Region · Census Mountain division · West
Mountain rental markets
The interior Mountain West. 8 states and 346 ranked cities, summarized by the median Overall across those cities.
The honest read
Mountain ranks #4 of 9 U.S. regions for rental investing, with a median Overall of 48.2/100 across its ranked cities, above the national median. 8 states make up this division. Its strongest factor is population growth: 1.3%, 1st of 9, backed by income growth (1st).
The biggest drag is gross rental yield: 4.6%, 8th of 9. A region 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 346 ranked cities in this region. The national rank compares all 9 regions 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 | Region value | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross rent yield | Cash Flow | 4.6% | #8 of 9 |
| Rent growth | Growth | 3.3% | #8 of 9 |
| Home value growth | Growth | 3.5% | #7 of 9 |
| Population growth | Growth | 1.3% | #1 of 9 |
| Job growth | Growth | 1.7% | #2 of 9 |
| Price-to-income | Cash Flow | 5.5× | #6 of 9 |
| Unemployment | Stability | 4.1% | #4 of 9 |
| Rental demand | Stability | 36% renters · 5.4% vacancy | two-part measure |
| Income growth | Growth | 5.9% | #1 of 9 |
States in the Mountain division
Ordered by median Overall across each state's ranked cities. A public rank appears only for states that clear the 20-city and 10-county coverage threshold.
| Div rank | State | Overall score | Grade | Gross yield | Home-value growth | Price-to-income | Ranked cities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #9 | Idaho | 53.1 | B | 4.4% | 5.2% | 6.1× | 36 |
| #13 | Arizona | 51.7 | B | 4.7% | 3.1% | 5.2× | 57 |
| #16 | Utah | 50.8 | B | 3.9% | 4.8% | 5.7× | 94 |
| Insufficient coverage for headline state rank | Nevada | 48.3 | C | 4.8% | 4.1% | 5.8× | 12 |
| #22 | New Mexico | 45.5 | C | 5.9% | 3.7% | 4.9× | 35 |
| #28 | Colorado | 43.4 | D | 4.4% | 2.0% | 5.7× | 77 |
| Insufficient coverage for headline state rank | Montana | 39.9 | D | 4.1% | 5.1% | 6.6× | 19 |
| Insufficient coverage for headline state rank | Wyoming | 31.5 | F | 4.5% | 3.6% | 5.4× | 16 |
Top 25 cities in the Mountain division
The 25 highest-ranked of its 346 ranked cities, in national order. Every city links to its full shown-math breakdown; all 346 are in the market explorer.
| Div rank | City | Grade | Cash Flow | Growth | Stability | Typical home value | Gross yield | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buckeye AZ | 76 | B | A | B | $391,351 | 6.1% | #29 |
| 2 | Kuna ID | 74 | B | A | B | $458,461 | 6.1% | #61 |
| 3 | Clinton UT | 73 | B | B | A | $493,381 | 6.2% | #68 |
| 4 | Lehi UT | 72 | C | A | A | $569,889 | 4.6% | #87 |
| 5 | Middleton ID | 72 | C | A | B | $503,765 | 5.4% | #90 |
| 6 | Saratoga Springs UT | 71 | B | B | A | $552,914 | 4.9% | #107 |
| 7 | Eagle Mountain UT | 71 | B | B | B | $504,093 | 5.3% | #108 |
| 8 | Sahuarita AZ | 70 | A | B | B | $349,034 | 6.7% | #135 |
| 9 | Coolidge AZ | 70 | B | A | C | $268,534 | 7.4% | #145 |
| 10 | Maricopa AZ | 70 | B | A | C | $341,392 | 6.3% | #153 |
| 11 | Los Lunas NM | 69 | B | B | B | $331,123 | 7.5% | #161 |
| 12 | Meridian ID | 69 | C | A | B | $535,976 | 4.7% | #181 |
| 13 | Spanish Fork UT | 68 | C | B | B | $513,715 | 4.7% | #222 |
| 14 | Ammon ID | 67 | C | B | A | $418,250 | 4.6% | #243 |
| 15 | Surprise AZ | 67 | B | A | B | $415,995 | 5.6% | #244 |
| 16 | Erie CO | 67 | C | B | B | $721,458 | 4.6% | #257 |
| 17 med | Plain City UT | 67 | C | A | B | $579,600 ACS | 4.5% ACS | #279 |
| 18 | Fernley NV | 67 | B | A | C | $402,807 | 5.9% | #282 |
| 19 | Marana AZ | 66 | B | B | C | $417,076 | 6.3% | #290 |
| 20 | Castle Rock CO | 65 | C | B | B | $660,519 | 4.3% | #349 |
| 21 | Wellington CO | 65 | B | C | B | $467,494 | 6.2% | #357 |
| 22 | Kingman AZ | 64 | B | B | C | $274,905 | 6.2% | #390 |
| 23 med | San Luis AZ | 64 | C | A | B | $238,589 | 4.0% ACS | #402 |
| 24 med | Lochbuie CO | 64 | B | B | C | $458,340 | 6.9% ACS | #403 |
| 25 med | Kimberly ID | 64 | D | A | A | $453,089 | 4.0% ACS | #414 |
Figures marked ACS come from the Census American Community Survey (5-year, 2020–2024), because Zillow publishes no index for that city: an ACS home value is the owner-reported median, and an ACS yield is the median gross rent over that median. 4 of the 25 cities shown carry one.
Data as of: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI through the latest monthly release · Census ACS 5-yr 2020–2024 · Census PEP July 2025 · BLS LAUS county 2025 annual (11-month average). Generated 2026-10-06. Methodology & limitations · underwrite any specific deal with the free calculators.