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Deer Lodge, Montana

Deer Lodge is a small town of about 3,000 people in Powell County, Montana, about 4,500 feet above sea level. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.1 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Salt Lake City, is about 390 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
3,025
up 0% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$247,600
U.S.: $332,700
Household income
$60,302
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Montana
91.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Deer Lodge Medical Center
To Salt Lake City
390 mi
straight line

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 moneyA typical home costs 4.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood8 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 5.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byDeer Lodge Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySalt Lake City is about 390 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 Deer Lodge 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
$247,600U.S.: $332,700
Typical rent, with utilities
$852 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$60,302U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
68%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,965 a yearMontana: $2,693
Homes built before 1940
23%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%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. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Montana outside metro areas, not Deer Lodge 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
3,0252020: 3,024
Median age
49.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
25%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
16%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
24%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%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
Government (29%); schools, health care and social services (26%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (14%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
14 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
7%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Deer Lodge Medical Center, Deer Lodge, MT, in town. 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: St. James Hospital, Butte, MT, about 28 miles away. Medicare gives it 2 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 Deer Lodge, run by Deer Lodge Elem and Powell County 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 cable, fiber or DSL internet
53%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
83%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
11°F
July average high
79°F
Days 90°F or hotter
9 a year
Nights at or below freezing
231 a year
Rain and melted snow
14.9 inches a year
Snow
75 inches a year
Elevation
4,538 feet

Weather stations: Deer Lodge 3 W (3 miles away) and Anaconda (21 miles away, rain and snow). 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

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: Missoula, Salt Lake City.

Powell 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

13 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, the Deer Lodge Central Business Historic District, the Grant-Kohrs Ranch/Warren Ranch and the Hillcrest Cemetery. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Siteright here

Read about Deer Lodge's history on Wikipedia.

Know Deer Lodge?

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

Smaller places

  • Garrison, MT (unincorporated)106 people, 11 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.