All homes and bedroom counts
RENTAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE
Helena, MT
Helena merits investigation by patient buyers who can tolerate modest income returns; yield-focused investors and those seeking strong near-term labor momentum should avoid it.
Median price$480k
Median rent$1,647
Gross yield4.1%
Job growth▼ 0.2%
Composite Market ScoreRank #469 of 571 scored US market areas
Direct rental answer
How much is rent in Helena, MT?
Zillow's metro-wide Observed Rent Index is $1,647 per month for 2026-06-30. That is up 1.87% from a year earlier.
Occupied rental units paying rent
Two-bedroom standard
These figures are not averaged together. Zillow and Realtor describe asking-rent markets, ACS measures rent paid by surveyed households, and HUD publishes administrative bedroom standards.
Exact county schedules
HUD rent benchmarks inside Helena
Every row keeps its own county FIPS schedule. No county is selected as a metro proxy and no synthetic metro FMR is calculated.
| County | Studio | 1 BR | 2 BR | 3 BR | 4 BR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis and Clark County, MTFIPS 30049 | $1,136 | $1,319 | $1,647 | $2,250 | $2,496 |
| Jefferson County, MTFIPS 30043 | $968 | $1,070 | $1,404 | $1,946 | $1,954 |
| Broadwater County, MTFIPS 30007 | $1,240 | $1,595 | $1,748 | $2,096 | $2,856 |
The read
Why this market scores where it does
Helena merits investigation by patient buyers who can tolerate modest income returns; yield-focused investors and those seeking strong near-term labor momentum should avoid it. Median value is $479572, median asking rent is $1647, and gross yield is 4.12%.
The opportunity is positive household movement and manageable tenant costs. Net migration was 363 households, while rent equals 25.16% of median household income. Rent also rose 1.87%, supporting some income growth.
The main tension is between limited returns and substantial construction activity. Employment fell 0.17%, while permits reached 8.37 per 1000 residents and stood at 74.8% of their five-year peak. Buyers should test each property against incoming competition and inland-flood exposure.
Frequently Asked Investor Questions
Is household migration positive?
Yes. Tax filings show 2628 households moved in and 2265 moved out, for net migration of 363.
How much negotiating room is visible?
Median days on market is 65, months of supply is 4.3, and 21.14% of listings have price drops.
Where are incoming households coming from?
The leading reported origins are Gallatin County with 311 households, Missoula County with 133, Cascade County with 85, Yellowstone County with 82, and Silver Bow County with 78.
Investor Quick Takeaways
Gross Yield: 4.1%
Computed from the current Zillow rent and home-value medians.
Rent Momentum: ▲ 1.87%
Zillow ZORI rent growth trend over trailing 12 months.
Investor Activity: 7.0%
Originated investment purchase share (CFPB HMDA).
Climate Exposure: FEMA NRI
Annualized loss ratio evaluated for flood & hurricane risk.
Put the evidence to work
Test the market, then test the deal
Keep Helena as the starting point or move into a more specific property and rent check.
Run cash flowStarts with this market's measured price and rentSave to shortlistCompare this metro with up to four other placesCheck rent by ZIPMove from metro context to a local rent benchmarkFind a comparison marketRead a curated two-market decision analysisShare this analysisEmail the canonical link without adding page scriptsReport a data issueSend the figure, source and release period to review
Market pulse
The current market in eight signals
Fast-moving Redfin conditions sit beside the slower fundamentals so a buyer can separate today's negotiating climate from the long-run investment case.
Months of supply4.3 mo.▲ from 4.2 mo. a year ago
Median days on market65 days▼ from 69 days a year ago
Listings with price drops21.1%▼ from 21.2% a year ago
Sale-to-list ration/a2026-05-01
Home value growth▲ 3.1%Zillow ZHVI · trailing 12 months
Rent growth▲ 1.87%Zillow ZORI · trailing 12 months
Gross rental yield4.1%Rent × 12 ÷ price
Payroll job growth▼ 0.2%CES · 12m to 2026-06
Release-to-release evidence
What actually changed
This comparison exists because at least one underlying source period advanced. Rebuilding the same data never creates a new observation.
Published score held steady35→35
0 ptsThe published component scores did not move in this release.
Weights were unchanged at metro-2026-07-v2-omb2023, so the movement comes from refreshed evidence and percentile ranks.
The named source periods advanced, but the measured values on this page held steady.
Composite breakdown
What each component measures
Weights are published, not hidden, and the arithmetic is shown. Five components, each measured as a national percentile across all tracked metros.
Published arithmeticComponent × weight = points
35| Signal | Score | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job growth | 38 | 30% | 11.40 |
| Rent trend | 28 | 25% | 7.00 |
| Affordability | 46 | 15% | 6.90 |
| Supply pressure | 11 | 15% | 1.65 |
| Climate risk | 51 | 15% | 7.65 |
| Published score | 35 | ||
Helena, MT scoreRank #469
35Job growth38/100
Job: CES employment fell 0.17% -> labor demand is not providing clear support for rental growth.
Rent trend28/100
Rent: asking rent rose 1.87% and gross yield is 4.12% -> income increased modestly, but the entry yield is limited.
Affordability46/100
Affordability: rent equals 25.16% of median income while price equals 6.11 times income -> renting appears manageable, but acquisition prices are high relative to local earnings.
Supply pressure11/100
Supply: permits reached 8.37 per 1000 residents and 74.8% of their five-year peak -> incoming construction could pressure occupancy or rents.
Climate risk51/100
Climate: the annual loss ratio is 0.1411%, with inland flood the dominant hazard -> property-level water-risk and insurance checks are necessary.
The numbers
What this market costs and what it earns
Every derived ratio below recomputes from the same source record used by the article and score.
ZHVI Median Price
$480k
YoY ▲ 3.1%
ZORI Median Rent
$1,647
YoY ▲ 1.87%
Gross Rental Yield
4.1%
Rent × 12 ÷ price
$1,647 × 12 ÷ $479,572
Job Growth (YoY)
▼ 0.2%
CES payrolls
Job signal 38/100
Median Household Income
$79k
Census ACS 5-year
Rent Burden
25.2%
Annual rent ÷ household income
Price-to-Income
6.1x
Median value ÷ household income
HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent
$1,647
Market rent 100.0% of FMR
Historical affordability context
Compare aligned 2019 and 2024 asking-rent and nominal household-income endpoints across the direct-overlap metro set.
Independent rent evidence
One market, several legitimate rent benchmarks
These releases observe different homes and different moments. RentMarker keeps them separate: ZORI remains the scoring baseline, while the other sources test how sensitive the market story is to bedroom mix and measurement method.
Monthly benchmark4 of 4 reported values
Zero-based scale$1,647Primary RentMarker baseline
2026-06-30
All homes and bedroom counts
A smoothed metro rent index for observed rentals; it is the primary rent used by RentMarker scores and career ratios.
View source release ↗$1,319−$328 vs ZORI
FY2026 FMR
One-bedroom standard
An administrative gross-rent benchmark used by HUD programs; it is neither a listing median nor a prediction of one lease.
View source release ↗$1,647Same as ZORI
FY2026 FMR
Two-bedroom standard
An administrative gross-rent benchmark used by HUD programs; it is neither a listing median nor a prediction of one lease.
View source release ↗$1,082−$565 vs ZORI
ACS 2024 5-year
Occupied rental units paying rent
A five-year survey estimate of contract rent plus applicable tenant-paid utilities; it is not a current asking-rent index.
View source release ↗Take the next step
Keep Helena as context, then replace market-wide evidence with the candidate property's facts.
Regional price level
What feels expensive inside Helena
BEA compares each category with the United States, which equals 100. This is a 2024 price-level comparison—not annual inflation.
BEA Regional Price Parities · 2024US = 100
Occupation wage lens
How asking rent sits against major local occupations
Annualized Zillow asking rent is divided by each BLS annual median wage. This is a screening ratio for one wage, not a household budget or affordability verdict.
Six largest published major groupsannual rent ÷ median wage
Office and Administrative Support Occupations$46,930 median wage
42.1%
Business and Financial Operations Occupations$78,650 median wage
25.1%
Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations$29,670 median wage
66.6%
Sales and Related Occupations$37,410 median wage
52.8%
Management Occupations$106,500 median wage
18.6%
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations$89,710 median wage
22.0%
Supply pipeline
What is being built, and for whom
Permits are the 12-to-24 month early warning. The total matters less than the mix: apartments compete with a rental the day they open.
National supply context
Compare this authorization pipeline with asking-rent growth, jobs and for-sale liquidity across the evidence-complete metro set.
Building permits by structure type
units per year · latest year annualised
698 units authorised in 2026, 84% of them in 5+ unit buildings. A meaningful share is apartments, which discount first when they lease up. ✓ recomputed from series
Who is arriving, and who is buying
Demand, and the competition for it
Tax filings say how many households moved and what they earn; mortgage disclosures say how many local purchases went to someone who will not live there. Moves between counties inside this metro are netted out of both flow figures.
Net Household Move
+363
2,628 in vs 2,265 out (IRS SOI)
▲ 13.8% of arriving households
Mover Income Gap
+$9,510
Arriving $70,290 vs leaving $60,780
Average AGI per tax return (IRS SOI)
Investor Purchase Share
7.0%
72 of 1,030 originated purchase loans
CFPB HMDA 2024
Dominant Hazard
inland flooding
0.141% building value annual loss ratio
FEMA NRI · risk type: water
Compare yield and FEMA exposure →Households arrive mainly from: Gallatin County · Missoula County · Cascade County · Yellowstone County · Silver Bow County
✓ 2,628 in − 2,265 out = 363 netDirect market links
Where tax-return households moved from and to
These are the largest flows where both counties map to a RentMarker market area. They are a documented subset of the all-US IRS totals above.
Leading inbound markets
- Bozeman, MT311 arriving
- Missoula, MT133 arriving
- Great Falls, MT85 arriving
Leading outbound markets
- Bozeman, MT202 leaving
- Missoula, MT142 leaving
- Great Falls, MT107 leaving
The other side
What would make this a bad buy
Generated from the same figures with the instruction to argue against the score, and published unedited. A page that only agrees with itself is an advertisement.
Three ways the case breaks
- Employment weakness could limit tenant demand and rent growth.
- Permitting activity could add competing units and pressure occupancy or rents.
- A 4.12% gross yield leaves limited room before operating costs, financing, and inland-flood exposure.
Inside this metro area
Move from the market-area average to local evidence
Use the available county and city pages to add local price, rent, housing, migration and hazard context to the market-area view.
Statistical peers
Market areas that behave like Helena
Nearest neighbours on price level, income, yield and job growth — not on geography. Every market page gets a different peer set, which is the point.
| Market area | Score | Price | Rent | Yield | Job Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helena, MT (Target) | 35 | $480k | $1,647 | 4.1% | ▼ 0.2% |
| Whitewater, WI | 67 | $412k | $1,333 | 3.9% | ▼ 0.3% |
| Longview, WA | 42 | $424k | $1,374 | 3.9% | ▲ 0.1% |
| Wenatchee, WA | 31 | $526k | $1,810 | 4.1% | ▲ 0.2% |
| Morehead City, NC | 34 | $478k | $1,842 | 4.6% | ▼ 0.0% |
Provenance
Where every figure came from
“Checked nightly” means every source is re-pulled and re-verified each night. It does not mean every source moves nightly — the release column tells you how fresh each number can possibly be.
| Dataset Source | Method | Release Period | Pulled Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Census ACS 5-year — household income and gross rent | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-08-05 |
| Census ACS 5-year — historical household income | direct | ACS 2019 and 2024 5-year | 2026-08-05 |
| Census ACS 5-year — population | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-07-26 |
| Apartment List Rent Estimates — recent-lease rent index | direct | Apartment List 2026-07 | 2026-08-08 |
| Apartment List Time on Market — listing liquidity | direct | Apartment List 2026-07 | 2026-08-08 |
| Apartment List Vacancy Index — rental vacancy | direct | Apartment List 2026-07 | 2026-08-08 |
| BEA County Personal Income — income and population | direct | 2024 County Personal Income (released 2026-02-05); history 1969-2024 | 2026-08-03 |
| BEA Regional Price Parities — metropolitan price levels | direct | 2024 Regional Price Parities (released 2026-02-19); history 2008-2024 | 2026-08-03 |
| BLS CES — payroll employment | direct | CES SM current | 2026-07-26 |
| BLS LAUS — resident employment | direct | LAUS current | 2026-07-26 |
| BLS OEWS — occupation employment and wages | direct | May 2025 OEWS estimates (released 2026-05-15) | 2026-08-03 |
| BLS QCEW — county employment and wages | direct | annual county employment and wages 2021-2025; latest 2025 vs 2024 | 2026-08-02 |
| OMB/BLS delineation — metro geography | direct | OMB July 2023 delineation | 2026-07-30 |
| Census Building Permits Survey — permitted units | direct | BPS through 2026 | 2026-07-26 |
| Census ACS 5-year — city population, households and housing | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-07-29 |
| Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-07-30 |
| Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-07-30 |
| Census ACS five-year — ZCTA housing and income | direct | ACS 2024 5-year ZCTA | 2026-08-08 |
| FEMA National Risk Index — hazard loss ratios | modelled | NRI counties (FEMA ArcGIS) | 2026-07-26 |
| FHFA House Price Index — annual county appreciation | direct | annual county HPI history 1975-2025; latest 2025 | 2026-08-02 |
| HMDA / CFPB — purchases by occupancy type | direct | HMDA 2024 purchase originations | 2026-07-26 |
| HUD CHAS — renter burden by HAMFI income band | direct | HUD CHAS 2018-2022 ACS 5-year (released 2025-12-23) | 2026-08-03 |
| HUD Fair Market Rents — Section 8 standard | direct | FY2026 FMR | 2026-07-26 |
| HUD USPS crosswalk and Small Area FMRs — ZIP rent fallback | direct | ZIP-CBSA 2025Q4 + SAFMR FY2026 | 2026-07-26 |
| HUD-USPS ZIP-to-county residential-address crosswalk | direct | HUD-USPS 2026Q1 | 2026-08-09 |
| IRS SOI — county migration and mover income | direct | SOI migration 2022-2023 | 2026-07-26 |
| Freddie Mac PMMS — mortgage rates | direct | week of 2026-07-30 | 2026-08-06 |
| Census ACS 5-year — effective property tax | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-08-06 |
| Realtor.com Economic Research — county listing inventory | direct | county inventory 2026-06 | 2026-07-28 |
| Realtor.com Rental Report — top-50 asking rents | direct | top-50 rental asking rents 2026-05 | 2026-08-05 |
| Redfin Data Center — inventory, days on market, and price cuts | direct | metro tracker through 2026-05-01 | 2026-07-26 |
| Redfin Data Center — ZIP resale activity and supply | direct | ZIP rolling 3 months through 2026-06-30; updated 2026-07-03 | 2026-08-12 |
| USDA ERS — Rural-Urban Continuum Codes | direct | USDA ERS 2023 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes | 2026-08-02 |
| Zillow ZHVI and ZORI — county values and rents | direct | county ZHVI/ZORI 2026-06 | 2026-07-26 |
| Zillow ZHVI — metro home values | direct | Metro_zhvi_uc_sfrcondo_tier_0.33_0.67_sm_sa_month.csv | 2026-07-26 |
| Zillow ZHVI — city home values | direct | zillow_zhvi_city.csv | 2026-07-29 |
| Zillow ZORI — metro market rents | direct | Metro_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_sa_month.csv | 2026-07-26 |
| Zillow ZORI — city market rents | direct | zillow_zori_city.csv | 2026-07-29 |
| Zillow ZORI - metro market rents, not seasonally adjusted | direct | Metro_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_month.csv | 2026-08-15 |
| Zillow ZORI — ZIP market rents | direct | ZORI ZIP 2026-06 | 2026-08-08 |