Zillow puts Missoula’s typical city home value at $576,303 and typical observed monthly market rent at $1,550. Their direct gross yield is 3.23% before every operating cost, financing, vacancy and capital work. Rent grew faster year over year than home value, but these city trends do not establish property-specific performance. The value is 8.19x ACS median household income, and annual Zillow rent equals 26.42% of that income; this is an affordability screen, not borrower qualification or tenant underwriting.
ACS shows a 6.37% citywide vacancy rate and renters occupying 53.01% of occupied units. This is broad stock and tenure context, not evidence that a particular unit will lease quickly. ACS surveyed occupied housing reports an owner-reported $473,100 median home value and $1,189 median gross rent, including selected utilities. Keep these separate from Zillow’s typical city value and observed market rent because definitions and periods differ; averaging them would create a false measure.
Among city renters, 49.92% spend at least 30% of income on gross rent. Single-family units are 55.16% of city stock and units in large multifamily structures are 13.55%, but structure shares do not measure available investment inventory. ACS vacancy reasons distinguish for-rent, for-sale and seasonal units; for-rent units were 32.70% of all city vacancies. Population increased 3.80% between overlapping ACS five-year vintages; this is not annualized, and boundary changes may affect comparison. Median household income is $70,392, while poverty is 11.79% and unemployment 3.78%. These demand constraints are descriptive, not causes or guarantees of rent collection.
Missoula County had a county property-tax rate of 0.879%, and county listings had a median time on market of 53 days; both are county context, not a city tax bill or liquidity guarantee. The broader Missoula metro had 4.1 months of supply and a 23.29% price-drop share, while metro jobs declined 0.20% year over year; metro denominators do not describe Missoula city alone. The national 30-year mortgage rate was 6.66%, a national financing benchmark rather than a quote for a specific borrower or property.
The main limitations are citywide aggregation, survey uncertainty, differing source periods and definitions, and a gross yield that excludes all expenses and financing. Before deciding, verify the property’s achievable rent for its unit type, concessions, lease history, utility responsibility and downtime; reconcile taxes, insurance, hazard exposure, maintenance, management and capital needs. Also inspect condition, title, zoning, permits and use restrictions, then underwrite the actual loan terms and cash flows rather than substituting city, county, metro or national aggregates.