Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Columbia Falls is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 31st among Montana's 41 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 59% of the country. Expect to pay for it: the typical home is worth about $608K, 8.2 years of the Kalispell area’s $74K median household income. Columbia Falls’ trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, above both the Montana town median (0.6) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Only 1 of Montana’s 54 towns score lower on civic life. Columbia Falls has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Soldiers' Home Historic District and St. Richard's Church.
Where Columbia Falls beats most towns.
4,688 counted in 2010 and 5,308 in 2020; an estimated 5,753 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 8.1% since 2020, after 13.2% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Montana), ordered by how far Columbia Falls is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 601 in 1910, 5,308 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1916 and 3 maps from 1962 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Columbia Falls. Close and well known come first.
33 mi LakeFlathead Lake
34 mi MountainTriple Divide Peak
37 mi LakeSaint Mary Lake11 mi Ski areaWhitefish Mountain Resort137 runs · 2,292 ft vertical8 mi National ParkGlacier National Park3.1M visitors a year26 mi Ski areaBlacktail Mountain Ski Area23 runs · 1,421 ft verticalFlathead Lake: The original uploader was Cactus.man at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Triple Divide Peak: Eggbones, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Saint Mary Lake: Ken Thomas (talk · contribs), Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Columbia Falls, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Columbia Falls.
Columbia Falls has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and trades workers with Kalispell and other neighbors, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Montana.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pinewood Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Columbia Falls Elementary District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Columbia Falls High Schl, with 691 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Falls Jr HSLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 547 | B− |
| Columbia Falls High SchlLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 691 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MT on state tests and graduation
At 8.2 years of the Kalispell area’s $74K median household income, the typical home (about $608K) costs more against local pay than in 92% of Montana towns; that ratio is one input to its C for cost of living.
56% of Columbia Falls households own their home, against 65% in Montana’s towns and 73% across U.S. towns. The typical Columbia Falls home is worth about $608,000, up 2% in a year, 30% above the Montana typical home.
| Columbia Falls | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,016 a month | $994 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 70% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Columbia Falls.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
People 65 and older are 12% of residents (20% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 43% of residents (37% statewide). Columbia Falls has grown 8.1% since 2020, to 5,753 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Columbia Falls’ median age is 36.6 years.
| Columbia Falls | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 12% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 36.6 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 32% | 30% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.8 points. Across Montana, 49.3% of residents are women.
| Columbia Falls | MT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.6% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.4% | 10% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.9% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.3% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 19.4% | 12.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.6% | 11.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.9% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 4.8% | 12.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.8% | 5.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.6% | 27.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.2% | 22.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.3% | 9.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.7% | 23.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.4% | 12% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The Kalispell Glacier Ap weather station, 6 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 100 days, shorter than in 99% of U.S. towns.
Columbia Falls has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. The July high in Columbia Falls is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes fell from 128 to 69 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Among 26 Montana towns, just 1 have a lower violent crime rate than Columbia Falls. Within Montana, it does better than 76% of towns.
| Columbia Falls | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 4.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.5 per 1,000 residents | 15.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Columbia Falls has about as many jobs (2,326) as working residents, but only 370 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Columbia Falls for work: only 17% work in town. 15% of residents live below the poverty line in Columbia Falls. Jobs based in Columbia Falls grew to 2,326 in 2023, 471 more than in 2013.
| Columbia Falls | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 41% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $66,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
70% of Columbia Falls adults had a checkup this year. Columbia Falls beats the Montana average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 20% of Columbia Falls adults binge drink.
| Columbia Falls | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 72% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 20% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 32% | 36% |
| What stands out | Columbia Falls | MT |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.8% | 12.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Columbia Falls
About 1 of every 100 Columbia Falls residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Montana.
3 places in Columbia Falls on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Montana, United States
Columbia Falls is a city along the Flathead River in Flathead County, Montana, United States. The population was 5,308 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Columbia Falls grades C− overall, better than 24% of U.S. towns and #31 of 41 in Montana. It grades B for health, C+ for safety and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Within Montana, it does better than 76% of towns.
