Scores by category

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

Safety21#12,333/15,637
Economy34#10,348/15,631
Housing66#5,118/14,977
Health31#10,844/15,609
Healthcare36#10,041/15,650
Environment99#189/15,453
Education49#7,995/15,649
Infrastructure28#11,191/15,650
Community42#9,007/15,651
Leisure & amenities88#1,849/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Shelby, Montana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Toole 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 · low355 /100k
100/100Montana 1,824 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteToole County value
Traffic deaths · low4.0 /100k
99/100Montana 19.4 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataToole County value
Restaurants and bars · high23.0 /10k
99/100Montana 13.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsToole County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Montana 14.5 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataToole County value
Average commute time · low14.0 min
99/100Montana 19.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high15.4 /10k
98/100Montana 13.7 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsToole County value

Weaknesses

Mental health care shortage · high21.0
0/100Montana 15.3United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationToole County value
Suicide rate · high29.8 /100k
3/100Montana 30.3 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateToole County value
Child care cost burden · high43.3%
3/100Montana 40.6%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteToole County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Montana 4.2 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyToole County value
Firearm deaths · high27.3 /100k
4/100Montana 23.6 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataToole County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Montana 1.8 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsToole County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedWorsening
1.0 /1k (2020) → 0.0 /1k (2025)
−100%5 yearsUS 4.4 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
28.4% (2015-2019) → 47.8% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.0% (2015-2019) → 86.1% (2020-2024)
+8.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
4.4% (2015-2019) → 10.8% (2020-2024)
+6.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$44,740 (2015-2019) → $58,413 (2020-2024)
+31%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
13.5% (2015-2019) → 19.5% (2020-2024)
+6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Shelby, Montana improved on 0 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 13 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Shelby, Montana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	11.7 min2015-2019	14.0 min2020-2024	+2.3 min	Within the margin of error	25%
Bachelor's degree or higher	13.5%2015-2019	19.5%2020-2024	+6 points	Within the margin of error	74%
Broadband subscriptions	78.0%2015-2019	86.1%2020-2024	+8.1 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Effective property tax rate	1.03%2015-2019	0.69%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	79%
High school diploma or higher	89.1%2015-2019	87.2%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Home price to income ratio	3.3×2015-2019	4.0×2020-2024	+0.7×	Within the margin of error	38%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5172015-2019	0.4642020-2024	−0.053	Within the margin of error	85%
Median household income	$44,7402015-2019	$58,4132020-2024	+31%	Within the margin of error	57%
Poverty rate	10.5%2015-2019	13.8%2020-2024	+3.3 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	24.1%2015-2019	25.0%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Rent-burdened households	28.4%2015-2019	47.8%2020-2024	+19 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.9%2015-2019	7.7%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	71%

“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 Shelby, Montana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Shelby, 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, Shelby, Montana itself moved −2.7 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

3,216 residents (±208)

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: 60–69 men (−4.5 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

3,216 residents (±208)

Shelby, Montana
Montana share

White82%2,625
Black2.6%†85
Hispanic or Latino4.6%†148

Education

2,397 residents (±163)

Shelby, Montana
Montana share

No high school diploma13%†307
High school or GED41%973
Some college25%590

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

1,183 households (±123)

Shelby, Montana
Montana share

Under $25k24%†287
$25k–50k20%†239
$50k–75k18%†216
$75k–100k13%148
$100k–150k11%†136
$150k–200k4.3%†51
$200k or more9.0%†106

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $200k or more (+6.5 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

1,183 households (±123)

Shelby, Montana
Montana share

Own61%722
Rent39%461

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

Table view

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

Rent paid

427 households (±109)

Shelby, Montana
Montana share

Under $75037%†160
$750–1,00017%†73
$1,000–1,50041%†177

Home values

722 homes (±121)

Shelby, Montana
Montana share

Under $150k25%†180
$150k–250k30%216
$250k–400k26%†191

Age of homes

1,399 homes (±114)

Shelby, Montana
Montana share

2010 or later14%†191
2000–20097.3%†102
1980–199911%†156

Size of homes

1,399 homes (±114)

Shelby, Montana
Montana share

Studio2.5%†35
1 bedroom13%†178
2 bedrooms27%380

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

1,344 workers (±159)

Shelby, Montana
Montana share

Drive alone82%1,104
Carpool7.4%†99
Public transit0.0%0
Walk3.7%†50
Bike0.0%0
Work from home6.8%†91
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Carpool (−10.9 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

1,253 workers (±159)

Shelby, Montana
Montana share

Under 15 min66%822
15–29 min24%†303
30–44 min3.6%†45

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 Toole County, the county holding most of Shelby's residents.

Toole County has 174 employer establishments, 340 for every 10,000 residents (1.37× the US rate of 248; 0.90× Montana's), with 1,428 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,002. The Census Bureau also counts 316 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 174; 316 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 340; US 248 · Montana 376
Paid employees: 1,428
Average annual pay: $49,002; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	12	23.4	1.28×More than typical	125	$17,984	—
Lessors of real estate	8	15.6	1.27×Too few to compare	20	$21,150	26
Truck transportation	8	15.6	3.09×Too few to compare	81	$70,025	10
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	7	13.7	5.14×Too few to compare	29	$34,931	—
Ambulatory health care services	6	11.7	0.56×Too few to compare	114	$48,079	8
Limited-service restaurants	6	11.7	1.46×Too few to compare	25	$24,080	—
Specialty trade contractors	6	11.7	0.76×Too few to compare	10	$40,300	24
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	5	9.8	2.40×Too few to compare	11	$69,000	7
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	5	9.8	8.06×Too few to compare	30	$11,800	—
Full-service restaurants	5	9.8	1.27×Too few to compare	95	$16,411	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	4	7.8	1.55×Too few to compare	9	$19,222	7
Construction of buildings	4	7.8	1.03×Too few to compare	11	$61,727	6

Rank places for an industry Open Toole County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 5,119 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 $335 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Shelby, Montana: $0.10 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $335
Per resident: $0.10; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; 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

Bureau of Reclamation$335100%

Top recipients

MARIAS RIVER ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC.$335100%

Spending by fiscal year

-112.2FY2017
2.7KFY2018
209.1FY2019
209.1FY2020
290.1FY2021
542.8FY2022
209.1FY2023
80.3FY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Electric power generation, transmission and distribution · 2211$335100%

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

Shelby, Montana's figures are part of those of Toole County, MT ($42K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.8% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Shelby is mostly in Toole County.

See federal money in Toole 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.

Shelby, 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.

Toole County63100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Toole 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/3067450

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends