IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Plains, MT
Plains is a small town of 1,195 people in Sanders County, Montana. It's about 57 miles from Missoula, MT and 348 miles from Seattle, WA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 88°F and winter highs 36°F, with about 28 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $248k and rent runs about $843 a month.
1,195people
$248kTypical home
$843/moRent
88° / 36°Summer / winter
28"Snow
175Sunny days
129Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 1,195
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 1,943 people per sq mi
- 348 mi to Seattle, WA
- 57 mi to Missoula, MT
- 57 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $248k (≈$1,566/mo)
- Median rent $843/mo
- Median household income $25k
- Property tax about 0.5% of value
- 15.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 88°F
- Winter highs around 36°F
- Dry summers (dew point 45°F)
- 175 sunny days a year (67 totally clear)
- 190 cloudy days a year
- 67 of 90 winter days are gray
- 129 days a year with rain or snow
- 28" of snow a year
- 11 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- 2 days a year over 100°F
- 14 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Very low violent crime (159 per 100k)
- Very low property crime (385 per 100k)
People
- Median age 43
- 14% of households have kids
- 25% are 65 or older
- 16% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 7% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 19 min
- 14% walk or take transit to work
- 53 mi to MSO airport
- 124 mi to GEG (major hub)
- 83 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 60% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1978
- 84% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Mountain country
- Elevation 2,474 ft
- 342 mi to the ocean
- 37 mi to a big lake
- 11 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 38 mi to the nearest ski area
- 7 mi to the nearest campground
- 1 golf course within 25 mi
Things to do
- 8 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- 3 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 3 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 49 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 38% of Montana districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 6 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 59 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 14 mi to the nearest vet
- 15 mi to the nearest dog park
- 6 congregations per 10k people
- 57 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Sanders County: R+55 in 2024
- Montana: R+20 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Very low tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- High earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- Moderate drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk