City · Carbon County, Montana

Red Lodge, Montana

Red Lodge is a city in Carbon County, Montana, part of the Billings, MT metro area. It has 2,502 residents. Red Lodge, Montana has a quality-of-life score of 88 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,932 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Montana it ranks #21 of 94 cities and towns. It ranks best on preventable hospital stays (low), restaurants and bars (high) and high school diploma or higher (high). It ranks worst on firearm deaths (high), distance to an emergency room (high) and distance to an Amtrak station (high).

88Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,932 of 15,651 cities and towns
Montana: #21 of 94 in MT
Population: 2,502 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 922.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 3061525

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety57#6,785/15,637
Economy51#7,694/15,631
Housing85#2,273/14,977
Health75#3,945/15,609
Healthcare40#9,355/15,650
Environment76#3,776/15,453
Education93#1,103/15,649
Infrastructure71#4,600/15,650
Community94#877/15,651
Leisure & amenities99#228/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Red Lodge, Montana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Carbon 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 · low910 /100k
100/100Montana 1,824 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCarbon County value
Restaurants and bars · high25.3 /10k
99/100Montana 13.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCarbon County value
High school diploma or higher · high96.1%
99/100Montana 94.6%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Property crime rate · low246 /100k
98/100Montana 1,449 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCarbon County value
Voter turnout · high81.5%
98/100Montana 70.3%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionCarbon County value
Public transit commuters · high9.5%
97/100Montana 0.6%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301

Weaknesses

Firearm deaths · high34.9 /100k
1/100Montana 23.6 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateCarbon County value
Distance to an emergency room · high23.9 mi
1/100Montana 12.2 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCarbon County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high218 mi
2/100Montana 117 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauCarbon County value
Traffic deaths · high39.6 /100k
3/100Montana 19.4 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataCarbon County value
Suicide rate · high29.2 /100k
4/100Montana 30.3 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataCarbon County value
Job growth · low-3.4%
5/100Montana 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataCarbon County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,212 (2015-2019) → 2,502 (2020-2024)
+13%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
58.0% (2015-2019) → 32.1% (2020-2024)
−26 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
21.5% (2015-2019) → 7.3% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
29.5 /1k (2021) → 12.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−59%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent as share of incomeImproving
31.9% (2015-2019) → 23.1% (2020-2024)
−8.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Public transit commutersImproving
0.9% (2015-2019) → 9.5% (2020-2024)
+8.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%

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, Red Lodge, Montana improved on 1 of 8 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 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

Rent burden−26 points58.0% → 32.1%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 8 measures

Change of every measure of Red Lodge, Montana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.9 min2015-2019	19.1 min2020-2024	+5.2 min	Within the margin of error	9%
Bachelor's degree or higher	38.5%2015-2019	46.3%2020-2024	+7.8 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Broadband subscriptions	85.9%2015-2019	86.6%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	10%
High school diploma or higher	95.7%2015-2019	96.1%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Poverty rate	12.5%2015-2019	6.7%2020-2024	−5.8 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Rent as share of income	31.9%2015-2019	23.1%2020-2024	−8.8 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Rent-burdened households	58.0%2015-2019	32.1%2020-2024	−26 points	Improved	96%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.0%2015-2019	14.8%2020-2024	+5.9 points	Within the margin of error	8%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 10944 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 Red Lodge, Montana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Red Lodge, 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, Red Lodge, Montana itself moved +12.3 points in standing on average over the same 6 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

2,502 residents (±731)

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: 70–79 men (+7.2 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

2,502 residents (±731)

Red Lodge, Montana
Montana share

White92%†2,296
Black0.6%†14
Hispanic or Latino1.9%†

Education

2,170 residents (±626)

Red Lodge, Montana
Montana share

No high school diploma3.9%†84
High school or GED23%†499
Some college20%†

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

1,389 households (±581)

Red Lodge, Montana
Montana share

Under $25k24%†337
$25k–50k24%†331
$50k–75k10%†143
$75k–100k8.7%†121
$100k–150k12%†161
$150k–200k10%†144
$200k or more11%†152

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $200k or more (+10.4 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

1,389 households (±581)

Red Lodge, Montana
Montana share

Own66%†919
Rent34%†470

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

452 households (±253)

Red Lodge, Montana
Montana share

Under $75060%†272
$750–1,00011%†48
$1,000–1,50022%†100

Home values

919 homes (±407)

Red Lodge, Montana
Montana share

Under $150k3.4%†31
$150k–250k12%†107
$250k–400k43%†394

Age of homes

2,012 homes (±598)

Red Lodge, Montana
Montana share

2010 or later5.1%†103
2000–20096.3%†126
1980–199917%†343

Size of homes

2,012 homes (±598)

Red Lodge, Montana
Montana share

Studio7.5%†151
1 bedroom17%†337
2 bedrooms34%†676

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

1,239 workers (±342)

Red Lodge, Montana
Montana share

Drive alone62%†764
Carpool5.8%†72
Public transit9.5%†118
Walk9.1%†113
Bike3.1%†38
Work from home7.7%†95
Other3.1%†39

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Public transit (+8.6 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 B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,144 workers (±298)

Red Lodge, Montana
Montana share

Under 15 min76%†870
15–29 min1.7%†20
30–44 min3.1%†36

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

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 Billings, 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 Carbon County, the county holding most of Red Lodge's residents.

Carbon County has 474 employer establishments, 415 for every 10,000 residents (1.67× the US rate of 248; 1.10× Montana's), with 2,373 paid employees at an average annual pay of $34,405. The Census Bureau also counts 1,381 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 474; 1,381 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 415; US 248 · Montana 376
Paid employees: 2,373
Average annual pay: $34,405; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	54	47.3	3.05×More than typical	109	$52,156	126
Construction of buildings	35	30.6	4.05×More than typical	75	$41,653	87
Restaurants and other eating places	34	29.8	1.62×More than typical	389	$23,524	8
Lessors of real estate	33	28.9	2.35×More than typical	40	$24,600	189
Full-service restaurants	23	20.1	2.62×More than typical	336	$24,217	—
Building equipment contractors	18	15.8	2.62×More than typical	58	$54,517	12
Management, scientific and technical consulting	15	13.1	1.96×More than typical	43	$67,116	32
Truck transportation	15	13.1	2.60×More than typical	57	$51,491	23
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	14	12.3	3.89×More than typical	23	$52,348	25
Traveler accommodation	14	12.3	6.79×More than typical	111	$25,820	13
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	13	11.4	4.28×More than typical	301	$15,661	11
Building finishing contractors	11	9.6	2.53×More than typical	15	$40,600	38

Rank places for an industry Open Carbon County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 11,420 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: Red Lodge is mostly in Carbon County.

See federal money in Carbon 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.

Red Lodge, 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.

Carbon County84100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Billings, MT82

Other cities and towns in Carbon 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

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