Official Federal Data
Hill County, Montana
FIPS 30041 · Population 16,155
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$52,798 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.2% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$925M ▼
GDP
24.4% ▼
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Small population: 16,155 residents. These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-year estimates, which carry a wide margin of error for places under 20,000 people. Read each value as an approximate range, and treat year-over-year changes as indicative rather than exact. A small shift can reflect survey sampling, not a real change on the ground.
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$52,798 ▲
Per Capita
$29,662 ▲
Mean Household
$75,118 ▲
Poverty Rate
20.7% ▲approx.
Median Income Comparison
Hill County$52,798
Montana$72,509
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 28.2%
18-34 · 22.1%
35-54 · 22.1%
55-64 · 11.3%
65+ · 16.3%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
90.9%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +1.3 pts
24.4%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 11.3 pts
7.1%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 7.0 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
16,155
Population
7,416
Labor Force
Employed
7,094
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.2% ▲ +0.5 pts YoY
Mean Commute 13 min below national avg
13.1 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
5.1%
Key Takeaways
- Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
- Elevated poverty: At 20.7%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 11.3 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
- Young population: Median age of 34 is materially below the U.S. norm, a workforce pipeline asset.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Retail Trade employs 1,011 workers (24.4% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $37,923.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $925M (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $83,401 while Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation averages $15,908, a 5.2x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
Seeing a change here?
Get Deeper Trends
EP customers get year-over-year deltas, WARN notices, and SEC filings for every sector tracked above, surfaced as proactive alerts, not after-the-fact news.
Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Retail Trade Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
439
Cluster Employment
2.63x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
2.63x 120
Utilities
2.55x 67
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
2.36x 122
Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers
2.33x 208
Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional Orgs
2.25x 140
Crop Production
1.82x 42
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Misc. Retailers
1.72x 111
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.30x
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
139 employed
0.45x
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
51 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers concentrates at 2.63x the national norm.
- Cluster depth: 7 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$202,600 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$776 ▲
Rent/Mo
66.1% ▲
Owner-Occ
14.2% ▲
Vacancy
3.8x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$980/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,069/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,307/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,724/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,731/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,320/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.8x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Elevated vacancy: 14.2% vacancy rate. In resort, rural, and seasonal markets much of this is recreational/seasonal (second homes), not available supply; confirm the vacancy-by-reason split before treating it as a redevelopment opportunity.
- Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,320/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
8,960 ▼
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 13 min below national avg
13.1 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
5.1%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
78.4%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
24.4% ▼
HS Diploma+
90.9% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
8,624/yr
3,536/yr
3,194/yr
795/yr
425/yr
381/yr
293/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
20.4%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
34.4%
Service
20.6%
Sales & Office
19.9%
Construction / Maint.
11%
Production / Transport
14.1%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 7,094 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Short commutes: 13.1-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 7,525 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Hill County shows emerging potential for gasoline stations and fuel dealers attraction, with a 2.63x concentration and 120 jobs in this sub-sector.
The interconnected base across gasoline stations and fuel dealers, utilities, and heavy and civil engineering construction creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
Take it further
AI Insights: Built into ExecutivePulse. Continuous analysis tied to your own pipeline: industry-shift signals, prospect matches, retention prompts.
Managed Services: Prefer to hand it off? Our team delivers the analysis and consulting for you.
Schedule a DemoAvailable as premium offerings.
Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Hill County, Montana, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Hill County, Montana?
16,155 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Hill County, Montana?
$52,798 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Hill County, Montana?
3.2% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Hill County, Montana?
$925M (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
Hill County, MT: Public data. Imagine the full platform.
Get a Demo →