Great Falls, MT

The affordability dashboard for Great Falls, MT aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 3 ZIP codes covering 72,079 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (58/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $67,758, median home value of $261,957, median rent of $1,017 per month, and 28.7% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. These four metrics alone explain most of the variance between city dashboards.

Cross-agency feeds widen the picture beyond Census demographics. HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in this county at $1,284 per month (studio $960, 1BR $979, 3BR $1,786, 4BR $2,035). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $11,445 per year, consuming 17% of the local median household income.

Reading the overall grade requires reading all seven dimensions together. The score weights Income 20%, Safety 20%, Housing 15%, Rent 15%, Education 10%, Commute 10%, and Childcare 10%, with each sub-score benchmarked against national percentiles rather than state averages — so the grade is genuinely comparable across any city in the country. Strengths visible in the raw data for Great Falls, MT include commute. Unemployment currently reads 3.1% and poverty 13.3% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.