Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Thompson Falls’ subject grades are an A for walkability and civic life and an A− for the outdoors; the weakest is a D for hazard risk. 31% of residents are 65 or older in Thompson Falls, where Montana’s towns sit at 19% and U.S. towns at 18%. Only 9 of Montana’s 95 towns score higher on walkability. 35% of the land in Thompson Falls is conserved, above both the Montana town median (9.2%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Thompson Falls has 19 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them IOOF Lodge and Weber's Store. Thompson Falls has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Thompson Falls beats most towns.
Ainsworth House
Census counts: 325 in 1910, 1,336 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 4 maps from 1937 on.
19 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Montana), ordered by how far Thompson Falls is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Thompson Falls, 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 Thompson Falls.
About one in 4 of Thompson Falls’s working residents works in town. Thompson Falls’ average trip to work is 14 minutes. Since 2013, Thompson Falls has added 139 jobs, to 586 in 2023.
| Thompson Falls | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 39% | 8% |
| Median household income | $46,000 | $67,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.5% | 10% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Thompson Falls Elementary District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thompson Falls Elem SchlLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 240 | B |
| Thompson Falls High SchlLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 183 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MT on state tests and graduation
4.2 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The trail density in Thompson Falls is 2.6 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ainsworth Park | 0.2 mi | 2 |
| 2. Power Park | 0.1 mi | 1 |
| 3. Fort Thompson Park and Playground | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 82% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Thompson Falls has chilly winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 22° and about 15 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among 42 Montana towns, just 1 have a lower share of adults who binge drink than Thompson Falls. 33% of Thompson Falls adults sleep under 7 hours. Thompson Falls beats the Montana average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9.
| Thompson Falls | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 32% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 31% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Thompson Falls | MT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 17.1% | 20.3% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 78.8% | 73.4% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9.4% | 6.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Typical home values rose 5.9% in the year to September 2026.
| Thompson Falls | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $543 a month | $1,000 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 73% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Thompson Falls; the nearest are
About 0 of every 100 Thompson Falls residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Montana.
Where Thompson Falls’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
19 places in Thompson Falls on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Montana, United States
Thompson Falls is a city in and the county seat of Sanders County, Montana. The population was 1,336 at the time of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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+.
