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Place dossier plate
SheetMT-BELT-MT · Belt, MT 525 pop · income 52nd 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 Belt
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Belt on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Heart Butte · lowest
28,977
Heart Butte · lowest
28,977 median HH income
11.6% of the leader · rank #1
Belt · this city
72,083
Belt · this city
72,083 median HH income
28.8% of the leader · rank #2
Dutton · near
72,083
Dutton · near
72,083 median HH income
28.8% of the leader · rank #3
Salcha · near
72,083
Salcha · near
72,083 median HH income
28.8% of the leader · rank #4
Morristown · near
72,083
Morristown · near
72,083 median HH income
28.8% of the leader · rank #5
Davenport · near
72,083
Davenport · near
72,083 median HH income
28.8% of the leader · rank #6
Riverwood · highest
250,001
Riverwood · highest
250,001 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 Belt 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: 525.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Belt lands in the 52nd percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
52nd
percentile, household income
34th
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: Belt, MT
Montana's Belt is a small town, with 525 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Median household income here is $72,083 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.6%. Belt's housing stock carries a median value of $170,500, and the median resident age is 48.3 years. 20.9% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 62.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Belt (No Permits), per Census BPS data.
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 Belt'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 schools and households to population change to housing and income to work and mobility to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Belt, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, annual population history.
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. Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Belt?
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 4 public schools within the city match. 20.9% 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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +20 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +4.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Belt?
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. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.6%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for Belt?
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 Huntley (534 residents, $91,667 income); Circle (543 residents, $81,250 income); Turah (507 residents, $128,750 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Cane Beds, AZ (525 residents); Huntington, AR (525 residents); Key Colony Beach, FL (525 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.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Belt?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 62.6%. 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
62.6%
Work from home
2.7%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 297 workers age 16+.
Above median income · poverty 4.6% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.6 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Montana average
C
City profile score · Belt, MT
57/100
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.
Poverty rate B-
4.6%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
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 C-
$72,083
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
20.9%
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).
Belt profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 68/100 (B-) · 4.6%
Cost of living: 66/100 (B-) · 94.6 index
Household income: 52/100 (C-) · $72,083
Bachelor's+ share: 37/100 (F) · 20.9%
How does Belt compare to other US cities?
Here's how Belt stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income52% higher than other cities
Home value34% 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 Belt 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 Belt near the bottom of Montana's cities
Among the 317 Montana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Belt ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Belt only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#88 of 282
69th percentile in Montana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 317
0th percentile in Montana
Median Home Value
#198 of 279
29th percentile in Montana
Poverty Rate
#192 of 315
39th percentile in Montana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#171 of 317
46th 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
52nd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Belt's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$170,500Among the most affordablemore affordable than 66% 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
Belt's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,313 of 15,516
More affordable than 79% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,032 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.4×, Belt sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,313 of 15,516 and #3,032 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
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
$72,083Belt, MT median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Belt, 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 Belt, MT.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)20.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.6%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)62.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
525
Median Income
$72,083
Median Home Value
$170,500
Median Age
48.3
Poverty Rate
4.6%
Labor force participation
62.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
20.9%
Schools
Total Schools
4
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Belt's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
503 residents
2021
507 residents
2022
516 residents
2023
514 residents
2024
518 residents
2025
523 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
62.6%
Carpool
27.6%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
5.7%
Work from Home
2.7%
Other
1.4%
Based on 297 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 Belt. 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 Belt 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 Belt sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Belt 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, 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.