Living in Colstrip, Montana: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.4% below the U.S. average in the parts of Montana outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Colstrip to say.
A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 1.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byRosebud Health Care Center in Forsyth, about 26 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityDenver is about 433 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Colstrip meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $194,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 35%Rosebud County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $659 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them: 83%U.S.: 65%
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 4%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 91.6U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Montana outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 35% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Montana outside metro areas, not Colstrip alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 2,0912020: 2,095
Median age: 44.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 26%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 2%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (31%); farming, forestry and mining (15%); construction (12%)
Average commute: 11 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 9%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Rosebud Health Care Center, Forsyth, MT, about 26 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Sheridan Memorial Hospital, Sheridan, WY, about 77 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Colstrip, run by Colstrip Elem and Colstrip H S.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Montana's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription: 91%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 14°F
July average high: 85°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 24 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 162 a year
Rain and melted snow: 16.4 inches a year
Snow: 37 inches a year
Elevation: 3,201 feet

Weather station: Colstrip (less than a mile away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Rosebud Health Care CenterEmergency room26

Billings, MTCity of 121,00093

Denver, COMetro of 3.1 million433

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Rosebud Health Care Center, Billings, Denver.

Rosebud County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument44 miles

Read about Colstrip's history on Wikipedia.

Know Colstrip?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Forsyth, MT1,700 people, 26 miles
Hardin, MT3,700 people, 48 miles
Miles City, MT8,500 people, 52 miles
Ranchester, WY1,200 people, 73 miles
Sheridan, WY20,000 people, 78 miles
Lockwood, MT7,200 people, 85 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.