Living in Anaconda, MT

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County is a real, historic copper-smelting company town, built in 1883 to process ore from nearby Butte's mines. The Washoe Smelter -- once one of the world's largest -- operated until 1980, and its closure left behind a real, EPA-confirmed more than 300 square miles of soil and water contaminated with heavy metals; EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1983. This record discloses that Superfund legacy honestly and in full: as of this pass's research, cleanup is genuinely CONCLUDING but NOT fully complete, with Atlantic Richfield continuing residential-yard remediation in Anaconda and the nearby community of Opportunity, and total long-term costs expected to exceed $83 million. This record credits, with equal honesty, the real redevelopment success built on that same industrial legacy: the preserved 585-foot Anaconda Smelter Stack (the tallest surviving masonry structure in the world) at Anaconda Smoke Stack State Park, and the Jack Nicklaus-designed Old Works Golf Course, built directly on reclaimed smelter slag. Anaconda's 2026 population (consolidated city-county) ran approximately 10,005, UP approximately 6.18% since the 2020 Census. Housing runs genuinely affordable (average value ~$308,715, though this record discloses a real cross-source spread up to ~$425,000 list price), and rent runs approximately 45% below the national average. Anaconda's real, disclosed economic-legacy indicator is its median household income (~$39,000), genuinely low relative to Montana's and the national median, even as tourism (~500,000 visitors in 2024) and healthcare/construction employment have driven real, recent growth. This record also discloses Deer Lodge County's cited crime figures running notably above national averages, alongside the real statistical caveat that a small total population makes per-100,000 rates more volatile.

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Housing

Median sale price$425,000

Taxes

Local effective property tax rate0.78%

Not independently sourced at the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County level this session. Montana's top state income tax rate is 5.65%. See the Montana hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Anaconda-specific.

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The tradeoffs

Pros

Genuinely affordable housing and rent relative to national averages. A real, distinctive historic-preservation and outdoor-recreation identity (Anaconda Smoke Stack State Park, the Old Works Golf Course, multiple historic districts). Real, current population growth (+6.18% since 2020) and emerging tourism-driven economic diversification (~500,000 visitors in 2024). Property taxes run close to Montana's own already-favorable statewide average.

Cons

A real, disclosed, still-ongoing Superfund cleanup legacy this record does not treat as fully resolved -- confirm current, address-specific remediation status directly for any target property, particularly in Anaconda or Opportunity. A genuinely low median household income (~$39,000) reflecting the area's real deindustrialization history. Deer Lodge County's cited crime figures ran notably above national averages in the sources reviewed this pass, even accounting for real, disclosed small-population statistical volatility. Real earthquake and wildfire exposure tied to Anaconda's southwestern-Montana, forest-adjacent setting.

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits budget-conscious movers drawn to genuine historic character, golf and outdoor-recreation enthusiasts (Old Works Golf Course, the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness), and those who value a real, still-affordable southwestern Montana small-city market over the region's more expensive tourism corridors.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers highly sensitive to a documented, still-ongoing environmental remediation legacy, or those needing a confirmed low local crime rate -- this record's disclosed Superfund status and elevated cited crime figures carry real weight. Confirm current, address-specific data on both directly before purchasing.

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Last reviewed: 2026-08-28. Independent research; see individual metric entries above for source attribution. This is not financial, tax, or legal advice -- confirm current figures with a local professional before making a decision.