Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,274, settled in 1891.
Libby grades C− overall, 33rd of 41 graded towns in Montana, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. 19% of its land is conserved and it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 90% of U.S. towns. On the other side, the median household income is $34K, and 24% of residents live below the poverty line. 51% of working residents work locally in Libby, above both Montana’s towns (37%) and U.S. towns (8%). Of the 42 Montana towns we compare, none has a lower median household income than Libby. Libby has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Libby High School.
Where Libby beats most towns.
Where Libby’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 Libby is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 260 in 1890, 2,775 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1930 and 3 maps from 1963 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Libby, 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 Libby.
Libby fares better on crime within Montana than nationally, draws workers from Pioneer Junction and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
2,287 jobs are based in Libby, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 9.2 minutes, against 19.1 across Montana.
For half of commuters, work is under 1 miles away. Jobs based in Libby grew to 2,287 in 2023, 623 more than in 2013. The typical journey to work for Libby comes to 9 minutes. The top destinations are Kalispell (5%), Troy (3%) and Missoula (3%).
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Two of the 4 schools are below, and why each made the list. Its public schools are run by the Libby K-12 Schools. The largest public high school is Libby High School, with 363 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Libby Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 582 | B+ |
| Libby High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 363 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MT on state tests and graduation
Against the 1,119 U.S. towns with household incomes like Libby’s, it is healthier than 72%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
Libby: just over one in ten adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. Among 41 Montana towns, just one has a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Libby.
| Libby | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 32% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 9.9% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 19% | 19% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 31% | 33% |
| What stands out | Libby | MT |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 77.6% | 73.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 22.7% | 12.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1.3 miles of trail wind through 5 parks and preserves. For Libby, the concentration of trails is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Riverfront Park | — | 15 |
| 2. Montway Park | — | 11 |
| 3. Pioneer Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Values fell 2.6% in the past year while the Montana typical home rose 2%.
Homes in Libby are typically worth about $343,000, 27% below the Montana typical home. 57% of households own their home here.
| Libby | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $672 a month | $1,004 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 57% | 65% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Libby 1 Ne Rs weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 120 days: shorter than most of the country, but longer than 87% of Montana places with climate records.
A winter brings about 48 inches of snow, with January nights at 21° and July afternoons at 86°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The FEMA hazard score in Libby is 63 of 100. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 71% come from inland flooding and 15% from cold waves. One declared disaster, in 2025, has brought federal aid to Libby households.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 16.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 100% of Montana’s graded towns.
Only 2 of the 26 Montana towns we compare have a lower rate of thefts and burglaries than Libby. Its violent crime rate is 4.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Libby | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 15.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.5 per 1,000 residents | 4.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Libby; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Libby residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Montana.
3 places in Libby on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Libby.
City in Montana, United States
Libby is a city in northwestern Montana, United States and the county seat of Lincoln County. The population was 2,775 at the 2020 census. Libby suffered from the area's contamination from nearby vermiculite mines contaminated with particularly fragile asbestos, leading to the town's inclusion in the United States Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List status in 2002 and Public Health Emergency event in 2009. Most risk was reduced by 2015. Local natural features, such as the Kootenai Falls, have attracted tourism to the area and have been featured in movies, such as Always (1989), The River Wild (1994) and The Revenant (2015). There is a public school district and a publ…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Libby grades C− overall, better than 22% of U.S. towns and #33 of 41 in Montana. It grades D for health, B for safety and B+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
3 notable people were born here, including Keith Tower and Dan Rambo.
