PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Great Falls, MT

30.6
Life Score / 100
F
Grade (curved)
#384
of 387 metros
1%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Great Falls ranks #384 of 387 US metros, ahead of 1% - carried by its rent (52/100) and held back most by schools (9/100).

52
strongest: Rent
36
then: Childcare
9
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Great Falls sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

31 1th percentile higher than 1% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). This entry sits in this band. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Above this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. 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 PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Great Falls Life Score

Great Falls's composite score of 30.6 out of 100, a grade of F, places the metro at rank #384 of 387, ahead of 1% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (52/100) and Childcare (36/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (9/100) and Wages (23/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 96.8 (rent-RPP 97.1). BLS median salary $60,566, 31,100 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Home Health and Personal Care Aides). HUD 2BR FMR $1,284/mo (studio $960).

FBI UCR (MT): 426 violent, 1646 property/100K. NCES: 11.8:1 ratio, 0.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,466/yr. EPA: 19 Superfund sites (MT). Ranks #381-#387 below.

Dimension detail

How Great Falls scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 34/100 (20%)
Wages 23/100 (20%)
Rent 52/100 (15%)
Safety 24/100 (15%)
Schools 9/100 (10%)
Childcare 36/100 (10%)
Environment 35/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

96.8
Cost Index (RPP)
$60,566
Avg Median Salary
$1,284
2BR Fair Market Rent
426
Violent Crime/100K (MT)
11.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$11,466
Infant Childcare/yr (MT)
19
Superfund Sites (MT)
31,100
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Great Falls With...

Great Falls vs Billings Compare → Great Falls vs Missoula Compare → Great Falls vs Helena Compare → Great Falls vs Wildwood Compare → Great Falls vs Waterloo Compare → Great Falls vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Great Falls outranks 1% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#381 Kingston, NY 31.8 F
#382 Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY 32.4 F
#383 Boulder, CO 32.6 F
#384 Great Falls, MT 30.6 F
#385 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 30.5 F
#386 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 30.0 F
#387 Bozeman, MT 26.0 F

MT Metro Scores

Billings, MT D 35.6 Missoula, MT D 35.2 Helena, MT D 34.0 Bozeman, MT F 26.0

Using Great Falls's Life Score

Great Falls is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is rent (52/100) and its weakest is schools (9/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Great Falls head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Great Falls lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Great Falls's biggest strengths? ▼
Great Falls's strongest dimensions are Rent (52/100), Childcare (36/100), Environment (35/100).
What are Great Falls's weakest areas? ▼
Great Falls's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (9/100), Wages (23/100), Safety (24/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Great Falls compared to the national average? ▼
Great Falls's Regional Price Parity is 96.8 (3.2% less than national); rent RPP 97.1.
What is the average salary in Great Falls? ▼
Great Falls median salary: $60,566, 31,100 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Great Falls's 30.6/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.