These Are The 10 Laziest Places In Montana

Discover the 10 Laziest Places in Montana: A 2026 Perspective

In every workplace, there’s often that one colleague who seems to coast by, leaving others to pick up the slack while they take the credit. If you find yourself in one of these Montana towns, you may want to take a good look at your work ethic.

This isn’t meant to be harsh; rather, it’s a reflection of how a community’s culture can influence workplace attitudes. No one enjoys collaborating with individuals who lack motivation.

To identify the towns in Montana where productivity may be lacking, we analyzed data from the latest American Community Survey. We focused on criteria associated with lower productivity and engagement levels.

After thorough analysis, we present the ten “Laziest Places in Montana” based on our findings:

Continue reading to find out where the individuals with the least motivation reside, or jump to the end to see how your hometown measures up.

Interestingly, Belgrade stands out as the most industrious town in Montana.

How We Identified the Laziest Places in the Treasure State

At Zippia, we rely on data to tackle tough questions. In this case, we utilized the most recent American Community Survey to draw insights regarding productivity levels across Montana.

We meticulously examined various criteria that could indicate lower work engagement and settled on the following factors for our laziness ranking:

Average hours worked per week
Commute time
Worker-to-household ratio (labor force divided by the number of households)
Unemployment rate
Percentage of adults with a college degree

Our rationale was straightforward: if a community shows low educational attainment, minimal work hours, and a single worker per household, it likely indicates a culture of lower productivity.

After collecting data from 17 towns in Montana with populations over 5,000, we ranked each town from 1 to 17 for each criterion, with 1 being the “laziest.”

Next, we averaged these rankings to create a lazy index. Ultimately, the town with the lowest index was designated the “Laziest Place in Montana,”, and Kalispell claimed that title.

Check out the detailed chart below to understand the rankings better.

1. Kalispell

Population: 20,629 College Educated: 27.9%
Unemployment Rate: 8.7%

2. Butte-Silver Bow

Population: 33,481 College Educated: 23.6%
Unemployment Rate: 7.0%

3. Miles City

Population: 8,553 College Educated: 18.4%
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%

4. Great Falls

Population: 59,017 College Educated: 25.5%
Unemployment Rate: 5.6%

5. Anaconda-Deer Lodge County

Population: 9,243 College Educated: 18.6%
Unemployment Rate: 7.4%

6. Missoula

Population: 68,377 College Educated: 45.7%
Unemployment Rate: 9.2%

7. Sidney

Population: 5,888 College Educated: 14.8%
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%

8. Helena

Population: 29,142 College Educated: 44.8%
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%

9. Havre

Population: 9,668 College Educated: 26.8%
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%

10. Glendive

Population: 5,167 College Educated: 17.0%
Unemployment Rate: 3.2%

Slacking Your Way Off to the Bottom

As previously mentioned, identifying the laziest places in Montana can be subjective. However, when examining communities characterized by low work engagement, limited educational achievements, and a lack of motivation, this list provides an accurate representation of productivity levels.

Detailed List of the Laziest Places in Montana

City	Rank	Population	College Educated	Unemployment Rate
Kalispell	1	20,629	27.9%	8.7%
Butte-Silver Bow	2	33,481	23.6%	7.0%
Miles City	3	8,553	18.4%	4.4%
Great Falls	4	59,017	25.5%	5.6%
Anaconda-Deer Lodge County	5	9,243	18.6%	7.4%
Missoula	6	68,377	45.7%	9.2%
Sidney	7	5,888	14.8%	3.3%
Helena	8	29,142	44.8%	5.1%
Havre	9	9,668	26.8%	3.3%
Glendive	10	5,167	17.0%	3.2%
Lewistown	11	5,879	31.3%	2.7%
Whitefish	12	6,542	46.0%	7.8%
Bozeman	13	39,123	54.4%	8.1%
Billings	14	106,979	30.5%	4.4%
Livingston	15	7,086	30.5%	6.4%
Laurel	16	6,887	18.5%	3.0%
Belgrade	17	7,625	28.3%	3.2%

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Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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