RudyardMT
A town of 312, settled in 1910.
Is Rudyard a good place to live?
Rudyard has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
What makes Rudyard stand out
Where Rudyard beats most towns.
312 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Moving to Rudyard: who provides what
Rudyard is unincorporated, so Hill 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Rudyard.
Compared with most of Montana and the rest of the country, the median rent in Rudyard is lower
A typical home in Rudyard is worth about $165,000, down 4.9% in a year, 65% below the Montana typical home. Rudyard: 70% of households live in a home they own, against 64% in Montana’s towns and 73% across U.S. towns.
| Rudyard | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $650 a month | $1,000 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 64% | 73% |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The schools Rudyard’s kids attend
Its two schools are below. The North Star High School District runs its public schools. Public school enrollment in Rudyard: 81 students across 2 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Star 7-8Largest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 25 | A |
| North Star High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 56 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts
With 2.0 jobs for every working resident, Rudyard draws in 107 commuters
Roughly one working resident in five has a job in Rudyard itself. The town had 119 jobs in 2023, up 72 from 2013. Only 4 of the 43 Montana towns we compare have a higher typical household income than Rudyard. In Rudyard, the average commute is 21 minutes, above Montana’s towns (17 minutes) but below U.S. towns (25 minutes).
| Rudyard | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 39% | 8% |
| Median household income | $99,000 | $67,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.2% | 10% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Rudyard has a very low natural-hazard risk, chiefly from cold waves
53% of Rudyard’s expected losses from natural hazards come from cold waves, followed by inland flooding at 39%. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 87% of U.S. communities. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Rudyard once, in 2011.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
More children than Montana overall
College graduates make up 38% of adults 25 and older, against 35% across Montana. Children under 18 are 31% of residents (21% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 14% of residents (22% statewide). Also worth knowing: the median age for Rudyard comes to 37.3 years.
| Rudyard | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 30% | 29% |
| Median age | 37.3 years | 38.9 years | 40.5 years |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
Somewhere between 20% and 84% women
The Census survey reached too few of Rudyard’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±32.2 points. Across Montana, 49.3% of residents are women.
| Rudyard | MT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 17.3% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.5% | 10% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.8% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.9% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.5% | 12.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 18.3% | 11.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.2% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 5.8% | 12.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.7% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.9% | 5.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 40.7% | 27.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 12.3% | 22.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 4.9% | 9.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26% | 23.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.3% | 12% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 300, single groups can be off by several points
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Rudyard
Expect July afternoons of 83° and January nights of 6°, with about 14 inches of snow a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
More of Rudyard’s adults have high blood pressure than in the typical Montana or U.S. town
For adults in Rudyard, the share who report frequent physical distress is 18%. Only 3 of the 42 Montana towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have obesity than Rudyard.
| Rudyard | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 32% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 31% | 33% |
| What stands out | Rudyard | MT |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10.1% | 7% |
| More smokers | 18% | 13.6% |
| More adults with diabetes | 13.1% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Everything we know about Rudyard
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Rudyard; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Rudyard residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Montana.
Every workday, about 107 people come to Rudyard for work
Where Rudyard’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Rudyard
Census-designated place in Montana, United States
Rudyard is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hill County, Montana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Rudyard had a population of 270. The community was established as a switching station on the Great Northern Railway. The post office opened in 1910. It is named after author Rudyard Kipling.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 0.9 sq mi
- Elevation
- 3,114 ft
- ZIP code
- 59540
Questions about Rudyard
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Rudyard, MT a good place to live?
Rudyard has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.