and recreational camps · 7212$2,1497.4%
Highway, street, and bridge construction · 2373

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 Pray, Montana, so they do not add up across cities.

Pray, Montana's figures are part of those of Park County, MT ($40.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Pray 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.

Pray, 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
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/3059725

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends