SunburstMT
A town of 356, settled in 1912.
Is Sunburst a good place to live?
Sunburst’s concentration of trails is 1.6 miles per square mile, where Montana’s towns sit at 0.6 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Sunburst has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
356 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Moving to Sunburst: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sunburst, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Sunburst.
The biggest natural risk in Sunburst is cold waves, at a very low overall level
Sunburst’s risk rating from FEMA is 14 of 100, below both Montana’s towns (41 of 100) and U.S. towns (44 of 100). FEMA puts 49% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to cold waves, and 44% to inland flooding. One declared disaster, in 2011, has brought federal aid to Sunburst households.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The schools Sunburst’s kids attend
Of its 3 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. The public schools here belong to the Sunburst K-12 Schools. 3 public schools serve Sunburst, with 123 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunburst ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 57 | B+ |
| Sunburst High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 40 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Sunburst
In Sunburst, the peak summer temperature is 82°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
13.7% of Sunburst is conserved land
3.4 miles of trail wind through 1 park or preserve. One park or preserve covers 2 acres in Sunburst.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Engel Memorial Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
About one in five working residents works right in Sunburst
The share of residents in Sunburst who live below the poverty line: 15%. Roughly one working resident in five has a job in Sunburst itself. Since 2013, Sunburst has lost 52 jobs, to 93 in 2023. For Sunburst, the mean commuting time is 12 minutes.
| Sunburst | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 12 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 39% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $67,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
How healthy Sunburst is
Among 42 Montana towns, just 3 have a higher share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Sunburst. Sunburst: 18% of adults report frequent physical distress.
| Sunburst | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 19% | 19% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Sunburst | MT |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 24.7% | 12.3% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 11.1% | 6.5% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 19.9% | 11.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
No age group stands out in Sunburst against Montana
By age, Sunburst looks like Montana: each broad group is within 4 points. This Montana town is growing: up 6% since 2020, to 356 residents (2025 estimate). 29% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 35% across Montana.
| Sunburst | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 42 years | 38.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 18% | 19% | 18% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
Somewhere between 30% and 52% women
The Census survey reached too few of Sunburst’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±11 points. Across Montana, 49.3% of residents are women.
| Sunburst | MT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14.6% | 10% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 14% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.6% | 12.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.6% | 11.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.3% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.3% | 12.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.7% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.3% | 5.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.5% | 27.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.9% | 22.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8% | 9.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17% | 23.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.2% | 12% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 400, single groups can be off by several points
Everything we know about Sunburst
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Sunburst; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Sunburst residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Montana.
About Sunburst
Town in Montana, United States
Sunburst is a town in Toole County, Montana, United States. The population was 333 in the 2020 census. Sunburst is 30 miles (48 km) north of Shelby and it's 9 miles (14 km) of the Canada–US border.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.0 sq mi
- Elevation
- 3,369 ft
- ZIP code
- 59482
- Area code
- 406
Questions about Sunburst
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Sunburst, MT a good place to live?
Sunburst has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.