Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetMT-AZURE-MT · Azure, MT 454 pop · income 3rd 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 Azure
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Azure on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Hazlehurst · lowest
32,278
Hazlehurst · lowest
32,278 median HH income
38.5% of the leader · rank #1
Elrama · near
32,278
Elrama · near
32,278 median HH income
38.5% of the leader · rank #2
Azure · this city
32,279
Azure · this city
32,279 median HH income
38.5% of the leader · rank #3
Hillsville · near
32,279
Hillsville · near
32,279 median HH income
38.5% of the leader · rank #4
Union · near
32,281
Union · near
32,281 median HH income
38.5% of the leader · rank #5
Twin Creeks · highest
83,821
Twin Creeks · highest
83,821 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
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 Azure 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: 454.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Azure lands in the 3rd percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
3rd
percentile, household income
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: Azure, MT
Azure is a small town in Montana, home to 454 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Azure report a median income of $32,279 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 42.5%. The median resident age is 19.0 years. About 6.6% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 19.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
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. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,336 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Montana run around $175, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 33.3 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Azure'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 comparison shortlist to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Azure, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, matched public-school count, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Azure?
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 Fromberg (452 residents, $59,028 income); Jefferson (446 residents, $73,875 income); St. Pierre (467 residents, $34,141 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Bazine, KS (454 residents); Thayer, KS (454 residents); Ironville, KY (454 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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 79.2%. 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.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 42.5% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.6 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Montana average
F
City profile score · Azure, MT
17/100
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.
Household income F
$32,279
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
42.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
6.6%
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).
Azure profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 66/100 (B-) · 94.6 index
Household income: 0/100 (F) · $32,279
Poverty rate: 0/100 (F) · 42.5%
Bachelor's+ share: 0/100 (F) · 6.6%
How does Azure compare to other US cities?
Where Azure sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income3% higher 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 Azure 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 Azure near the bottom of Montana's cities
Among the 317 Montana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Azure ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Azure only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#269 of 282
5th percentile in Montana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 317
0th percentile in Montana
Poverty Rate
#17 of 315
95th percentile in Montana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#287 of 317
9th 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
3rd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Income distribution context
$32,279Azure, MT median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Azure, 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 Azure, MT.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)6.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)42.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)19.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
454
Median Income
$32,279
Median Home Value
N/A
Median Age
19.0
Poverty Rate
42.5%
Labor force participation
19.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
6.6%
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
79.2%
Carpool
20.8%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
0.0%
Based on 48 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 Azure. 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 Azure 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 Azure sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Azure 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, 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.