City · Lake County, Montana

Ronan, Montana

Ronan is a city in Lake County, Montana. It has 2,001 residents. Ronan, Montana has a quality-of-life score of 20 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,578 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Montana it ranks #87 of 94 cities and towns. It ranks best on high school diploma or higher (high), average commute time (low) and new homes permitted (high). It ranks worst on suicide rate (high), firearm deaths (high) and broadband subscriptions (low).

20Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,578 of 15,651 cities and towns
Montana: #87 of 94 in MT
Population: 2,001 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,292.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 3064150

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.

Safety8#14,427/15,637
Economy17#13,026/15,631
Housing56#6,553/14,977
Health12#13,806/15,609
Healthcare32#10,588/15,650
Environment14#13,268/15,453
Education35#10,247/15,649
Infrastructure16#13,141/15,650
Community66#5,398/15,651
Leisure & amenities77#3,586/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Ronan, Montana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Lake 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 · high91.6%
98/100Montana 94.6%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Average commute time · low15.4 min
97/100Montana 19.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
New homes permitted · high16.5 /1k
94/100Montana 4.9 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Preventable hospital stays · low1,707 /100k
93/100Montana 1,824 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLake County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low110 min
93/100Montana 123 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLake County value
Job growth · high1.8%
87/100Montana 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataLake County value

Weaknesses

Suicide rate · high42.0 /100k
1/100Montana 30.3 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLake County value
Firearm deaths · high39.0 /100k
1/100Montana 23.6 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLake County value
Broadband subscriptions · low78.3%
4/100Montana 89.4%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Montana 15.3United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLake County value
Frequent mental distress · high21.8%
6/100Montana 19.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Comfortable days · low22.9%
7/100Montana 22.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLake County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
2.2 /1k (2021) → 16.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+636%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
46.0% (2015-2019) → 60.3% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
70.4% (2015-2019) → 78.3% (2020-2024)
+7.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$32,986 (2015-2019) → $42,298 (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.3× (2015-2019) → 5.3× (2020-2024)
+25%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
28.1% (2015-2019) → 33.0% (2020-2024)
+4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Ronan, Montana improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 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+28%$32,986 → $42,298

Declined1

Inequality+0.0870.412 → 0.499

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Ronan, Montana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	12.4 min2015-2019	15.4 min2020-2024	+2.9 min	Within the margin of error	20%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.6%2015-2019	20.0%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Broadband subscriptions	70.4%2015-2019	78.3%2020-2024	+7.9 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Child poverty rate	27.9%2015-2019	24.5%2020-2024	−3.4 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Effective property tax rate	0.98%2015-2019	0.63%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	79%
High school diploma or higher	91.4%2015-2019	91.6%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Home price to income ratio	4.3×2015-2019	5.3×2020-2024	+1.1×	Within the margin of error	20%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4122015-2019	0.4992020-2024	+0.087	Declined	6%
Median household income	$32,9862015-2019	$42,2982020-2024	+28%	Improved	51%
Poverty rate	24.1%2015-2019	21.6%2020-2024	−2.5 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Rent as share of income	28.1%2015-2019	33.0%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Rent-burdened households	46.0%2015-2019	60.3%2020-2024	+14 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	28.0%2015-2019	23.6%2020-2024	−4.4 points	Within the margin of error	84%

“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 Ronan, Montana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ronan, 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, Ronan, Montana itself moved −11.3 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

2,001 residents (±403)

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

769 households (±113)

Ronan, Montana
Montana share

Under $25k33%256
$25k–50k25%†189
$50k–75k15%†119

Homes

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

Owners and renters

769 households (±113)

Ronan, Montana
Montana share

Own60%464
Rent40%305

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

710 workers (±146)

Ronan, Montana
Montana share

Drive alone69%492
Carpool18%†130
Public transit0.0%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 Lake County, the county holding most of Ronan's residents.

Lake County has 991 employer establishments, 298 for every 10,000 residents (1.20× the US rate of 248; 0.79× Montana's), with 7,817 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,036. The Census Bureau also counts 2,912 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 991; 2,912 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 298; US 248 · Montana 376
Paid employees: 7,817
Average annual pay: $47,036; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	131	39.5	2.55×More than typical	341	$48,106	271
Construction of buildings	81	24.4	3.23×More than typical	202	$47,213	229
Restaurants and other eating places	61	18.4	1.00×About typical	682	$18,430	6
Ambulatory health care services	54	16.3	0.78×Fewer than typical	488	$53,449	117
Lessors of real estate	42	12.6	1.03×About typical	45	$44,933	353
Other specialty trade contractors	37	11.1	4.44×More than typical	112	$57,554	96
Building equipment contractors	36	10.8	1.80×More than typical	101	$44,050	30
Services to buildings and dwellings	35	10.5	1.56×More than typical	231	$42,818	177
Building finishing contractors	30	9	2.38×More than typical	53	$30,566	88
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	28	8.4	2.68×More than typical	75	$51,853	57
Full-service restaurants	28	8.4	1.10×About typical	317	$20,243	—
Offices of other health practitioners	28	8.4	1.39×More than typical	93	$34,387	70

Rank places for an industry Open Lake County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 33,206 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: Ronan is mostly in Lake County.

See federal money in Lake 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.

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

House

Ryan K. ZinkeR-MT-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 3.0%

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.

Lake County39100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Lake 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/3064150

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends