Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Columbus’ best subject grades are an A for walkability and civic life and an A− for the outdoors; its weakest is a C− for hazard risk. Of the 43 Montana towns we compare, none has a higher average trip to work than Columbus. 34% of the land in Columbus is conserved, above both Montana’s towns (9.2%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Columbus has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Michael Jacobs House and Halfway House. Columbus has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Columbus beats most towns.
Where Columbus’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Montana), ordered by how far Columbus is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 521 in 1910, 1,857 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1897 and a map from 1892 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Columbus, 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 Columbus.
About one in 3 of Columbus’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Columbus has added 89 jobs, to 1,419 in 2023. The top destinations are Billings (19%), Helena (2%) and Bozeman (2%).
| Columbus | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 36% | 39% | 8% |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $67,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 10% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Columbus Elementary District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 278 | B+ |
| Columbus High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 227 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MT on state tests and graduation
0.4 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The biggest park or preserve is Granite Peak Park, at 23 acres. Columbus’ trail density is 0.3 miles per square mile, below the Montana town median (0.6) and near the median of U.S. towns (0.4).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Granite Peak Park | — | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Columbus’ violent crime rate is 3.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Columbus | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.5 per 1,000 residents | 4.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.1 per 1,000 residents | 14.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Columbus beats the Montana average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 29% of adults feel lonely in Columbus.
| Columbus | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 31% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 72% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 16% |
| What stands out | Columbus | MT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.2% | 6.5% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.9% | 12.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.5% | 9.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 74% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Columbus has cold, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 13° and about 48 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Columbus home is worth about $462,000, up 8.3% in a year, close to the Montana typical home. 77% of Columbus households own their home.
| Columbus | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 77% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $945 a month | $1,000 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Columbus; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Columbus residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Montana.
5 places in Columbus on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Columbus.
City in Montana, United States
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Stillwater County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,857 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.
Not for the area. That is 6 years of the area's median household income ($77,194 across the Billings, MT metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
4 notable people were born here, including Jack Vaughn and Dwan Edwards.
