Living in Columbia Falls, MT
Columbia Falls is a big small town of 5,615 people in Flathead County, Montana. It's about 104 miles from Missoula, MT and 381 miles from Seattle, WA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 82°F and winter highs 30°F, with about 57 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $384k and rent runs about $1k a month.
5,615people
$384kTypical home
$1,016/moRent
82° / 30°Summer / winter
57"Snow
173Sunny days
134Rain/snow days
Is Columbia Falls right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Big small town of 5,615
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 2,461 people per sq mi
- 381 mi to Seattle, WA
- 104 mi to Missoula, MT
- 12 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $384k (≈$2,424/mo)
- Median rent $1,016/mo
- Median household income $76k
- Property tax about 0.7% of value
- 5.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 82°F
- Winter highs around 30°F
- Dry summers (dew point 45°F)
- 173 sunny days a year (61 totally clear)
- 192 cloudy days a year
- 65 of 90 winter days are gray
- 134 days a year with rain or snow
- 57" of snow a year
- 21 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 27 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Low violent crime (185 per 100k)
- Low property crime (1,078 per 100k)
People
- Median age 37
- 35% of households have kids
- 13% are 65 or older
- 33% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 1% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 22 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 5 mi to FCA airport
- 163 mi to GEG (major hub)
- 13 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 63% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1980
- 91% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Mountain country
- Elevation 3,084 ft
- 369 mi to the ocean
- 19 mi to a big lake
- 8 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 10 mi to the nearest ski area
- 2 mi to the nearest campground
- 10 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 88 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 32 bars within 25 mi
- 57 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 1 music venue or club within 25 mi
- 5 museums within 25 mi
- 11 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 11 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 43% of Montana districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 14 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 102 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 7 mi to the nearest vet
- 6 mi to the nearest dog park
- 8 congregations per 10k people
- 63 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Flathead County: R+34 in 2024
- Montana: R+20 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Very low tornado risk
- Moderate wildfire risk
- High earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- Moderate drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk