Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Hardin gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $218K for a typical one, or 3.7 years of the county’s $59K median household income. It grades C− overall, ranked 36th of 41 in Montana. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its schools rank behind 92% of the state's, and the median household income is $60K, and 7% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns. 46% of working residents work locally in Hardin, against 37% in Montana’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Hardin has 14 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Commercial District and First Baptist Church. Only one of the 42 Montana towns we compare has a higher peak summer temperature than Hardin.
Where Hardin beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Commercial District| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Hardin Intermediate | 3–5 | 290 |
| Hardin Primary | PK–2 | 287 |
| Big Horn Valley Christian School | 1–8 | 16 |
Census counts: 1,312 in 1920, 3,818 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1914 and 2 maps from 1960 on.
14 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Montana), ordered by how far Hardin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hardin, 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 Hardin.
Hardin has more 90° days than almost anywhere else in Montana and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Below: Two of its 5 schools, each with why it was picked. The public schools here belong to the Hardin Elementary District. The largest public high school is Hardin High School, with 515 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardin Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 359 | D− |
| Hardin High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 515 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MT on state tests and graduation
In Hardin, the rent at the middle of the market is $771 a month. Zillow values the typical Hardin home at about $218,000, up 5.2% in a year, 53% below the Montana typical home. 54% of households are owner-occupiers here.
| Hardin | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $771 a month | $1,004 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Hardin’s violent offense rate stands at 4.9 per 1,000 residents. Within Montana, it does better than 56% of towns.
| Hardin | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.9 per 1,000 residents | 4.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.7 per 1,000 residents | 14.1 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 9,042 U.S. towns with household incomes like Hardin’s, it is less healthy than 54%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Among 41 Montana towns, just 3 have a higher share of adults who feel lonely than Hardin. CDC measures, 32 in all: Hardin beats Montana on 1 and trails on 18. In Hardin, a fifth of adults smoke cigarettes.
| Hardin | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 14% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 31% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 72% | 79% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Hardin | MT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.9% | 9.3% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 21.3% | 11.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Hardin weather station records that about 52 days a year reach 90°, the highest of 490 Montana places with climate records. The Hardin weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 135 days: shorter than most of the country, but longer than 84% of Montana places with climate records.
Expect July afternoons of 90° and January nights of 11°, with about 28 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The top destinations are Billings (13%), Crow Agency (13%) and Lockwood (2%). For residents in Hardin, the share who live below the poverty line is 7.2%. The median commute is under 11 miles. Its mean commuting time comes in at 18 minutes.
| Hardin | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7.2% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $60,000 | $68,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Households in Hardin have drawn federal disaster aid once, in 2011. FEMA expects less storm and flood damage locally than in 64% of U.S. communities. Expected losses in Hardin break down as 32% from inland flooding and 23% from strong winds.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
There are 0.4 miles of trail across 4 parks and preserves. Only 4 of the 42 Montana towns we compare have a lower density of trails than Hardin. Parks and preserves here: 4, covering 23 acres.
| Hardin | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.5% | 9.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Custer City Park | 0.4 mi | 3 |
| 2. Fairgrounds | — | 14 |
| 3. Westside Playground | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Hardin
About 4 of every 100 Hardin residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Montana.
14 places in Hardin on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Hardin.
City in Montana, United States
Hardin is a city in and the county seat of Big Horn County, Montana, United States. The population was 3,818 at the 2020 census. It is located just north of the Crow Indian Reservation.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Hardin grades C− overall, better than 18% of U.S. towns and #36 of 41 in Montana. It grades C for health, C for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Within Montana, it does better than 56% of towns.
Not for the 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+.
6 notable people were born here, including Kendall Cross and Kroy Biermann.
