Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Its National Register listings include Milwaukee Road Historic District and Graves Hotel. Harlowton has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Where Harlowton beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Census counts: 770 in 1910, a peak of 1,856 in 1920, 955 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 2 maps from 1986 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Harlowton, 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 Harlowton.
Harlowton’s going rate for rent stands at $742 a month. In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 11%. Among households here, 75% are owner-occupiers.
| Harlowton | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $742 a month | $1,000 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 75% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Harlowton K-12 school district runs its public schools. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillcrest SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 195 | C |
| Harlowton High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 66 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts
A winter brings about 20 inches of snow, with January nights at 14° and July afternoons at 84°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
19% of Harlowton residents live below the poverty line, above both Montana’s towns (10%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). One in 3 of the town’s working residents works locally. The average trip to work for Harlowton comes to 14 minutes. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in the town rose by 75, to 356.
| Harlowton | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 39% | 39% | 8% |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $67,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Only 3 of the 42 Montana towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Harlowton. 16% of Harlowton adults binge drink, where Montana’s towns sit at 20% and U.S. towns at 16%. Also worth knowing: in Harlowton, 18% of adults report frequent physical distress. Of 32 CDC measures, Harlowton beats the Montana average on 3 and trails it on 15.
| Harlowton | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 32% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 10% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | Harlowton | MT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.3% | 12.3% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 16.2% | 20.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 11.4% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
One declared disaster, in 2011, has brought federal aid to Harlowton households. Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 54% of U.S. communities. Flood insurance has paid out on 9 claims here since 1979.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Among 43 Montana towns, just 4 have a lower share of conserved land than Harlowton. Trails run 0.5 miles in 1 park or preserve. The biggest park or preserve is Chief Joseph Park, at 47 acres. The town’s concentration of trails is 0.8 miles per square mile.
| Harlowton | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2% | 9.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Chief Joseph Park | 0.3 mi | 47 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Harlowton; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Harlowton residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Montana.
2 places in Harlowton on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in and county seat of Wheatland County, Montana, United States
Harlowton is a city in and the county seat of Wheatland County, Montana, United States. The population was 955 at the 2020 census. The city was once the eastern terminus of electric operations (1914–74) for the "Pacific Extension" of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad ("Milwaukee Road"). Here, steam or diesel locomotives were changed or hooked up to electric locomotives for 438-mile (705 km) trip through the Rocky Mountains to Avery, Idaho. Harlowton was founded in 1900 as a station stop on the Montana Railroad, a predecessor to the Milwaukee, and was named for Richard A. Harlow, the Montana Railroad's president.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Harlowton has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real. Home to 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
