Metro area · Montana
Great Falls, MT metro area
Great Falls, MT is a metropolitan area of 1 county in Montana, home to 85,029 residents. Great Falls, MT metro area has a quality-of-life score of 57 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #396 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in Montana it ranks #7 of 7. It ranks best on arts, entertainment and recreation (high), dentists (high) and average commute time (low). It ranks worst on suicide rate (high), property crime rate (high) and comfortable days (low).
- Quality-of-life score
- #396 of 925 metro and micro areas
- Montana
- #7 of 7 in MT
- Population
- 85,029 (2025)
- Land area
- 2,698 mi²
- Density
- 31.5 /mi²
- CBSA code
- 24500
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.
- Safety12#817/924
- Economy62#348/925
- Housing45#505/925
- Health39#564/925
- Healthcare70#282/923
- Environment50#455/917
- Education75#234/925
- Infrastructure69#288/925
- Community49#470/925
- Leisure & amenities78#207/925
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where Great Falls, MT metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).
Strengths
- Arts, entertainment and recreation · high11.6 /10k96/100Montana 13.7 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAggregated from counties
- Dentists · high103 /100k96/100Montana 75 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
- Average commute time · low16.5 min
- Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.5 µg/m³91/100Montana 6.6 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyAggregated from counties
- High school diploma or higher · high94.4%
- Mammography screening · high54.0%86/100Montana 47.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Weaknesses
- Suicide rate · high37.7 /100k2/100Montana 30.3 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties
- Property crime rate · high2,761 /100k2/100Montana 1,449 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationAggregated from counties
- Comfortable days · low22.7%7/100Montana 22.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationAggregated from counties
- Violent crime rate · high565 /100k7/100Montana 419 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationAggregated from counties
- Distance to an emergency room · high15.4 mi7/100Montana 12.2 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesAggregated from counties
- Distance to an airport · high119 mi9/100Montana 53 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauAggregated from counties
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- Drug overdose deathsWorsening
9.1 /100k (2021) → 22.4 /100k (Mar 2025–Feb 2026)
+146%5 yearsUS 30.8 /100k → 18.4 /100k
- High ozone daysImproving
1 days (2017) → 0 days (2022)
−100%5 yearsUS 9 days → 7 days
- Cost of buying a home todayWorsening
26.7% (Dec 2021) → 41.0% (Aug 2026)
+14 pts5 yearsUS 26.4% → 34.1%
- New business applicationsImproving
7.3 /1k (2020) → 12.2 /1k (2025)
+67%5 yearsUS 13.1 /1k → 16.6 /1k
- Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.0% (2015-2019) → 89.2% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
- Median Air Quality IndexWorsening
33 (2018) → 50 (2023)
+52%5 years
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.
Metro and micro areas like Great Falls, MT metro area five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of Great Falls, MT metro area 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.
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).
Income
How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.
Homes
Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.
Getting to work
How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.
Jobs and pay
What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
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.
Federal contract spending
Federal grants & assistance
Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.
Counties in Great Falls, MT
Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.
Principal cities
The cities the area is named for.
Largest cities and towns
By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.
- Great Falls60,329
- Malmstrom AFB4,302
- Sun Prairie1,171
- Vaughn1,002
- Ulm900
- Black Eagle781
- Cascade572
- Belt559
- Simms334
- Fort Shaw207
- Gibson Flats158
- Stockett155
- Pleasant Valley Colony137
- Sand Coulee134
- Tracy133
- Sun River72
- Hardy64
- Big Stone Colony45
- Cascade Colony44
- Neihart39
- Riceville26
- Centerville23
- Monarch22
- Fair Haven Colony0
Other metro and micro areas in Montana
Areas based in Montana, best score first.
Neighboring metro and micro areas
Places that share a border, best score first.
Similar metro and micro areas
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- Billings, MT82Alike on Frost days, Arts & recreation, Comfortable days
- Casper, WY75Alike on ER distance, Avg temperature, Frost days
- Butte-Silver Bow, MT72Alike on Commute, High school+, Firearm deaths
- Lewiston, ID-WA51Alike on Comfortable days, Commute, Inactivity
- Rapid City, SD74Alike on Frost days, PM2.5, Violent crime
Data and sources
Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.
- Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
- PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
- Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
- Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
- Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
- Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
- Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
- U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
- Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
- nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
- Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
- Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
- Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
- American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
- Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
- Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
- 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
- Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
- Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
- Air Quality Index Annual Summary by CountyU.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2025
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
- Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08