State rental market analysis · MT
Montana rental markets
7 tracked cities over 20,000 population, 7 ranked and summarized by their median Overall. Every number traces to Census, Zillow and BLS. All states ranked →
Browse every Montana ZIP Code area → · the full server-rendered index for this state.
Part of the Mountain Census division (West region).
The honest read
Montana ranks #33 of 51 states for rental investing, with a median Overall of 44.4/100 across its ranked cities, below the national median. 7 ranked cities roll up into this grade.
A state grade is the median of its ranked cities, a screen for where to look, not underwriting. Open any city below for its full shown-math breakdown, or run a specific deal through the cap rate and cash-flow calculators.
Where it ranks, factor by factor
Every value is the median across the 7 ranked cities in this state. The national rank compares all 51 states on that one factor; the engine already flips inverted factors (affordability, low unemployment) so a better rank always means a better market. Each factor sits in one of the model’s three categories (Cash Flow, Growth, or Stability); this is a representative summary, and the full thirteen-factor breakdown is on each city’s page. Full methodology.
| Factor | Category | State value | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross rent yield | Cash Flow | 4.0% | not measured |
| Rent growth | Growth | 4.0% | not measured |
| Home value growth | Growth | 5.1% | not measured |
| Population growth | Growth | 1.3% | not measured |
| Job growth | Growth | 1.6% | not measured |
| Price-to-income | Cash Flow | 6.9× | not measured |
| Unemployment | Stability | 2.6% | not measured |
| Rental demand | Stability | 41% renters · 491.8% vacancy | not measured |
| Income growth | Growth | 6.6% | not measured |
Every city in Montana, ranked
Led by Kalispell at 50/100. Click any column to re-sort; every city links to its full shown-math breakdown.
| MT rank | City | Grade | Cash Flow | Growth | Stability | Typical home value | Gross yield | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kalispell | 50 | D | B | B | $565,555 | 4.1% | #765 |
| 2 | Bozeman | 47 | F | A | B | $727,000 | 3.6% | #924 |
| 3 | Billings | 47 | D | C | C | $406,266 | 4.2% | #947 |
| 4 | Great Falls | 44 | D | C | C | $341,793 | 4.9% | #1066 |
| 5 | Helena | 37 | F | C | C | $484,550 | 4.0% | #1390 |
| 6 med | Butte-Silver Bow | 36 | D | C | D | $225,100 | 4.3% | #1439 |
| 7 | Missoula | 33 | F | B | B | $574,064 | 3.2% | #1563 |
Data as of: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI through the latest monthly release · Census ACS 5-yr 2019–2023 · Census PEP July 2024 · BLS LAUS county 2023 annual. Generated 2026-09-01. Methodology & limitations · underwrite any specific deal with the free calculators.
ZIP markets in Montana
369 Census ZIP Codes (ZCTAs) in Montana · 133 data-eligible for subscores. These are sub-city government areas ranked separately from the Montana city table. The overall Rental Investor ZIP Score leaderboard leads; the two component subscores (affordability, rental-market context) follow as independent percentiles. ZIP ranks are shown within the ZIP universe only, never mixed with, and not directly comparable to, city ranks. Vintage: the Key metric column is Census ACS 2020–2024 (5-year), a newer release than the ACS 2019–2023 figures the city table above uses; the same measure can legitimately disagree between the two.
Best overall ZIP Codes in Montana
Ranked by the overall Rental Investor ZIP Score. The # is each ZIP Code's canonical MT state rank; the smaller figure is its national rank. Separate from the Montana city table and not directly comparable to it.
| MT rank | ZIP Code | Overallgrade · national | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 59718Four Corners | A 72#281 nat | 3.7%Survey yield |
| #2 | 59901Kalispell | A 69#609 nat | 2.8%Survey yield |
| #3 | 59715Bozeman | A 67#1,121 nat | 1.9%Survey yield |
| #4 | 59714Sedan | A 65#1,560 nat | 3.9%Survey yield |
| #5 | 59808Missoula | A 64#1,765 nat | 3.6%Survey yield |
| #6 | 59860Polson | B 63#2,300 nat | 2.5%Survey yield |
| #7 | 59105Billings | B 62#2,734 nat | 4.5%Survey yield |
| #7 | 59752Wheatland | B 62#2,734 nat | 3.3%Survey yield |
| #9 | 59102Billings | B 62#2,811 nat | 4.2%Survey yield |
| #10 | 59912Columbia Falls | B 61#3,063 nat | 2.7%Survey yield |
| #11 | 59101Lockwood | B 61#3,109 nat | 4.3%Survey yield |
| #12 | 59106Billings | B 61#3,190 nat | 3.7%Survey yield |
Top affordability ZIP Codes in Montana
State-scoped leaders on the affordability subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Substantially an inverse housing-cost signal: a component of the overall score, not a predicted return.
| # | ZIP Code | Affordability | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 59353Wibaux | 88#539 nat | 11.7%Survey yield |
| 2 | 59485Ulm | 78#1,535 nat | 8.2%Survey yield |
| 3 | 59482Sunburst | 71#2,780 nat | 8.0%Survey yield |
| 4 | 59050Lodge Grass | 68#3,483 nat | 7.7%Survey yield |
| 5 | 59337Jordan | 67#3,573 nat | 6.1%Survey yield |
| 6 | 59414Black Eagle | 64#4,357 nat | 7.5%Survey yield |
| 7 | 59427Santa Rita | 63#4,712 nat | 6.6%Survey yield |
| 8 | 59645White Sulphur Springs | 63#4,712 nat | 5.3%Survey yield |
| 9 | 59079Shepherd | 62#5,097 nat | 5.6%Survey yield |
| 10 | 59918Fortine | 62#5,159 nat | 4.4%Survey yield |
| 11 | 59036Harlowton | 60#5,679 nat | 4.8%Survey yield |
| 12 | 59487Vaughn | 59#5,881 nat | 5.0%Survey yield |
Deepest rental-market ZIP Codes in Montana
State-scoped leaders on the rental-market-context subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Rental depth/tightness: a separate component, never combined here with affordability.
| # | ZIP Code | Rental market | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 59521Rocky Boy's Agency | 84#32 nat | 4.7%Survey yield |
| 2 | 59801Missoula | 81#180 nat | 3.0%Survey yield |
| 3 | 59522Riverview Colony | 78#407 nat | 4.7%Survey yield |
| 4 | 59457Lewistown | 73#1,221 nat | 4.8%Survey yield |
| 5 | 59450Highwood | 72#1,468 nat | 5.5%Survey yield |
| 6 | 59932Somers | 72#1,523 nat | 1.8%Survey yield |
| 7 | 59417Starr School | 71#1,655 nat | 3.8%Survey yield |
| 8 | 59405Great Falls | 70#1,984 nat | 4.6%Survey yield |
| 9 | 59464Moore | 70#2,110 nat | 3.8%Survey yield |
| 10 | 59808Missoula | 69#2,295 nat | 3.6%Survey yield |
| 11 | 59034Hardin | 68#2,601 nat | 5.4%Survey yield |
| 12 | 59327Forsyth | 68#2,696 nat | 4.3%Survey yield |