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Towns / Montana

Lolo, Montana

Lolo is an unincorporated community of about 4,300 people in Missoula County, Montana. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 5 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, Seattle, is about 391 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
4,314
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$431,800
Missoula County prices up 14% since 2022
Household income
$86,065
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Missoula area
96.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
6 miles
Missoula, MT
To Seattle
391 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3.6% below the U.S. average in the Missoula metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary and 2 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Big Sky High School, about 6 miles away.
  • A hospital close byCommunity Medical Center in Missoula, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySeattle is about 391 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 Lolo 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
$431,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 14%Missoula County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,139 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$86,065U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
71%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$4,305 a yearMontana: $2,693
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
15%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
96.4U.S. average = 100 (the Missoula 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 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Missoula metro area, not Lolo 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, 2020-2024 Census survey
4,314The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
32.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
12%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
41%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%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 (27%); retail (14%); other services (11%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
25 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
12%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
5%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Community Medical Center, Missoula, MT, about 6 miles away. It's a general hospital. 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

4 public schools in Lolo, run by Lolo Elem and Woodman Elem. The nearest public high school is Big Sky High School, about 6 miles away.

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
88%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
97%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
20°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
22 a year
Nights at or below freezing
163 a year
Rain and melted snow
17.4 inches a year
Snow
50 inches a year
Elevation
3,975 feet

Weather station: Missoula 2 NE (11 miles 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

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: Community Medical Center, Missoula, Seattle.

Missoula 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

Read about Lolo's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lolo?

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

  • Carlton, MT (unincorporated)682 people, 6 miles
  • Florence, MT (unincorporated)923 people, 10 miles
  • East Missoula, MT (unincorporated)2,099 people, 11 miles
  • Wye, MT (unincorporated)1,055 people, 13 miles
  • Bonner-West Riverside, MT (unincorporated)1,563 people, 13 miles
  • Piltzville, MT (unincorporated)383 people, 13 miles
  • Turah, MT (unincorporated)543 people, 14 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.