What it's like to live in Butte-Silver Bow
Butte-Silver Bow is a small city in Montana with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, county unemployment below the national average, and commutes that run shorter than most cities. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Butte-Silver Bow deals with household incomes below the national average, cold, harsh winters, fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city, and a car-dependent commute, with few people using transit.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low unemployment in the county
- Short commutes
- Clean air
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Below-average household incomes
- Cold, harsh winters
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Butte-Silver Bow compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Butte-Silver Bow
Based on Butte-Silver Bow's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,712
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $34,240 a year
- 41% of Butte-Silver Bow renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$51,560
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $25,780
- Homes cost 4.2× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 39% below US
$856/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $856 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices are reasonable, with a median around $257,800. Not a steal, but not intimidating either.
Median home value $257,800 · 41% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
3.7% county unemployment
Unemployment in Silver Bow County is 3.7%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Silver Bow County (county-wide)
Safety
464 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Butte-Silver Bow doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Butte-Silver Bow County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs above the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.
Property crime 2081/100k · Policed by Butte-Silver Bow County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 35% below US
17 min average commute
Commutes run short here, averaging 16.9 minutes. That's an underrated perk of living in a smaller or well-planned city, where time isn't lost sitting in traffic. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 8% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are comfortable, with highs around 77°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 8°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 2.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 22% below US
28% bachelor's degree or higher
College degree attainment runs below average at 28%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.
Schools
12 public schools inside the boundary
There are 12 public schools inside the boundary and 4 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16:1, close to the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site (36 miles away). There are 2 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Butte-Silver Bow's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and cold, harsh winters. A year of median rent ($856/mo) equals 17% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget and people who want short commutes. It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive and anyone who dislikes long, cold winters.
See all the data for Butte-Silver Bow →·All Montana cities →
Other places near Butte-Silver Bow
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Compare with Butte-Silver Bow →Moving to Belgrade →
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