States · Montana · Madison County

Alder, Montana.

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What it costs per month · Alder $2,453/mo

to buy the typical home at today's mortgage rate — +$1,452 (+145%) since Jan 2020.

Monthly payment to buy the typical home

Home value × that month's 30-year mortgage rate, 20% down, principal and interest. This is the line households feel: prices and rates compound each other.

$500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 Montana $2,453 United States $1,922
$500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 2002 2010 2018 2026
  • Montana$2,453
  • United States$1,922

Living in Alder, Madison County, Montana

Alder, in Madison County, had 86 people in the 2020 census. Half its households earn more than $42,500 a year and half less, against $75,250 across Madison County; 10% of its people live below the poverty line. Unemployment in Madison County was 4.8% in August 2026, and the county had 0.4% fewer jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most people in Madison County work in schools and health care, then farming.

People 86 in the 2020 census
Household income $42,500 the median, give or take $6,522 · Madison County: $75,250
Unemployment 4.8% Madison County, August 2026; 4.1% a year before
Homes Too few homes in Alder for the Census survey to measure.

Written by AI Claude Haiku 5.5 wrote this on 22 October 2026 from the figures here, a list of nearby places and what it knows. It can be wrong or out of date.

What it’s like

The place. Alder is a small community in Madison County in southwest Montana, where most people know one another. Winters are colder than in much of the country, and summers are warm, with rain and melted snow that are light for the year. The town's median household income is lower than the county's.

Work. Many residents work in schools, hospitals and social care, while others work in farming, forestry and mining. Restaurants, hotels and entertainment, along with the building trades, also employ people from the town.

Things to do. The Big Hole River is a river a longer drive away, and Twin Lakes is a lake a longer drive away. Clark's Lookout State Park, a protected area also a longer drive away, is another place to visit.

Report a mistake
  • 10%below the poverty line

What people in Madison County work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care14%
  • Farming, forestry and mining14%
  • Restaurants, hotels and entertainment14%
  • Building trades14%
  • Manufacturing9%
  • Shops (retail)8%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Madison County had 2,981 jobs in 2025, 0.4% fewer than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in December, 32° and 14°; warmest in July, 80° and 50° 20° 40° 60° 80° J F M A M J J 80° 50° A S O N D 32° 14°
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in December, 32° and 14°; warmest in July, 80° and 50° 20° 40° 60° 80° J F M A M J J 80° 50° A S O N D 32° 14°

Coldest in December, with highs near 32° and lows near 14°; warmest in July, with highs near 80° and lows near 50°. About 13 inches of rain and melted snow a year.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Laurin 2NE weather station, 3 miles away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in Madison County

  1. Big Sky ResortAlpine skiing facilities with accommodations1,100
  2. Bozeman Health Big Sky Medical CenterHospitals, general medical and surgical94
  3. Madison Valley Medical CenterCritical access hospital84FTE
  4. Big SKY Medical CenterCritical access hospital72FTE
  5. Williams Plumbing and Heating- Big SkyBathroom plumbing fixture and sanitary ware installation70
  6. Ennis K-12 SchoolsSchool district65FTE
  7. Ruby Valley HospitalCritical access hospital52FTE
  8. HighlineResidential construction, single-family, general contractors51

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 7 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 1,569 people in all across the county; Alder has none of its own. Hospitals come from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023) and school districts from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.

Natural hazards

  1. Winter weatherVery high
  2. LandslidesRelatively high
  3. AvalanchesRelatively high
  4. Cold wavesRelatively high
  5. LightningRelatively high
  6. WildfireRelatively moderate

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Alder’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, very high. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Madison County.

Alder home values

Zillow measures a city over its municipal boundary. Against the state and national figures, mid-tier homes, smoothed and seasonally adjusted.

Not enough data to draw this yet.

Market heat, inside the city limits

Homes for sale

Active for-sale inventory. More supply hands power to buyers.

4 4 5 2026 Alder 5
4 4 5 2026
  • Alder5

Zip codes with a Alder address

A different geography, not a breakdown. The figure above covers the municipality; these zips cover everywhere the Post Office calls Alder — often including townships beyond the city limits. Both come straight from Zillow, and they are not expected to average out.

Zillow publishes no zip-level series with this city on the address.