Living in Great Falls, Montana: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3.2% below the U.S. average in the Great Falls metro area.
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 neighborhood378 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 6.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 36.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town19 public schools: 15 elementary, 2 middle and 2 high schools.
A hospital close byBenefis Hospitals INC is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big citySalt Lake City is about 466 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 Great Falls 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: $257,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 21%Cascade County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $900 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $63,373U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 66%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $2,370 a yearMontana: $2,693
Homes built before 1940: 17%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 6%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 96.8U.S. average = 100 (the Great Falls metro area)

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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Great Falls metro area, not Great Falls 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: 60,2082020: 60,453
Median age: 39 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 28%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 7%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 (28%); retail (13%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 15 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 15%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Benefis Hospitals INC, Great Falls, MT, in town. It's a general hospital. 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

19 public schools in Great Falls, run by Great Falls Elem and Great Falls H S.

Colleges in or next to town: Great Falls College Montana State University (1,000 to 4,999 students); University of Providence (under 1,000 students).

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: 77%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 90%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: 18°F
July average high: 86°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 25 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 143 a year
Rain and melted snow: 14.8 inches a year
Snow: 66 inches a year
Elevation: 3,332 feet

Weather stations: Great Falls 16ST (1 mile away) and Great Falls Intl Ap (4 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

Bozeman, MTCity of 59,000126

Salt Lake City, UTMetro of 1.3 million466

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: Bozeman, Salt Lake City.

Cascade County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

27 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Great Falls Portage, Charles M. Russell House and Studio, the East Side Neighborhood Historic District and the Great Falls Central Business Historic District. Two are National Historic Landmarks, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

Campus life. Check University of Providence's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Great Falls's history on Wikipedia.

Know Great Falls?

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

Fort Benton, MT1,400 people, 38 miles
Choteau, MT1,800 people, 46 miles
Conrad, MT2,400 people, 55 miles
Helena Valley Northeast, MT4,700 people, 63 miles
Helena Valley Northwest, MT5,200 people, 64 miles
Helena Valley Southeast, MT9,100 people, 67 miles

Smaller places

Black Eagle, MT (unincorporated)781 people, 3 miles
Gibson Flats, MT (unincorporated)158 people, 4 miles
Sun Prairie, MT (unincorporated)1,171 people, 9 miles
Sand Coulee, MT (unincorporated)134 people, 9 miles
Tracy, MT (unincorporated)133 people, 9 miles
Ulm, MT (unincorporated)900 people, 12 miles
Stockett, MT (unincorporated)155 people, 12 miles
Vaughn, MT (unincorporated)1,002 people, 13 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.