Living in Plentywood, MT
Sheridan County
Plentywood is a real, genuinely small, far-northeastern Montana town, the county seat of Sheridan County, sitting hard against the Canada-US border, with a population running approximately 1,611 as of a 2026 projection -- down from 1,669 at the 2020 Census, a real, disclosed cumulative decline of approximately -3.48%. Sheridan County itself is declining faster at the county level (approximately -1.66%/yr per one 2025 estimate). Plentywood's housing runs genuinely, substantially affordable relative to Montana's own elevated statewide averages: a median home price of approximately $103,600 (Ownwell), though Plentywood's own 1.29% effective property tax rate runs genuinely, substantially above both the national and Montana statewide medians. Plentywood's economy centers on Sheridan County's real, defining dryland wheat and pulse-crop agriculture and cattle ranching, with Columbia Grain's pulse-processing facility a significant local employer, alongside a real, historically cyclical Bakken-adjacent oil and gas presence tied to the Williston Basin this record does not characterize as an active, ongoing boom without further verification. Montana's statewide tax structure -- no general sales tax, a 5.65% top income tax rate for 2026 -- applies here as it does statewide.
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Sheridan 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 Plentywood-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
Genuinely, substantially affordable home prices ($103,600 median) relative to Montana's own elevated statewide averages; Plentywood's own median household income ($68,438) running above Sheridan County's broader county-wide figure; Montana's real lack of a general sales tax and moderate, currently-cutting income tax; a real, disclosed agricultural-processing employer (Columbia Grain) anchoring the local economy.
Cons
A real, disclosed sustained population decline (-0.49%/year, -3.48% since the 2020 Census), with Sheridan County itself declining even faster at the county level; a real, disclosed effective property tax RATE (1.29%) running substantially above both the national and Montana statewide medians; a real, historically cyclical, boom-and-bust Bakken-adjacent oil and gas sector this record does not treat as a guaranteed current boom; a confirmed, current named-employer list beyond Columbia Grain was not found with confidence this pass.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits budget-conscious movers prioritizing genuinely low home prices, comfortable with a very small, remote, car-dependent, declining far-northeastern Montana border town and needing to confirm current employer and job-market data directly.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers who need a growing population, a low property tax RATE specifically, or a diversified local job market -- Plentywood's and Sheridan County's populations are both in real, documented decline and Plentywood's own effective property tax rate runs substantially above both national and Montana statewide medians.
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