Photo: Mitchell O'Brien · CC BY-SA 4.0How is Columbia Falls run?
Columbia Falls’ city government spent $4.5 million on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, about $803 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Columbia Falls didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Columbia Falls is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $803 per resident a year, or $2.20 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: police, at 32%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Columbia Falls didn’t report all of its 2024 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Columbia Falls yet
Every year of Columbia Falls’ figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the city reported none of its dollars for 2022–2024. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →full-time in March 2025, the same as 24 in 2022. Both are Census estimates.
The typical homeowner pays $2,814 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.73% of the home’s value, vs 0.72% across Montana.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Columbia Falls’ rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Columbia Falls’ Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Columbia Falls →
Who’s in charge in Columbia Falls
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Columbia Falls’ meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on cityofcolumbiafalls.org ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 236 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (5,656).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Columbia Falls Elementary School District
Columbia Falls’ elementary school district. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $12,401 per pupil, $7,300 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Montana districts overall: 44% local, 39% state, 17% federal.
Columbia Falls High School District · $14,251 per pupil
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Columbia Falls’ votes are counted by county
Montana reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Columbia Falls alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Flathead County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican65.6%41,390 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat31.8%20,062 votesOthers: 2.7% (1,688 votes).
Most votes in Flathead County: Donald J Trump
Montana: Trump 58.4%, Harris 38.5%
100% of Columbia Falls lies in Flathead County. Every 2024 race in Flathead County is on the county’s page.
Flathead County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Columbia Falls.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: cityofcolumbiafalls.org ↗
- 2Montana HouseState representatives
- 3Montana SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Montana
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Columbia Falls’ government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Columbia Falls’ government
How much does Columbia Falls spend per resident?
About $803 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, a Census Bureau estimate (Columbia Falls didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $6.7 million.
What is the property tax rate in Columbia Falls?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $2,814 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.73% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.72% across Montana. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see cityofcolumbiafalls.org.
Who runs Columbia Falls’ government?
See cityofcolumbiafalls.org for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Columbia Falls yet.
How did Columbia Falls vote in 2024?
Montana counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Columbia Falls alone. Flathead County, where 100% of Columbia Falls lies, voted Trump 65.6%, Harris 31.8% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Columbia Falls?
24 full-time and 8 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $196,869 (about $2.4M a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Columbia Falls in the state legislature?
State Senate District 2 (Dave Fern) and State House District 4 (Lyn Bennett). The House district also covers parts of 1 neighboring town. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Columbia Falls’ government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Columbia Falls, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →