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Place dossier plate
SheetMT-WEST-GLACIER-MT · West Glacier, MT 209 pop · income 69th 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 West Glacier
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest West Glacier on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Riverview Col… · lowest
2,499
Riverview Col… · lowest
2,499 median HH income
2.8% of the leader · rank #1
Bellevue · near
87,343
Bellevue · near
87,343 median HH income
99.2% of the leader · rank #2
West Glacier · this city
87,344
West Glacier · this city
87,344 median HH income
99.2% of the leader · rank #3
Winchester · near
87,344
Winchester · near
87,344 median HH income
99.2% of the leader · rank #4
Thorofare · near
87,344
Thorofare · near
87,344 median HH income
99.2% of the leader · rank #5
Clarence · near
87,344
Clarence · near
87,344 median HH income
99.2% of the leader · rank #6
Charlos Heigh… · highest
88,042
Charlos Heigh… · highest
88,042 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 West Glacier 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: 209.
Nationally, West Glacier sits in the 69th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
69th
percentile, household income
88th
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: West Glacier, MT
West Glacier is a small town in Montana, home to 209 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in West Glacier report a median income of $87,344 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 3.7%. Home values in West Glacier run a median of $565,500, and the median resident age is 46.5 years. Educational attainment runs 60.9% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 63.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The city is served by 1 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.
Living costs in Montana run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Montana scores 94.6 (Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. 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). 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 West Glacier'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 housing and income to schools and households 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 West Glacier, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in West Glacier?
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.
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 3.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What does the education layer cover for West Glacier?
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 60.9% 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.
What does the journey to work look like in West Glacier?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 55.2%. 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. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Which cities make useful reference points for West Glacier?
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 Highwood (209 residents, $71,875 income); St. Mary (209 residents); Elliston (208 residents, $41,719 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Glacier View, AK (209 residents); June Lake, CA (209 residents); New Canton, IL (209 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.
Above median income · poverty 3.7% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.6 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Montana average
B
City profile score · West Glacier, MT
73/100
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.
Bachelor's+ share A+
60.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate B
3.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income B-
$87,344
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
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.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
West Glacier profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 92/100 (A+) · 60.9%
Poverty rate: 74/100 (B) · 3.7%
Household income: 67/100 (B-) · $87,344
Cost of living: 66/100 (B-) · 94.6 index
How does West Glacier compare to other US cities?
West Glacier measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income69% higher than other cities
Home value88% 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 West Glacier 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 West Glacier near the bottom of Montana's cities
Among the 317 Montana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, West Glacier ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares West Glacier only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#43 of 282
85th percentile in Montana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 317
0th percentile in Montana
Median Home Value
#26 of 279
91st percentile in Montana
Poverty Rate
#199 of 315
37th percentile in Montana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#9 of 317
97th 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
69th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How West Glacier's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$565,50012th percentilemore affordable than 12% 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
West Glacier's home-value-to-income ratio: 6.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,429 of 15,516
More affordable than 7% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,666 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 6.5×, West Glacier sits in the pressured band:
national rank #14,429 of 15,516 and #10,666 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
$87,344West Glacier, MT median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context West Glacier, 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 West Glacier, MT.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)60.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)3.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)63.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
209
Median Income
$87,344
Median Home Value
$565,500
Median Age
46.5
Poverty Rate
3.7%
Labor force participation
63.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
60.9%
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
55.2%
Carpool
4.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
7.8%
Work from Home
25.9%
Other
6.8%
Based on 116 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 West Glacier. 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 West Glacier 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 West Glacier sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How West Glacier 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 ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.