Census and Target Rate

The Community Montana Division has updated the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Communities Survey (ACS) data set 2018-2023 for the calculation of local government target rates. The Montana Coal Endowment Program (MCEP) and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs use ACS information as the base data set to calculate applicant target rates for community infrastructure systems.

These calculated rates, along with other demographic information, are components of the review and analysis of applications submitted to the programs for funding requests. Applications to be submitted in 2025 or later for MCEP or CDBG programs must use the 2018-2023 ACS data for the calculation of target rates for an applicant.

Low and moderate income (LMI) data is subject to change due to information released by the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). (Latest update August 2024)

Search below for 2018-2023 American Communities Survey data used to calculate target rates when applying to the Montana Coal Endowment Program and Community Development Block Grant Program.

Amounts are computed using the 2018-2023 census and target percentage rationale reviewed biennially by Commerce. The target percentages are:

• 2.3% combined (water and wastewater)
• 1.4% for water alone
• 0.9% for wastewater alone
• 0.3% for solid waste

For example: Community median household income is $25,000 and the residents pay both water and wastewater rates, the calculation would be: $25,000 times 2.3% divided by 12 equals monthly target rate of $47.92. (25,000 x 2.3%)/12 = $47.92)

Having trouble finding data for your community? Some communities may not be listed in the resources above because the ACS did not provide 2018-2023 Median Household Income data for those areas. Please contact us if you have any questions about this information.

Mapping

To see maps of the City/Town/CDP or County in which you are interested, please go to the Census and Economic Information Center. For more information about the maps or tools available, please contact the Census and Economic Information Bureau

Contacts

Definitions

Census Designated Place (CDP)

Census designated places (CDPs) have been created for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places. CDPs are delineated to provide census data for concentrations of population, housing, and commercial structures that are identifiable by name but are not within an incorporated place. CDP boundaries usually are defined in cooperation with state, local, and tribal officials. These boundaries, which usually coincide with visible features or the boundary of an adjacent incorporated place or other legal entity boundary, have no legal status, nor do these places have officials elected to serve traditional municipal functions.

Household

A household includes all the people who occupy a housing unit as their usual place of residence.

Income of households

This includes the income of the householder and all other individuals 15 years old and over in the household, whether they are related to the householder or not.

Low and Moderate Income Percent

Low and Moderate Income Percent is calculated by U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) using data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Decennial Census, specifically for the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG). LMI families are defined as those families whose income does not exceed 80% of the county median income for the previous year or 80% of the median income of the entire non-metropolitan area of the State of Montana, whichever is higher.

Median income

The median income divides the income distribution into two equal groups, one having incomes above the median, and other having incomes below the median.

Notes

Total Population and Total Households are from Summary File (SF) 1, 100% data. Poverty Rates and Median Household Income are from Summary File (SF) 3, Sample data. Low and Moderate Income Percentage was developed by HUD using American Community Survey 2016-2020 data.

Sources

• U.S. Census Bureau & HUD
  
  • Median Household Income
  • Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2018-2023 Estimates

• Total Population & Households
  
  • U.S. Census Bureau, 2018-2023 Census - Summary File 1 (SF1) 100% Data

• Low to Moderate Income Percent
  
  • HUD 2016-2020 Low and Moderate Income Data
  • If you have questions about the LMI data, please see this page.