Scores by category

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

Safety7#14,598/15,637
Economy53#7,288/15,631
Housing—
Health18#12,871/15,609
Healthcare36#10,078/15,650
Environment54#7,115/15,453
Education67#5,172/15,649
Infrastructure30#10,988/15,650
Community49#7,974/15,651
Leisure & amenities75#3,850/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Sun Prairie, Montana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Cascade 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 · high97.2%
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
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high11.6 /10k
96/100Montana 13.7 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCascade County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.342
96/100Montana 0.465United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Average commute time · low20.0 min
95/100Montana 19.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.5 µg/m³
94/100Montana 6.6 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCascade County value

Weaknesses

Suicide rate · high37.7 /100k
1/100Montana 30.3 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCascade County value
Property crime rate · high2,761 /100k
3/100Montana 1,449 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCascade County value
Distance to an airport · high119 mi
6/100Montana 53 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauCascade County value
Comfortable days · low22.7%
6/100Montana 22.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCascade County value
Violent crime rate · high565 /100k
6/100Montana 419 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCascade County value
Depression · high29.3%
7/100Montana 25.9%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,717 (2015-2019) → 1,171 (2020-2024)
−32%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
16.0% (2015-2019) → 27.6% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Child poverty rateImproving
24.7% (2015-2019) → 16.3% (2020-2024)
−8.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
High school diploma or higherImproving
89.9% (2015-2019) → 97.2% (2020-2024)
+7.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Unemployment rateImproving
5.3% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−5.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Poverty rateImproving
13.9% (2015-2019) → 9.9% (2020-2024)
−4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Sun Prairie, Montana improved on 0 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 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 10 measures

Change of every measure of Sun Prairie, Montana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.8 min2015-2019	20.0 min2020-2024	−2.8 min	Within the margin of error	77%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.0%2015-2019	27.6%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	93%
Broadband subscriptions	75.7%2015-2019	76.1%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Effective property tax rate	0.94%2015-2019	0.76%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	53%
High school diploma or higher	89.9%2015-2019	97.2%2020-2024	+7.3 points	Within the margin of error	90%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	2.9×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	74%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4082015-2019	0.3422020-2024	−0.066	Within the margin of error	89%
Median household income	$52,8322015-2019	$55,6882020-2024	+5.4%	Within the margin of error	12%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	16.2%2015-2019	14.6%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	65%

“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 Sun Prairie, Montana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Sun Prairie, 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, Sun Prairie, Montana itself moved +11.1 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

1,171 residents (±378)

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: Under 10 men (−8.1 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

1,171 residents (±378)

Sun Prairie, Montana
Montana share

White90%†1,056
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino0.4%†5

Education

761 residents (±201)

Sun Prairie, Montana
Montana share

No high school diploma2.8%†21
High school or GED35%†264
Some college19%†

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

539 households (±141)

Sun Prairie, Montana
Montana share

Under $25k5.2%†28
$25k–50k30%†162
$50k–75k28%†150
$75k–100k7.8%†42
$100k–150k9.6%†52
$150k–200k19%†105
$200k or more0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−22.2 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 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

539 households (±141)

Sun Prairie, Montana
Montana share

Own99%535
Rent0.7%†4

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

4 households (±7)

Sun Prairie, Montana
Montana share

Under $750100%†4
$750–1,0000.0%0
$1,000–1,5000.0%0

Home values

535 homes (±141)

Sun Prairie, Montana
Montana share

Under $150k36%†194
$150k–250k40%†214
$250k–400k17%†93

Age of homes

539 homes (±141)

Sun Prairie, Montana
Montana share

2010 or later9.5%†51
2000–20096.3%†34
1980–199937%†197

Size of homes

539 homes (±141)

Sun Prairie, Montana
Montana share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom2.0%†11
2 bedrooms21%†113

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

605 workers (±173)

Sun Prairie, Montana
Montana share

Drive alone79%†479
Carpool9.4%†57
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home11%†69
Other0.0%0

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

536 workers (±160)

Sun Prairie, Montana
Montana share

Under 15 min21%†110
15–29 min64%†344
30–44 min15%†82

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 Great Falls, 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 Cascade County, the county holding most of Sun Prairie's residents.

Cascade County has 2,472 employer establishments, 292 for every 10,000 residents (1.18× the US rate of 248; 0.78× Montana's), with 30,050 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,632. The Census Bureau also counts 5,799 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,472; 5,799 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 292; US 248 · Montana 376
Paid employees: 30,050
Average annual pay: $48,632; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	199	23.5	1.13×About typical	2,519	$86,685	253
Specialty trade contractors	176	20.8	1.34×More than typical	1,284	$76,878	440
Restaurants and other eating places	158	18.7	1.02×About typical	3,080	$21,294	24
Lessors of real estate	107	12.6	1.03×About typical	240	$42,567	730
Construction of buildings	100	11.8	1.56×More than typical	328	$72,762	216
Services to buildings and dwellings	75	8.9	1.31×More than typical	514	$35,018	246
Limited-service restaurants	72	8.5	1.06×About typical	1,547	$19,435	5
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	71	8.4	3.16×More than typical	746	$19,891	57
Legal services	68	8	1.49×More than typical	286	$79,514	45
Offices of other health practitioners	68	8	1.32×More than typical	357	$44,384	157
Automotive repair and maintenance	66	7.8	1.55×More than typical	374	$45,144	99
Religious organizations	61	7.2	1.30×More than typical	498	$21,956	—

Rank places for an industry Open Cascade County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 84,623 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 $414.5K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Sun Prairie, Montana: $354 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $414.5K; −44% vs FY2025
Per resident: $354; US $1,995
Sole-source: 11%; US 30%
Single offer: 8.0%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$278.5K67%
Federal Aviation Administration$45.9K11%
Department of the Air Force$40.1K9.7%
Department of the Army$36.2K8.7%
Department of Veterans Affairs$6,0171.5%
U.S. Coast Guard$3,5650.9%
U.S. Marshals Service$2,6280.6%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$1,9370.5%

Top recipients

TNL SALES LLC$243.3K59%
THE MATTHEWS GROUP INC$45.9K11%
BRY ENTERPRISE, LLC$39.3K9.5%
CALUMET MONTANA REFINING, LLC$31.1K7.5%
CDM FEDERAL PROGRAMS CORPORATION$14.2K3.4%

Spending by fiscal year

537.4KFY2017
723.1KFY2018
658.8KFY2019
644.4KFY2020
381.4KFY2021
462.2KFY2022
799.9KFY2023
1.4M

Top industries (NAICS)

Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$53.6K13%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$50K12%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$46.3K11%
Other specialty trade contractors · 2389$39.3K9.5%
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing · 3241$39K9.4%
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing · 3344

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Sun Prairie, Montana, so they do not add up across cities.

Sun Prairie, Montana's figures are part of those of Cascade County, MT ($162.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.3% of that total.

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

See federal money in Cascade 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.

Sun Prairie, 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.

Cascade County59100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Great Falls, MT57

Other cities and towns in Cascade 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/3072380

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends