Living in Helena Valley Southeast, Montana: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.3% below the U.S. average in the Helena metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town6 public schools: 4 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close bySt. Peters Health in Helena, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big citySalt Lake City is about 404 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Helena Valley Southeast meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Helena Valley Southeast runs into the built-up area around Helena (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $331,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 17%Lewis and Clark County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,106 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $74,075U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 85%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $2,380 a yearMontana: $2,693
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 13%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 95.7U.S. average = 100 (the Helena metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Helena metro area, not Helena Valley Southeast alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey: 9,108The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 41.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 25%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 7%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (23%); government (16%); construction (12%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 13%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 8%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Peters Health, Helena, MT, about 5 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

6 public schools in Helena Valley Southeast, run by East Helena K-12 and Helena Elem.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Montana's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 68%U.S.: 76%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 14°F
July average high: 86°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 27 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 170 a year
Rain and melted snow: 11.4 inches a year
Snow: 37 inches a year
Elevation: 3,772 feet

Weather station: Helena Rgnl Ap (3 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

St. Peters HealthEmergency room5

Great Falls, MTCity of 60,00067

Salt Lake City, UTMetro of 1.3 million404

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: St. Peters Health, Great Falls, Salt Lake City.

Lewis and Clark County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site42 miles

Read about Helena Valley Southeast's history on Wikipedia.

Know Helena Valley Southeast?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

East Helena, MT2,300 people, 3 miles
Helena, MT35,000 people, 6 miles
Helena Valley Northeast, MT4,700 people, 6 miles
Montana City, MT3,100 people, 7 miles
Helena Valley West Central, MT8,100 people, 8 miles
Helena Valley Northwest, MT5,200 people, 10 miles

Smaller places

South Hills, MT (unincorporated)620 people, 6 miles
York, MT (unincorporated)182 people, 10 miles
Spokane Creek, MT (unincorporated)740 people, 10 miles
Unionville, MT (unincorporated)412 people, 10 miles
Helena West Side, MT (unincorporated)1,417 people, 10 miles
Clancy, MT (unincorporated)1,874 people, 13 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.