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Place dossier plate
SheetMT-HOT-SPRINGS-MT · Hot Springs, MT 558 pop · income 1st 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 Hot Springs
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Hot Springs on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Hayti Heights · lowest
21,250
Hayti Heights · lowest
21,250 median HH income
13.3% of the leader · rank #1
Imbéry comuni… · near
21,279
Imbéry comuni… · near
21,279 median HH income
13.3% of the leader · rank #2
Quitman · near
21,287
Quitman · near
21,287 median HH income
13.3% of the leader · rank #3
Haynesville · near
21,318
Haynesville · near
21,318 median HH income
13.3% of the leader · rank #4
Hot Springs · this city
21,319
Hot Springs · this city
21,319 median HH income
13.3% of the leader · rank #5
Humacao zona… · near
21,366
Humacao zona… · near
21,366 median HH income
13.3% of the leader · rank #6
Cumming · highest
160,357
Cumming · highest
160,357 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, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Hot Springs on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. 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: 558.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Hot Springs - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Hot Springs lands in the 1st percentile for household income and the 60th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
1st
percentile, household income
24th
percentile, home value
61st
percentile, median rent
60th
percentile, safety
📝 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: Hot Springs, MT
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 558 residents in Hot Springs, a small town within Montana. Median household income here is $21,319 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 17.7%. Home values in Hot Springs run a median of $139,100, and the median resident age is 53.9 years. 14.7% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 37.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Hot Springs reports a comparatively low crime rate: per-100,000 total crime stands at 1100.6 in FBI UCR data, below the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
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. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Montana's average monthly utility costs around $175 (state average). 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 Hot Springs'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 comparison shortlist to population change to housing and income to reported crime to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Hot Springs, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Hot Springs?
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 48.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Which cities make useful reference points for Hot Springs?
Within Montana, the closest population matches are Alberton (567 residents, $71,250 income); Worden (545 residents); Circle (543 residents, $81,250 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Pilot Station, AK (558 residents); Piney Grove, GA (558 residents); Richfield, ID (558 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 nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Is Hot Springs growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +67 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +11.9% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
How far does income reach against housing in Hot Springs?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 6.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 17.7%, 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. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
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.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Hot Springs?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1100.6 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 52% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
628.9
Violent rate
471.7
Total reported rate
1100.6
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the education layer cover for Hot Springs?
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 14.7% 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.
Matched public schools
3
Bachelor's degree+
14.7%
Poverty estimate
17.7%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 17.7% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.6 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Montana average
F
City profile score · Hot Springs, MT
23/100
5 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.
Bachelor's+ share F
14.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
17.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
472 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income F
$21,319
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Hot Springs profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 66/100 (B-) · 94.6 index
Bachelor's+ share: 19/100 (F) · 14.7%
Poverty rate: 18/100 (F) · 17.7%
Violent crime: 18/100 (F) · 472 /100k
Household income: 0/100 (F) · $21,319
Where Hot Springs sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Hot Springs's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Hot Springs highlighted among 21 peers.Read the chart values
Hot Springs, MT (this city): home $139,100, crime 1,101/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Hot Springs compare to other US cities?
Where Hot Springs sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income1% higher than other cities
Home value24% pricier than other cities
Median rent61% pricier than other cities
Safety60% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Montana and the picture shifts: Hot Springs ranks #17 of 39 Montana cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Hot Springs 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 Hot Springs near the bottom of Montana's cities
Among the 317 Montana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Hot Springs ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Hot Springs only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#278 of 282
1st percentile in Montana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 317
0th percentile in Montana
Median Home Value
#220 of 279
21st percentile in Montana
Poverty Rate
#63 of 315
80th percentile in Montana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#234 of 317
25th 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
1st percentile nationally for median household income · 60th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Hot Springs's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Hot Springs's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Hot Springs's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$139,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 76% 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
Hot Springs's home-value-to-income ratio: 6.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,449 of 15,516
More affordable than 7% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,675 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 6.5×, Hot Springs sits in the pressured band:
national rank #14,449 of 15,516 and #10,675 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
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
$21,319Hot Springs, MT median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Hot Springs, 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 Hot Springs, MT.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)14.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)17.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)37.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
558
Median Income
$21,319
Median Home Value
$139,100
Median Age
53.9
Poverty Rate
17.7%
Labor force participation
37.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
14.7%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1100.6
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
471.7
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
628.9
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
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
Hot Springs's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
563 residents
2021
583 residents
2022
602 residents
2023
616 residents
2024
623 residents
2025
630 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
48.7%
Carpool
20.9%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
13.4%
Work from Home
12.8%
Other
4.2%
Based on 187 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 Hot Springs. 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 Hot Springs 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 Hot Springs sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Hot Springs 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, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, 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.