Why look at Missoula?
- Mid-tier housing market. Median home is $570k.
- Stable market. Home values +0.6% year-over-year — neither overheated nor falling.
- Growing population. ~1.6%/yr — typically signals jobs + investment.
Where Missoula stands
At or near all-time high.
Home value trajectory · last 10 years
Zillow ZHVI · monthlyLifestyle scores
Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.
Rent trajectory · last 5 years
Zillow ZORI · monthlyHome value vs rent · indexed to 100
Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)Rent vs buy
At a 31.3 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Missoula for most shorter stays. The premium you pay to own would take many years of saved rent to recover, and that's before maintenance, taxes, and what your down payment could earn elsewhere.
How the momentum score breaks down
methodology →About Missoula (Wikipedia)
Missoula is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five mountain ranges, and thus it is often described as the "hub of five valleys". It is the second-most populous city in Montana with a population of 73,489 at the 2020 census and estimated at 78,204 in 2024, while the Missoula metropolitan area has an estimated 128,000 residents. Missoula is home to the University of Montana, a public research university.
Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.
City facts
Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.
Local safety & alerts
No active National Weather Service alerts for Missoula County right now.
Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Missoula County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.
Neighborhoods of Missoula
21 tracked · ranked by median home valueRun the numbers for Missoula
Montana context
Schools
Missoula is served by 23 public schools enrolling about 11,283 students, with a student-teacher ratio of 14.7:1 — about the same as the US average of ~15:1. Public-school facts are from the NCES Common Core of Data; check ratings and attendance boundaries by exact address below.
Ratings, districts & boundaries:
Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.
Climate & natural-disaster risk
State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.
Current weather
Find rentals & listings
Open current Missoula listings on the major real-estate sites.
Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.
Local news & community
Latest news in Missoula
3 from local press- Water, energy, land use: Missoula data center proposal prompts questionsLOCALMontana Free Press6d ago
- Construction on eight Missoula streets begins after Memorial DayLOCALMontana.gov1w ago
- Census: Missoula led Montana population gains between 2024-25LOCALMissoula Current1w ago
- How gas prices have changed in Missoula in the last weekNonstop Local News Montana2d ago
- Sam Forstag rally in Missoula with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sara Nelson rescheduled to May 28KPAX News1w ago
- Maggotfest celebrates 50 years of rugby, costumes and partying in MissoulaNBC Montana1w ago
What locals are saying
- Missoula Mutual Aid: Food & Support Resources r/missoula
- Ch-paa-qn Peak being engulfed by this supercell r/missoula
- Postponed: Bonner Mill Data Center Hearing on July 1 r/missoula
- Boom boom r/missoula
- Elements of Drag r/missoula
Updated 2026-05-28 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Filtered for Missoula-specific coverage. Headlines link to original sources.
Local sports teams
Major professional teams the Missoula area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.
Local economy & environment
Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.
Find more cities like Missoula
Open the matchmaker pre-filled to match Missoula’s price band, region, and size — refine to taste.
Find more like Missoula →Cities similar to Missoula
Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.
Cost-of-ownership at the median
Snapshot assumes a $150k single earner buying at the median home. Your real numbers depend on bracket, deductions, school district, and HOA. Use the affordability calculator and net-pay calculator for your specific case.
Schools & crime context
School quality is district-by-district and varies dramatically within a city. Check GreatSchools or your state DOE rankings for specific schools before deciding. City-level school data coming soon.
Montana: 472 violent crimes per 100K residents (state avg, FBI UCR). Neighborhood-level rates can vary 10× within one city — research specific areas via CrimeGrade or local police data.
Compare to where you live now
Set your current city once and we’ll show the cost delta on every city profile.
Jobs & hiring
In Missoula, unemployment is low at 3.8%, and hiring momentum has been steady. The strongest local sectors are tech, hospitality & tourism and healthcare.
Search current openings: