28% of residents live below the poverty line in Busby, against 10% in Montana’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. No town among the 43 in Montana we compare has a lower share of working residents who work in town than Busby. Busby’s trail density is 1.5 miles per square mile, above both the Montana town median (0.6) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Moncure Tipi is on the National Register of Historic Places. Busby has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.

Moncure Tipi · National Register of Historic Places

Busby’s story

122 years in pictures

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

1904Busby is settled

Explore the history →

Small town

569 people, and everyone knows the way

In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.

Nearby towns

Lodge Grass · 24 mi

The data

Ordered by what stands out in Busby.

Schools

The schools Busby’s kids attend

Its one school is below. Public schools: Northern Cheyenne Tribal School. Busby’s only public school teaches 169 students.

School	Level	Students	Letter
Northern Cheyenne Tribal SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades K–12	Grades K–12	169	–

Full pageBusby’s schools pageOpen the full Schools page

The districtsNorthern Cheyenne Tribal School Every school1 school · Northern Cheyenne Tribal School Questions“Are Busby’s schools good?”

NCES · EDFacts

Natural hazards

The FEMA risk score in Busby is higher than in most of Montana or the rest of the country

91risk score of 100

FEMA puts 39% of Busby’s expected hazard losses down to wildfires, and 36% to inland flooding. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Busby once, in 2011. Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 91% of U.S. communities.

FEMA risk score

WildfireInland floodingCold waves

federal disasters paid out here

Full pageBusby’s hazards pageOpen the full Hazards page

What it facesVery high risk Flood claims0 paid flood claims · No paid flood claims on record Past disasters1 federal disaster · Paid out in Busby Get readyReady for wildfire

FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Work & commute

About half of Busby’s working residents commute to Lame Deer

1%work in town

The top destinations are Lame Deer (50%), Ashland (5%) and Miles City (4%). Only 1% of working residents stay in Busby for work; the rest commute out. Half commute less than 18 miles.

Where working residents work

In Busby1%

Lame Deer50%

Ashland5%

Miles City4%

Billings3%

18 mi

median commute distance

jobs based in Busby

A commuter town

jobs vs. working residents

Full pageBusby’s work & commute pageOpen the full Work & commute page

The jobs here1 job based here · A commuter town Where people work1% work in Busby Commute times17 minutes · The average commute How far they goHalf commute less than 18 miles

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Climate

In Busby, expect snowy winters and hot summers

52″snow a winter

For Busby, the July high is 88°F.

Typical low → high °F

Winter9–37°

Spring29–58°

Summer50–84°

Fall29–60°

Sep 15

typical first frost

May 23

typical last frost

+1.1°

vs. the 20th-century average

Full pageBusby’s climate pageOpen the full Climate page

A year of weatherJuly highs 88°, January lows 8°Rain & snow52″ of snow a winter · 16 inches of rain and snow a year Heating & coolingMostly a heating bill Then and now+1.1° vs. the 20th century · Warmer than the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

Health

A larger share of adults in Busby feel lonely than in the typical Montana or U.S. town

In Busby, 27% of adults smoke cigarettes. Only one of the 42 Montana towns we compare has a higher share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Busby. This Montana town does better than the Montana average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 23.

	Busby	Montana towns	U.S. towns
Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES)	31%	19%	19%
Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES)	27%	14%	14%
Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES)	24%	18%	17%
Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES)	20%	14%	14%