State rental market analysis · MT
Montana rental markets
19 tracked cities over 5,000 population, 19 ranked and summarized by their median Overall; 0 of 17 evaluable cities pass the modeled Buy & Hold screen. Every number traces to Census, Zillow and BLS. Compare state coverage and results →
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 has a median Overall of 39.9/100 across its ranked cities, but it is not assigned a headline state rank: 17 cities across 13 county contexts are evaluable for the Buy & Hold screen, below the published minimum of 20 cities and 10 county contexts. 19 ranked cities roll up into this grade. Its strongest factor is income growth: 6.1%, 6th of 51, backed by low unemployment (8th).
The biggest drag is gross rental yield: 4.1%, 49th of 51. 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 19 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 | 4.1% | #49 of 51 |
| Rent growth | Growth | 4.4% | #17 of 51 |
| Home value growth | Growth | 5.1% | #10 of 51 |
| Population growth | Growth | 1.3% | #9 of 51 |
| Job growth | Growth | 1.2% | #11 of 51 |
| Price-to-income | Cash Flow | 6.6× | #47 of 51 |
| Unemployment | Stability | 3.2% | #8 of 51 |
| Rental demand | Stability | 42% renters · 4.7% vacancy | two-part measure |
| Income growth | Growth | 6.1% | #6 of 51 |
Every city in Montana, ranked
Led by Belgrade at 64/100. 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 | Belgrade | 64 | C | A | B | $551,966 | 4.9% | #423 |
| 2 med | Lewistown | 53 | C | C | B | $290,669 | 6.1% | #1562 |
| 3 med | Miles City | 50 | C | D | B | $248,668 | 5.6% | #1906 |
| 4 | Kalispell | 44 | D | B | C | $562,374 | 4.1% | #2863 |
| 5 | Laurel | 43 | D | C | B | $378,211 | 4.2% | #2960 |
| 6 med | Anaconda-Deer Lodge County | 41 | D | C | B | $231,700 | 3.6% | #3264 |
| 7 | Polson | 41 | F | A | B | $578,626 | 3.4% | #3286 |
| 8 | Bozeman | 41 | F | B | C | $725,769 | 3.6% | #3341 |
| 9 | Great Falls | 40 | D | C | C | $340,160 | 4.8% | #3409 |
| 10 | Billings | 40 | D | C | D | $400,819 | 4.3% | #3443 |
| 11 | Columbia Falls | 40 | F | A | B | $610,243 | 3.3% | #3478 |
| 12 | Whitefish | 38 | F | A | C | $871,592 | 3.7% | #3687 |
| 13 | Livingston | 37 | F | A | A | $535,479 | 3.2% | #3778 |
| 14 | Helena | 34 | F | B | D | $480,407 | 4.0% | #4032 |
| 15 med | Butte-Silver Bow | 34 | D | C | D | $257,800 | 4.0% | #4052 |
| 16 | Missoula | 29 | F | B | D | $568,490 | 3.2% | #4382 |
| 17 med | Hamilton | 28 | F | A | D | $533,379 | 3.7% | #4398 |
| 18 med | Havre | 24 | D | F | D | $233,821 | 4.8% | #4587 |
| 19 med | Sidney | 18 | D | F | C | $273,345 | 4.7% | #4718 |
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.
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), the same release the city table above uses; the geographies differ, so the same measure can still 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#305 nat | 3.7%Survey yield |
| #2 | 59901Kalispell | A 69#746 nat | 2.8%Survey yield |
| #3 | 59715Bozeman | A 66#1,356 nat | 1.9%Survey yield |
| #4 | 59860Polson | A 65#1,748 nat | 2.5%Survey yield |
| #5 | 59101Lockwood | B 64#2,033 nat | 4.3%Survey yield |
| #6 | 59714Sedan | B 64#2,061 nat | 3.9%Survey yield |
| #7 | 59808Missoula | B 64#2,093 nat | 3.6%Survey yield |
| #8 | 59864Pablo | B 63#2,499 nat | 3.7%Survey yield |
| #9 | 59105Billings | B 62#2,573 nat | 4.5%Survey yield |
| #10 | 59912Columbia Falls | B 62#2,645 nat | 2.7%Survey yield |
| #11 | 59102Billings | B 62#2,799 nat | 4.2%Survey yield |
| #12 | 59752Wheatland | B 61#3,160 nat | 3.3%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 |