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Place dossier plate
SheetMT-ALBERTON-MT · Alberton, MT 567 pop · income 51st pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Alberton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Alberton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Low Mountain · lowest
18,472
Low Mountain · lowest
18,472 median HH income
17.8% of the leader · rank #1
Alberton · this city
71,250
Alberton · this city
71,250 median HH income
68.7% of the leader · rank #2
Whatley · near
71,250
Whatley · near
71,250 median HH income
68.7% of the leader · rank #3
Gay · near
71,250
Gay · near
71,250 median HH income
68.7% of the leader · rank #4
Pine Lake · near
71,250
Pine Lake · near
71,250 median HH income
68.7% of the leader · rank #5
Deary · near
71,250
Deary · near
71,250 median HH income
68.7% of the leader · rank #6
Culbertson · highest
103,750
Culbertson · highest
103,750 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Alberton on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 567.
Nationally, Alberton sits in the 51st percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
51st
percentile, household income
55th
percentile, home value
61st
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Alberton, MT
Alberton is a small town in Montana, home to 567 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $71,250 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 7.0%. Typical homes in Alberton are valued around $247,000, and the median resident age is 30.2 years. About 17.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 75.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 4 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 300% from five years earlier. NOAA puts Alberton's yearly average temperature at 45.4°F with 18.7 inches of precipitation per year and 49.4 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Montana run below the national norm: the state registers 94.6 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,336 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Montana run around $175, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 33.3 out of 100 (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Alberton's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from housing and income to comparison shortlist to climate and hazard context to schools and households to population change to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Alberton, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Alberton?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 7.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for Alberton?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Within Montana, the closest population matches are Darby (575 residents, $40,943 income); Hot Springs (558 residents, $21,319 income); Culbertson (578 residents, $103,750 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Low Mountain, AZ (567 residents); Altha, FL (567 residents); Hillsboro Pines, FL (567 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 45.4°F, with 18.7 inches of precipitation and 49.4 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Montana is 33.3 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 17.4% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Population change
Is Alberton growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +102 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +22.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 4 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
2020 estimate
449
2025 estimate
551
Period change
+22.7%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the journey to work look like in Alberton?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 76.1%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Drive alone
76.1%
Work from home
10.1%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 306 workers age 16+.
Above median income · poverty 7.0% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.6 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Montana average
C-
City profile score · Alberton, MT
51/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living B-
94.6 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Poverty rate C-
7.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income C-
$71,250
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
17.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Alberton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 66/100 (B-) · 94.6 index
Poverty rate: 53/100 (C-) · 7.0%
Household income: 51/100 (C-) · $71,250
Bachelor's+ share: 27/100 (F) · 17.4%
How does Alberton compare to other US cities?
Here's how Alberton stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income51% higher than other cities
Home value55% pricier than other cities
Median rent61% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Alberton against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Montana only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Montana-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Alberton near the bottom of Montana's cities
Among the 317 Montana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Alberton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Alberton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#94 of 282
67th percentile in Montana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 317
0th percentile in Montana
Median Home Value
#125 of 279
55th percentile in Montana
Poverty Rate
#151 of 315
52nd percentile in Montana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#208 of 317
34th percentile in Montana
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Montana only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
51st percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Alberton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$247,00045th percentilemore affordable than 45% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Alberton's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#8,840 of 15,516
More affordable than 43% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#7,149 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.5×, Alberton sits in the moderate band:
national rank #8,840 of 15,516 and #7,149 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$71,250Alberton, MT median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Alberton, MT median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Alberton, MT.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)17.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)7.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)75.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
567
Median Income
$71,250
Median Home Value
$247,000
Median Age
30.2
Poverty Rate
7.0%
Labor force participation
75.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
17.4%
Climate
Avg Temperature
45.4°F
Annual Precipitation
18.7"
Annual Snowfall
49.4"
Schools
Total Schools
3
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Alberton's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
449 residents
2021
501 residents
2022
520 residents
2023
529 residents
2024
543 residents
2025
551 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
4
housing units authorized
Single-Family
4
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
7.1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.3M
2020
11
1
10
$1.5M
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
4
4
0
$1.5M
2024
4
4
0
$1.5M
Permit volume increased 300% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
76.1%
Carpool
7.5%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
2.0%
Work from Home
10.1%
Other
4.3%
Based on 306 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Montana statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $175
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Montana at $175 (electricity about $80 , water and sewer about $40 ).
These are Montana statewide averages, not a meter reading for Alberton. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Montana's BEA cost-of-living index is 94.6 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Alberton is $1,336/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Montana statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 33.3 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Montana statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Alberton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Alberton compares to similar-size Montana cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.