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Place dossier plate
SheetMT-CIRCLE-MT · Circle, MT 543 pop · income 63rd 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 Circle
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Circle on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
White Earth · lowest
18,929
White Earth · lowest
18,929 median HH income
20.6% of the leader · rank #1
Circle · this city
81,250
Circle · this city
81,250 median HH income
88.6% of the leader · rank #2
Meadow Lakes · near
81,250
Meadow Lakes · near
81,250 median HH income
88.6% of the leader · rank #3
March ARB · near
81,250
March ARB · near
81,250 median HH income
88.6% of the leader · rank #4
Plymouth · near
81,250
Plymouth · near
81,250 median HH income
88.6% of the leader · rank #5
Ardentown · near
81,250
Ardentown · near
81,250 median HH income
88.6% of the leader · rank #6
Huntley · highest
91,667
Huntley · highest
91,667 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 Circle 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: 543.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Circle places in the 63rd percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
63rd
percentile, household income
30th
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: Circle, MT
543 people live in Circle, Montana - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Circle households earn a median of $81,250 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 9.3%. Circle's housing stock carries a median value of $161,100, and the median resident age is 43.3 years. 29.0% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 60.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 2 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Low Activity). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 45.1°F with 14.4 inches of precipitation per year.
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). 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. Natural-hazard exposure scores 33.3 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Circle'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 comparison shortlist to population change to work and mobility to climate and hazard context to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Circle, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, local building permits, 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.
Question 1
What does the education layer cover for Circle?
The NCES join finds 4 public schools within the city match. 29.0% 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.
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Circle?
Within Montana, the closest population matches are Worden (545 residents); Huntley (534 residents, $91,667 income); Hot Springs (558 residents, $21,319 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Gurley, AL (543 residents); Round Rock, AZ (543 residents); Sabula, IA (543 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.
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.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -3 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -0.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 2 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What does the journey to work look like in Circle?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 69.8%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
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.
Climate and hazard context
What physical conditions frame life in Circle?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 45.1°F, with 14.4 inches of precipitation. 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 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.
Mean temperature
45.1°F
Annual precipitation
14.4 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
33.3
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
How far does income reach against housing in Circle?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 9.3%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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.
Household income
$81,250
Home value
$161,100
Value / income
2.0×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 9.3% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.6 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Montana average
C
City profile score · Circle, 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.
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+
$81,250
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share C
29.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate D
9.3%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Circle profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 66/100 (B-) · 94.6 index
Household income: 61/100 (C+) · $81,250
Bachelor's+ share: 56/100 (C) · 29.0%
Poverty rate: 42/100 (D) · 9.3%
How does Circle compare to other US cities?
Circle measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income63% higher than other cities
Home value30% 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 Circle 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 Circle near the bottom of Montana's cities
Among the 317 Montana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Circle ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Circle only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#59 of 282
79th percentile in Montana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 317
0th percentile in Montana
Median Home Value
#205 of 279
27th percentile in Montana
Poverty Rate
#123 of 315
61st percentile in Montana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#100 of 317
68th 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
63rd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Circle's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$161,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 70% 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
Circle's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#1,575 of 15,516
More affordable than 90% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,509 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.0×, Circle sits in the affordable band:
national rank #1,575 of 15,516 and #1,509 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
$81,250Circle, MT median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Circle, 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 Circle, MT.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)29.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)9.3%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)60.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
543
Median Income
$81,250
Median Home Value
$161,100
Median Age
43.3
Poverty Rate
9.3%
Labor force participation
60.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
29.0%
Climate
Avg Temperature
45.1°F
Annual Precipitation
14.4"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
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
Circle's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
593 residents
2021
587 residents
2022
586 residents
2023
576 residents
2024
586 residents
2025
590 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
2
housing units authorized
Single-Family
2
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
1
1
0
$0.1M
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
2
2
0
$0.5M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
69.8%
Carpool
6.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
14.2%
Work from Home
6.3%
Other
3.4%
Based on 288 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 Circle. 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 Circle 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 Circle sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Circle 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.