Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,271, founded in 1880.
Dillon is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B+ overall, ranked 3rd of 41 in Montana, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools outperform 83% of the state's. It also does better than most on health: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 74% of the country. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $61K, and 12% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $392K, 6.4 years of the county’s $61K median household income. 45% of working residents work locally in Dillon, above both Montana’s towns (37%) and U.S. towns (8%). Dillon is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns. Dillon has 10 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Montana State Normal School and Hotel Metlen.
Where Dillon beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Parkview School | PK–5 | 497 |
| Dillon Middle School | 6–8 | 259 |
| Beaverhead Co High School | 9–12 | 339 |
Census counts: 1,012 in 1890, 3,880 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1912 and 3 maps from 1963 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Montana), ordered by how far Dillon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Dillon, 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 Dillon.
Dillon fares better on crime within Montana than nationally, has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Its three schools are below. The largest public high school is Beaverhead Co High School, with 339 students. The public schools here belong to the Dillon Elementary District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parkview SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 497 | A− |
| Beaverhead Co High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 339 | B |
| Dillon Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 259 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MT on state tests and graduation
Against the 9,203 U.S. towns with household incomes like Dillon’s, it is healthier than 95%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income.
Among adults in Dillon, 18% report frequent mental distress. Two figures for adults locally: 71% had a checkup this year, 21% binge drink.
| Dillon | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 32% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 72% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 20% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 36% |
| What stands out | Dillon | MT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults getting cholesterol checked | 79% | 82.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In Dillon, a fifth of residents are under 18. Adults 18 to 34 are nearly a third of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 30% of residents (37% statewide). The town has grown 10% since 2020, to 4,271 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Its midpoint age comes in at 33 years.
| Dillon | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 33 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 20% | 22% | 22% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.9 points. Across Montana, 49.3% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 56% are women (MT 47%).
| Dillon | MT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.3% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.4% | 10% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 18.2% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11% | 12.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 6% | 11.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.2% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13% | 12.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.5% | 5.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21% | 27.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.7% | 22.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.6% | 9.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26% | 23.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.3% | 12% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,300, single groups can be off by several points
The Dillon U Of Montana Western weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 98 days, shorter than in 99% of U.S. towns.
The range runs from 13° on a January night to 83° on a July afternoon, with about 11 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs in Dillon grew by 299 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 2,223. The town’s mean commuting time comes in at 17 minutes. Half of commuters travel less than 3 miles. The top destinations are Butte-Silver Bow (6%), Bozeman (4%) and Helena (4%).
| Dillon | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $68,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The rent at the middle of the market in Dillon is $864 a month. Values rose 2.9% in the 12 months to September 2026. For households in the town, the share who live in a home they own is 56%.
| Dillon | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $864 a month | $1,004 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Flood insurance has paid out on 3 claims in Dillon since 1982. Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in three fifths of U.S. communities. 51% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from earthquakes, followed by inland flooding at 22%.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.7 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. For Dillon, the density of trails is 0.4 miles per square mile.
| Dillon | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.1% | 9.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Vigilante Park | — | 15 |
| 2. Ray Lynch Park | — | 10 |
| 3. Centennial Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 16.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 96% of Montana’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 38 to 21 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent offense rate for Dillon comes to 1.8 per 1,000 residents. Among 26 Montana towns, just one has a lower rate of thefts and burglaries than Dillon.
| Dillon | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3 per 1,000 residents | 15.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.8 per 1,000 residents | 4.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Dillon
About 12 of every 100 Dillon residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Montana.
10 places in Dillon on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Dillon.
City in Beaverhead County, Montana, United States
Dillon is a city in and the county seat of Beaverhead County, Montana, United States. The population was 3,880 at the 2020 census. The city was named for Sidney Dillon (1812–1892), president of Union Pacific Railroad. The Dillon City Hall Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Dillon grades B+ overall, better than 71% of U.S. towns and #3 of 41 in Montana. It grades B+ for health, B− for safety and A− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
4 notable people were born here, including Lloyd Meeds and Troy Andersen.
