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Homeownership is to the American dream. It offers , security, community, and countless other benefits. Yet for many Montana residents, the dream feels increasingly out of reach—even as and fall. Near-record prices have made homes hard to come by and often even harder to afford, leaving buyers and sellers and younger generations .

But affordable pockets still exist. In cities across the state, residents can comfortably spend around 30% of their income or less on housing, which is widely considered the affordable threshold.

To find out where these cities are, ranked the most affordable cities in Montana, based on their local payment to income ratios. All data is an average for the January-October 2025 period. To see the most affordable cities in the country, read this .

#1. Helena Valley Northwest, Montana
- Payment to income ratio: 36.8%
- Median sale price: $486,231
- Median household income: $101,278
- Income needed to buy: $124,165
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $3,104
- See homes for sale in Helena Valley Northwest on

#2. Montana City, Montana
- Payment to income ratio: 40.1%
- Median sale price: $655,600
- Median household income: $125,223
- Income needed to buy: $167,416
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $4,185
- See homes for sale in Montana City on

#3. Helena Valley West Central, Montana
- Payment to income ratio: 44.1%
- Median sale price: $512,004
- Median household income: $89,040
- Income needed to buy: $130,747
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $3,269
- See homes for sale in Helena Valley West Central on

#4. Helena Valley Northeast, Montana
- Payment to income ratio: 44.2%
- Median sale price: $794,167
- Median household income: $137,724
- Income needed to buy: $202,801
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $5,070
- See homes for sale in Helena Valley Northeast on

#5. Belgrade, Montana
- Payment to income ratio: 49.5%
- Median sale price: $574,164
- Median household income: $88,896
- Income needed to buy: $146,620
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $3,666
- See homes for sale in Belgrade on

#6. Helena, Montana
- Payment to income ratio: 52.5%
- Median sale price: $475,381
- Median household income: $69,341
- Income needed to buy: $121,395
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $3,035
- See homes for sale in Helena on

#7. Evergreen, Montana
- Payment to income ratio: 56.7%
- Median sale price: $540,305
- Median household income: $73,015
- Income needed to buy: $137,974
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $3,449
- See homes for sale in Evergreen on

#8. Lolo, Montana
- Payment to income ratio: 57.8%
- Median sale price: $555,812
- Median household income: $73,700
- Income needed to buy: $141,934
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $3,548
- See homes for sale in Lolo on

#9. Helena Valley Southeast, Montana
- Payment to income ratio: 62.4%
- Median sale price: $519,455
- Median household income: $63,824
- Income needed to buy: $132,650
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $3,316
- See homes for sale in Helena Valley Southeast on

#10. Kalispell, Montana
- Payment to income ratio: 67.6%
- Median sale price: $543,227
- Median household income: $61,590
- Income needed to buy: $138,720
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $3,468
- See homes for sale in Kalispell on

#11. Missoula, Montana
- Payment to income ratio: 68.9%
- Median sale price: $587,926
- Median household income: $65,329
- Income needed to buy: $150,134
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $3,753
- See homes for sale in Missoula on

#12. Orchard Homes, Montana
- Payment to income ratio: 76.4%
- Median sale price: $684,529
- Median household income: $68,649
- Income needed to buy: $174,803
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $4,370
- See homes for sale in Orchard Homes on

#13. Bozeman, Montana
- Payment to income ratio: 77.3%
- Median sale price: $806,052
- Median household income: $79,903
- Income needed to buy: $205,836
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $5,146
- See homes for sale in Bozeman on

#14. Four Corners, Montana
- Payment to income ratio: 86.8%
- Median sale price: $1,262,645
- Median household income: $111,474
- Income needed to buy: $322,433
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $8,061
- See homes for sale in Four Corners on

#15. Bigfork, Montana
- Payment to income ratio: 96.4%
- Median sale price: $1,039,902
- Median household income: $82,648
- Income needed to buy: $265,552
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $6,639
- See homes for sale in Bigfork on

#16. Whitefish, Montana
- Payment to income ratio: 119.8%
- Median sale price: $1,111,568
- Median household income: $71,110
- Income needed to buy: $283,853
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $7,096
- See homes for sale in Whitefish on

#17. Big Sky, Montana
- Payment to income ratio: 388.7%
- Median sale price: $5,258,070
- Median household income: $103,625
- Income needed to buy: $1,342,716
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $33,568
- See homes for sale in Big Sky on