Living in Polson, MT
Polson is a big small town of 5,428 people in Lake County, Montana. It's about 56 miles from Missoula, MT and 382 miles from Seattle, WA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 83°F and winter highs 33°F, with about 37 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $356k and rent runs about $912 a month.
5,428people
$356kTypical home
$912/moRent
83° / 33°Summer / winter
37"Snow
175Sunny days
112Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Big small town of 5,428
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 1,208 people per sq mi
- 382 mi to Seattle, WA
- 56 mi to Missoula, MT
- 37 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $356k (≈$2,247/mo)
- Median rent $912/mo
- Median household income $53k
- Property tax about 0.6% of value
- 8.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 83°F
- Winter highs around 33°F
- Dry summers (dew point 46°F)
- 175 sunny days a year (67 totally clear)
- 190 cloudy days a year
- 67 of 90 winter days are gray
- 112 days a year with rain or snow
- 37" of snow a year
- 15 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 13 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- High violent crime (897 per 100k)
- About average property crime (2,101 per 100k)
People
- Median age 43
- 19% of households have kids
- 25% are 65 or older
- 30% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 22 min
- 3% walk or take transit to work
- 43 mi to FCA airport
- 158 mi to GEG (major hub)
- 56 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 66% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1983
- 85% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Hilly terrain
- Elevation 3,019 ft
- 374 mi to the ocean
- 2 mi to a big lake
- 7 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 25 mi to the nearest ski area
- 10 mi to the nearest campground
- 4 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 45 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 18 bars within 25 mi
- 10 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 6 museums within 25 mi
- 3 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 38 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 41% of Montana districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 3 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 55 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 25 mi to the nearest vet
- 2 mi to the nearest dog park
- 7 congregations per 10k people
- 56 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Lake County: R+20 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
- Low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk