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-CHOTEAU-MT · Choteau, MT 1,719 pop · income 26th pct · 3 tracts
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 Choteau
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Choteau on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Luis M. Cintr… · lowest
21,685
Luis M. Cintr… · lowest
21,685 median HH income
18.6% of the leader · rank #1
Choteau · this city
53,929
Choteau · this city
53,929 median HH income
46.2% of the leader · rank #2
Goodland · near
53,929
Goodland · near
53,929 median HH income
46.2% of the leader · rank #3
East Jordan · near
53,929
East Jordan · near
53,929 median HH income
46.2% of the leader · rank #4
Milledgeville · near
53,929
Milledgeville · near
53,929 median HH income
46.2% of the leader · rank #5
Priddy · near
53,929
Priddy · near
53,929 median HH income
46.2% of the leader · rank #6
Clancy · highest
116,800
Clancy · highest
116,800 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 Choteau 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: 1,719.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Choteau places in the 26th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
26th
percentile, household income
41st
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: Choteau, MT
1,719 people live in Choteau, Montana - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $53,929 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 5.4%. Typical homes in Choteau are valued around $194,900, and the median resident age is 43.0 years. 25.4% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 53.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 7 residential building permits were authorized in Choteau (Building Boom), up 250% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. NOAA puts Choteau's yearly average temperature at 43.8°F with 11.9 inches of precipitation per year and 47.5 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Montana run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Montana at 94.6 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Below Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,336 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Montana's average monthly utility costs around $175 (state average). 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 Choteau'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 work and mobility to population change to housing and income to comparison shortlist to schools and households to within-city variation to climate and hazard context; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Choteau, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits, annual population history, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in Choteau?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 66.4%. 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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +88 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +5.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 7 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Choteau?
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 Clancy (1,729 residents, $116,800 income); Forsyth (1,682 residents, $58,375 income); Plentywood (1,677 residents, $62,163 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Doe Valley, KY (1,719 residents); Shannon, MS (1,719 residents); Campbell, MO (1,719 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.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
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.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Choteau?
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 3.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.4%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
3.6×
Home value
$194,900
Household income
$53,929
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
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. 25.4% 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.
Poverty estimate
5.4%
Bachelor's degree+
25.4%
Matched public schools
3
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
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 43.8°F, with 11.9 inches of precipitation and 47.5 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.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
33.3
Annual precipitation
11.9 in
Mean temperature
43.8°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Below median income · poverty 5.4% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.6 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Montana average
C-
City profile score · Choteau, MT
50/100
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+
5.4%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share C-
25.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$53,929
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Choteau profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 66/100 (B-) · 94.6 index
Poverty rate: 63/100 (C+) · 5.4%
Bachelor's+ share: 50/100 (C-) · 25.4%
Household income: 26/100 (F) · $53,929
How does Choteau compare to other US cities?
Choteau measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income26% higher than other cities
Home value41% 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 Choteau 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 Choteau near the bottom of Montana's cities
Among the 317 Montana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Choteau ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Choteau only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#173 of 282
39th percentile in Montana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 317
0th percentile in Montana
Median Home Value
#170 of 279
39th percentile in Montana
Poverty Rate
#176 of 315
44th percentile in Montana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#133 of 317
58th 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
26th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Choteau's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$194,900Among the most affordablemore affordable than 59% 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
Choteau's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#9,409 of 15,516
More affordable than 39% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#7,541 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.6×, Choteau sits in the moderate band:
national rank #9,409 of 15,516 and #7,541 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
$53,929Choteau, MT median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Choteau, 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 Choteau, MT.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)25.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.4%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)53.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,719
Median Income
$53,929
Median Home Value
$194,900
Median Age
43.0
Poverty Rate
5.4%
Labor force participation
53.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
25.4%
Climate
Avg Temperature
43.8°F
Annual Precipitation
11.9"
Annual Snowfall
47.5"
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
Choteau's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,737 residents
2021
1,745 residents
2022
1,767 residents
2023
1,793 residents
2024
1,798 residents
2025
1,825 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
7
housing units authorized
Single-Family
5
detached homes
Multifamily
2
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
4.1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
2
0
2
$0.3M
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
4
2
2
$0.7M
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
3
3
0
$0.8M
2024
7
5
2
$1.7M
Permit volume increased 250% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
66.4%
Carpool
11.5%
Public Transit
1.8%
Walk
5.9%
Work from Home
11.0%
Other
3.4%
Based on 706 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 Choteau. 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 Choteau 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 Choteau sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Choteau 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.