City · Sanders County, Montana

Thompson Falls, Montana

Thompson Falls is a city in Sanders County, Montana. It has 1,500 residents. Thompson Falls, Montana has a quality-of-life score of 57 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,654 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Montana it ranks #66 of 94 cities and towns. It ranks best on grocery stores (high), median Air Quality Index (low) and drug overdose deaths (low). It ranks worst on flu vaccinations (low), injury deaths (high) and distance to an emergency room (high).

57Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,654 of 15,651 cities and towns
Montana: #66 of 94 in MT
Population: 1,500 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 934.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 3073825

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety55#7,106/15,637
Economy51#7,711/15,631
Housing82#2,701/14,977
Health37#9,764/15,609
Healthcare21#12,299/15,650
Environment35#9,994/15,453
Education58#6,539/15,649
Infrastructure53#7,362/15,650
Community71#4,616/15,651
Leisure & amenities90#1,553/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Thompson Falls, Montana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Sanders 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

Grocery stores · high5.0 /10k
99/100Montana 2.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSanders County value
Median Air Quality Index · low16
99/100Montana 332025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySanders County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Montana 14.5 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSanders County value
High school diploma or higher · high94.1%
99/100Montana 94.6%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Preventable hospital stays · low1,309 /100k
98/100Montana 1,824 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSanders County value
Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100Montana 3.3%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025

Weaknesses

Flu vaccinations · low17.0%
0/100Montana 39.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSanders County value
Injury deaths · high160 /100k
2/100Montana 105 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSanders County value
Distance to an emergency room · high19.2 mi
3/100Montana 12.2 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSanders County value
Child care cost burden · high43.2%
3/100Montana 40.6%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSanders County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Montana 4.2 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergySanders County value
Traffic deaths · high34.7 /100k
5/100Montana 19.4 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataSanders County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
50.4% (2015-2019) → 23.7% (2020-2024)
−27 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
21.4% (2015-2019) → 6.3% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Poverty rateImproving
20.2% (2015-2019) → 6.5% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
68.4% (2015-2019) → 81.1% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
19.7% (2015-2019) → 8.1% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Unemployment rateImproving
9.0% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−9 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Thompson Falls, Montana improved on 0 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 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 9 measures

Change of every measure of Thompson Falls, Montana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	11.3 min2015-2019	14.2 min2020-2024	+2.9 min	Within the margin of error	20%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.5%2015-2019	18.6%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Broadband subscriptions	68.4%2015-2019	81.1%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Effective property tax rate	0.67%2015-2019	0.65%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	21%
High school diploma or higher	88.1%2015-2019	94.1%2020-2024	+6 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Home price to income ratio	4.9×2015-2019	5.8×2020-2024	+0.9×	Within the margin of error	28%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4172015-2019	0.3422020-2024	−0.075	Within the margin of error	91%
Median household income	$33,5162015-2019	$46,3132020-2024	+38%	Within the margin of error	71%
Rent as share of income	30.3%2015-2019	22.9%2020-2024	−7.4 points	Within the margin of error	89%

“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 Thompson Falls, Montana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Thompson Falls, 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, Thompson Falls, Montana itself moved +11.9 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

1,500 residents (±413)

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 (−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 B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,500 residents (±413)

Thompson Falls, Montana
Montana share

White86%†1,296
Black0.5%†7
Hispanic or Latino4.3%†

Education

1,144 residents (±296)

Thompson Falls, Montana
Montana share

No high school diploma5.9%†68
High school or GED47%†536
Some college23%†

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

623 households (±158)

Thompson Falls, Montana
Montana share

Under $25k19%†116
$25k–50k36%†226
$50k–75k19%†119
$75k–100k16%†98
$100k–150k6.6%†41
$150k–200k3.7%†23
$200k or more0.0%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 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

623 households (±158)

Thompson Falls, Montana
Montana share

Own73%†457
Rent27%†166

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Rent (−15.3 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 B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

152 households (±67)

Thompson Falls, Montana
Montana share

Under $75076%†116
$750–1,0006.6%†10
$1,000–1,5009.9%†15

Home values

457 homes (±146)

Thompson Falls, Montana
Montana share

Under $150k29%†134
$150k–250k18%†82
$250k–400k40%†183

Age of homes

726 homes (±173)

Thompson Falls, Montana
Montana share

2010 or later4.0%†29
2000–200915%†112
1980–199920%†148

Size of homes

726 homes (±173)

Thompson Falls, Montana
Montana share

Studio4.3%†31
1 bedroom6.5%†47
2 bedrooms25%†185

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

531 workers (±180)

Thompson Falls, Montana
Montana share

Drive alone74%†392
Carpool15%†80
Public transit2.8%†15
Walk4.9%†26
Bike0.0%0
Work from home3.4%†18
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (−10.0 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

513 workers (±181)

Thompson Falls, Montana
Montana share

Under 15 min67%†344
15–29 min12%†60
30–44 min19%†95

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 Sanders County, the county holding most of Thompson Falls's residents.

Sanders County has 394 employer establishments, 287 for every 10,000 residents (1.16× the US rate of 248; 0.76× Montana's), with 2,585 paid employees at an average annual pay of $38,561. The Census Bureau also counts 1,378 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 394; 1,378 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 287; US 248 · Montana 376
Paid employees: 2,585
Average annual pay: $38,561; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	35	25.5	1.65×More than typical	78	$48,731	197
Construction of buildings	30	21.9	2.89×More than typical	65	$42,985	113
Restaurants and other eating places	21	15.3	0.83×About typical	142	$16,796	11
Ambulatory health care services	20	14.6	0.70×Fewer than typical	158	$40,405	42
Lessors of real estate	17	12.4	1.01×About typical	75	$21,333	121
Other specialty trade contractors	16	11.7	4.65×More than typical	27	$47,852	71
Building equipment contractors	12	8.8	1.45×More than typical	30	$49,900	27
Full-service restaurants	12	8.8	1.14×About typical	103	$17,854	3
Grocery and convenience stores	10	7.3	2.46×More than typical	165	$23,206	—
Management, scientific and technical consulting	10	7.3	1.09×About typical	8	$84,750	34
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	9	6.6	2.47×Too few to compare	26	$41,923	6
Building material and supplies dealers (hardware, home centers)	9	6.6	3.98×Too few to compare	86	$25,942	—

Rank places for an industry Open Sanders County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 13,713 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: Thompson Falls is mostly in Sanders County.

See federal money in Sanders 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.

Thompson Falls, 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.

Sanders County43100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Sanders 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

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