Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Frenchtown’s subject grades is an A− for health; the weakest is a D for cost of living. On cost of living, just 1 of Montana’s 95 towns do worse. Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church is on the National Register of Historic Places. Frenchtown has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Frenchtown beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Frenchtown Elementary School | PK–3 | 415 |
| Frenchtown Intermediate School | 4–5 | 171 |
| Frenchtown 6-8 | 6–8 | 311 |
Saint John the Baptist Catholic ChurchWhere Frenchtown’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 Frenchtown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 883 in 2000, 1,958 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 2 maps from 1959 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Frenchtown is unincorporated, so Missoula County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Frenchtown.
Children under 18 are 38% of residents (21% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 21% of residents (37% statewide). Frenchtown’s median age is 33.1 years, against 38.9 years in Montana’s towns and 40.5 years across U.S. towns. 23% of Frenchtown residents are 65 or older.
| Frenchtown | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 33.1 years | 38.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 32% | 30% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±8.2 points. Across Montana, 49.3% of residents are women.
| Frenchtown | MT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 31% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.9% | 10% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.3% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.3% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.5% | 12.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 5% | 11.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 6% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.7% | 12.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.3% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.8% | 5.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.3% | 27.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.7% | 22.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11% | 9.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.4% | 23.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.8% | 12% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,900, single groups can be off by several points
Its public schools are run by the Frenchtown K-12 Schools. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Frenchtown High School, with 364 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frenchtown Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 415 | A− |
| Frenchtown High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 364 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MT on state tests and graduation
Frenchtown beats the Montana average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 22% of Frenchtown adults binge drink, above both the Montana town median (20%) and the median of U.S. towns (16%). 27% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Frenchtown.
| Frenchtown | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 20% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 32% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 21% | 25% |
| What stands out | Frenchtown | MT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.4% | 12.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.4% | 11.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Frenchtown home is worth about $649,000, about the same as a year ago, 39% above the Montana typical home. Frenchtown’s median rent is $1,609 a month. Among 43 Montana towns, just 3 have a higher share of households owning their home than Frenchtown.
| Frenchtown | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 88% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,609 a month | $1,000 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave Frenchtown for work: only 5% work in town. Jobs based in Frenchtown grew to 575 in 2023, 118 more than in 2013. The median household income in Frenchtown is $95,000.
| Frenchtown | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 5% | 39% | 8% |
| Median household income | $95,000 | $67,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 71% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Frenchtown has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 19° and about 43 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
3.6 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The biggest park or preserve is Frenchtown Pond State Park, at 55 acres.
| Frenchtown | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.5% | 9.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Frenchtown Pond State Park | 0.9 mi | 55 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Frenchtown. Close and well known come first.
8 mi LakeLake Missoula
20 mi Park & preserveCSKT Bison Range11 mi Ski areaMontana Snowbowl64 runs · 2,538 ft vertical
16 mi TheatreWilma Theater16 mi MuseumMissoula Art Museum
17 mi MuseumMontana Museum of Art & CultureLake Missoula: USGS, Public domain · CSKT Bison Range: Paul Frederickson, CC BY 2.5 · Wilma Theater: Publichall, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Montana Museum of Art & Culture: DocFreeman24, CC BY-SA 4.0
None within 15 miles of Frenchtown; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Frenchtown residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Montana.
Census-designated place in Montana, United States
Frenchtown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is part of the Missoula metropolitan area. The population was 1,958 as of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. That is 8.7 years of the area's median household income ($74,989 across the Missoula, 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 D.
