Suppose real estate is the most significant investment a majority of people make in their lifetime. In that case, it’s best to understand the places in Montana with best potential return on investment.
After working in real estate adjacent roles for over a decade, I had the hypothesis that the best place to buy for a return on investment would be up-and-coming cities. Smaller cities where crime might be high now, but people still move to.
To test my hypothesis, we are going to look at places in Montana that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average, and crime rates are higher than average.
In everyday terms, these might be “deals”. The best deal in Montana at the moment according to Saturday Night Science? That would be Polson.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Best Places To Buy A Home In Montana For 2024
The methodology that wen’t into this can be a bit complicated, so we’ll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below.
For more Montana reading:
- Best Counties To Live In Montana
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Montana
- Best Places To Retire In Montana
The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In Montana For 2024
/10
Population: 5,218
Median Home Price: $544,825
Population Change: 1.1%
Home Price Change: -0.2%
More on Polson: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 5,435
Median Home Price: $569,087
Population Change: 2.5%
Home Price Change: -2.5%
More on Columbia Falls: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 5,988
Median Home Price: $251,367
Population Change: 0.4%
Home Price Change: 3.7%
More on Lewistown: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 6,257
Median Home Price: $299,126
Population Change: 0.3%
Home Price Change: -10.6%
More on Sidney: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 7,181
Median Home Price: $376,373
Population Change: 0.2%
Home Price Change: 6.0%
More on Laurel: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 8,489
Median Home Price: $526,321
Population Change: 4.7%
Home Price Change: -4.4%
More on Livingston: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 8,098
Median Home Price: $817,427
Population Change: 4.0%
Home Price Change: -7.1%
More on Whitefish: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 8,432
Median Home Price: $262,923
Population Change: -0.1%
Home Price Change: 3.3%
More on Miles City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 9,435
Median Home Price: $257,384
Population Change: 0.6%
Home Price Change: 5.3%
More on Anaconda-Deer Lodge County: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 10,941
Median Home Price: $540,043
Population Change: 3.7%
Home Price Change: -1.0%
More on Belgrade: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Montana for 2024?
We were in real estate for almost five years and have worked on this site for another 9. Suffice it to say we’ve put a lot of thought into finding an excellent place to buy a home.
So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we’d approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in Montana. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in Montana with undervalued homes relative to pent-up demand using Saturday Night Science.
To do that, we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2018-2022 and compared it to the previous vintage. Specifically, we used the following criteria:
- Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
- Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
- Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It’s still kinda cheap)
We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still “cheap” for Montana with the following caveats:
- Home prices had to be within 20% of the state average (Much lower than that, and you get to some of the more dangerous places)
- Home prices increased in the last year, and
- Above 5,000 people (Bigger cities have more data points)
So of the 0 cities and towns in Montana, only 17 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.
We then ranked each place from 1 to 17 for the above criteria, with 1 being the best. We averaged the rankings to create a “best place to buy” index, with the place having the lowest index being the best.
Turns out that Polson is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Treasure State.
Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Montana for 2024
There’s our analysis of the best places to buy a house in Montana. And, to be clear, we aren’t necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.
In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.
The best cities to buy a house in Montana are Polson, Columbia Falls, Lewistown, Sidney, Laurel, Livingston, Whitefish, Miles City, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, and Belgrade.
So if we’d could rent or buy in these cities, we’d definitely buy.
For more Montana reading, check out:
Best Places To Buy A Home In Montana
| Rank | City | Population | Median Home Price | Population Change | Home Price Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polson | 5,218 | $544,825 | 1.1% | -0.2% |
| 2 | Columbia Falls | 5,435 | $569,087 | 2.5% | -2.5% |
| 3 | Lewistown | 5,988 | $251,367 | 0.4% | 3.7% |
| 4 | Sidney | 6,257 | $299,126 | 0.3% | -10.6% |
| 5 | Laurel | 7,181 | $376,373 | 0.2% | 6.0% |
| 6 | Livingston | 8,489 | $526,321 | 4.7% | -4.4% |
| 7 | Whitefish | 8,098 | $817,427 | 4.0% | -7.1% |
| 8 | Miles City | 8,432 | $262,923 | -0.1% | 3.3% |
| 9 | Anaconda-Deer Lodge County | 9,435 | $257,384 | 0.6% | 5.3% |
| 10 | Belgrade | 10,941 | $540,043 | 3.7% | -1.0% |
| 11 | Havre | 9,332 | $253,078 | -0.9% | -0.1% |
| 12 | Kalispell | 25,473 | $528,069 | 5.0% | -4.6% |
| 13 | Helena | 32,529 | $445,702 | 1.5% | 1.6% |
| 14 | Bozeman | 53,500 | $712,076 | 3.7% | -0.6% |
| 15 | Great Falls | 60,373 | $305,613 | -0.0% | 6.9% |
| 16 | Missoula | 74,627 | $532,392 | 1.8% | 3.0% |
| 17 | Billings | 117,093 | $376,105 | 1.2% | 4.6% |