Surprise: Two Montana Cities Make T+L’s Best Places to Retire in 2025

I was mindlessly scrolling my Apple News feed last night when the clickbait got me. Travel + Leisure had posted its 50 Best Places to Retire in the Unites States for 2025 article. Retirement is still somewhat far away in my future, but I'm at the age where it's starting to cross my mind.

T+L's list is broken down by regions of the US, and I was not only shocked to see two Montana cities on the list, but (perhaps more so) I was surprised to see that the Treasure State towns they chose are not Bozeman or Whitefish.

The two Montana communities Travel + Leisure picked for "best places to retire in the US"  this year are frequently snubbed by other residents. We're talking about Butte and Great Falls. 

Paranormal: Will You Experience a Spirit at Montana's Gunslinger Gulch?

Retire in Butte, Montana?

Good old Butte, America is now considered one of the best places to retire in the West. Butte, home to the biggest toxic pit in the world. I love Butte, so don't @me, but this one is kind of a shocker.

That said, Butte has been enjoying a bit of a comeback in recent years, as home buyers moving to Montana found somewhat more affordable housing in this former mining town.

Get our free mobile app

Butte offers plenty of outdoor recreation, and its central location between Bozeman, Missoula, and Helena offers relatively easy interstate highway access to other cities. The town is chock-full of Montana history, and T+L noted its cultural events, such as the Montana Folk Festival.

Retire in Great Falls, MT?

I briefly lived in Great Falls in the early 2000s, and I'll be frank... I did not like it. Winters are brutal, folks weren't particularly friendly, and the town lacks many of the retail and dining options you'd expect in cities of similar size.

Watching aircraft fly in and out of Malmsrtom AFB was fun, though, and having the Missouri river running through town is quite nice.

This Montanan will be heading south.

Butte and Great Falls might be attractive places for out-of-state retirees who want to live out their golden years in Big Sky Country. But when the time comes for me to start living the good life of naps, bingo, and dinner at 4 pm, I hope to be doing somewhere a lot warmer than Montana.