The Town Files

The 11 Best Small Towns to Retire in Montana

Ranked on The Town Files lifestyle rankings among 35 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Montana. #1 is Bigfork, MT.

Map of the 11 towns1234567891011
Numbers match the ranking.
The 11 Best Small Towns to Retire in Montana1. Bigfork88th pct2. Orchard Homes87th pct3. Lakeside83rd pct4. Whitefish81st pct5. Dillon81st pct6. Anaconda-Deer Lodge County76th pct7. Polson71st pct8. Glendive71st pct9. Big Sky68th pct10. Montana City65th pct11. Deer Lodge62nd pct
  1. 11Deer Lodge, Montana

    Better for retirees than 62% of Montana towns

    2,938 people · Powell County · median home $247,600 · income $60,302 · Jan low 11°F · 75 in snow

  2. 10Montana City, Montana

    Better for retirees than 65% of Montana towns

    2,918 people · Jefferson County · median home $571,200 · income $129,755 · Jan low 14°F · 37 in snow

  3. 9Big Sky, Montana

    Better for retirees than 68% of Montana towns

    3,591 people · Gallatin County · median home $1,137,900 · income $138,805 · Jan low 9°F · 48 in snow

  4. 8Glendive, Montana

    Better for retirees than 71% of Montana towns

    4,873 people · Dawson County · median home $182,600 · income $72,670 · Jan low 9°F · 23 in snow

  5. 7Polson, Montana

    Better for retirees than 71% of Montana towns

    5,148 people · Lake County · median home $356,300 · income $53,418 · Jan low 22°F · 34 in snow

  6. 6Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana

    Better for retirees than 76% of Montana towns

    9,421 people · Deer Lodge County · median home $231,700 · income $57,527 · Jan low 16°F · 75 in snow

  7. 5Dillon, Montana

    Better for retirees than 81% of Montana towns

    3,880 people · Beaverhead County · median home $256,700 · income $61,134 · Jan low 15°F · 11 in snow

  8. 4Whitefish, Montana

    Better for retirees than 81% of Montana towns

    7,751 people · Flathead County · median home $684,300 · income $73,811 · Jan low 16°F · 63 in snow

  9. 3Lakeside, Montana

    Better for retirees than 83% of Montana towns

    2,705 people · Flathead County · median home $720,100 · income $77,435 · Jan low 18°F · 49 in snow

  10. 2Orchard Homes, Montana

    Better for retirees than 87% of Montana towns

    5,377 people · Missoula County · median home $553,700 · income $64,904 · Jan low 18°F · 43 in snow

  11. 1Bigfork, Montana

    Better for retirees than 88% of Montana towns

    5,118 people · Flathead County · median home $674,600 · income $85,307 · Jan low 18°F · 51 in snow

Price vs ranking

Median home value vs ranking, Montana towns0255075100$119K$373K$628K$883K$1138KMedian home valuePercentile
Orange squares are the 11 towns on this list; green dots are other towns on The Town Files in Montana.

More Montana rankings

Same ranking, other places

Methodology. We ranked 35 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Montana (2020 Census population; towns with 2,500+ people have pages so far). Lifestyle measures are The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025), shown as percentiles. Only towns better than 60% of their peers on this measure qualify, so lists can be shorter than 25. Sources: