Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Great Falls grades C− overall, 32nd among Montana's 41 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It has 13 miles of trail and it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 78% of U.S. towns. On the other side, its police reported 378 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 94% of U.S. towns. 69% of working residents work locally in Great Falls, above both the Montana town median (37%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Charles M. Russell House and Studio and Great Falls Central High School. Among 26 Montana towns, just one has a higher property crime rate than Great Falls.
Where Great Falls beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Charles M. Russell House and Studio is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 3,979 in 1890, 60,442 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1887 and 2 maps from 1886 on.
25 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Montana), ordered by how far Great Falls is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Great 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 Great Falls.
Great Falls has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports property crime at about twice the Montana rate.
Property crime runs at 36.4 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Montana rate, most of it theft. Reported crimes fell from 3,164 to 2,560 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
In Great Falls, the level of violent crime is 6.3 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Great Falls Elementary District runs its public schools. Below: Three of its 24 schools, each with why it was picked. The 6 public schools in Great Falls teach 2,625 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 764 | B− |
| Great Falls High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,548 | C |
| Meadow Lark SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 527 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MT on state tests and graduation
Home values rose 42% in five years, to about $338K, against 23% across Montana.
In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 2.7%. Great Falls’ median rent comes in at $900 a month. Homes sold in Great Falls spent a median 48 days on the market.
| Great Falls | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $900 a month | $1,004 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 64% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 46% | 42% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The biggest park or preserve is Elk's Riverside Park, at 50 acres. Count the trails in 59 parks and preserves and they come to 13 miles. Great Falls’ concentration of trails stands at 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Great Falls | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 8.2% | 9.3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Charles Russell Park | 0.8 mi | 24 |
| 2. Gibson Park | 0.8 mi | 21 |
| 3. Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest | 0.7 mi | 29 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Great Falls Intl Ap weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 126 days, shorter than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Expect July afternoons of 84° and January nights of 13°, with about 66 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute in Great Falls is 15 minutes. Half the trips to work are shorter than 3 miles. The top destinations are Helena (4%), Billings (2%) and Missoula (2%).
| Great Falls | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 6.8% | 8% | 11% |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $68,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Every broad age group is within 4 points of the Montana average. 28% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 35% across Montana. The share of residents in Great Falls who are 65 or older: 20%.
| Great Falls | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 28% | 31% | 29% |
50.3% women, 49.7% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±0.6 points. Across Montana, 49.3% of residents are women. Median age: women 41.2, men 37.4.
| Great Falls | MT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.3% | 10% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.2% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.9% | 12.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.3% | 11.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.2% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.9% | 12.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.1% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.3% | 5.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.9% | 27.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.3% | 22.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.8% | 9.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.4% | 23.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.4% | 12% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Against the 9,627 U.S. towns with household incomes like Great Falls’s, it is healthier than 64%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
A fifth of adults binge drink in Great Falls. Two figures for adults here: 19% report frequent mental distress, 74% had a checkup this year.
| Great Falls | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 72% | 79% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Great Falls | MT |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 14% | 11.7% |
| More adults who get no exercise | 24.1% | 20.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.6% | 6.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Great Falls once, in 2011. FEMA expects less storm and flood damage here than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, Great Falls has seen 53 flood insurance claims paid out. Expected losses in Great Falls break down as 47% from cold waves and 41% from inland flooding.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Great Falls. Close and well known come first.
10 mi WaterfallGreat Falls
in town MuseumC. M. Russell Museum Complex31K visitors a year
in town MuseumParis Gibson Square Museum of Art29K visitors a yearGreat Falls: Tim1965, Public domain · C. M. Russell Museum Complex: Roger Wollstadt, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art: Montanabw, CC BY-SA 3.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Great Falls
About 5 of every 100 Great Falls residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Montana.
2 colleges in town.
25 places in Great Falls on the National Register of Historic Places.
48 notable people were born in Great Falls.
City and county seat in Montana, US
Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of 22.9 square miles (59 km2) and is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County. The Great Falls MSA's population was 84,414 according to the 2020 census. A cultural, commercial and financial center in the central part of the state, Great Falls is located just east of the Rocky Mountains and is bisected by the Missouri River. It is 180 miles (290 km) from the eastern entrance to Glacier National Park in northern Montana, and 26…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Great Falls.
| Town | MT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Falls | #32 | C− | C+ | D | B | C+ |
| Black Eagle | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Malmstrom AFB | #22 | C+ | D | — | B | A− |
| Gibson Flats | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Malmstrom AFB reports no FBI crime data of its own. Black Eagle and Gibson Flats aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Great Falls with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Great Falls grades C− overall, better than 23% of U.S. towns and #32 of 41 in Montana. It grades C+ for health, D for safety and B for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 5 years of the area's median household income ($67,690 across the Great Falls, 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 C+.
48 notable people were born here, including Gerald R. Molen and William Roth.
