Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Montana

Helena, Montana

Helena is a small city of about 35,000 people in Lewis and Clark County, Montana. It's the county seat. It has grown about 9% since 2020. A typical home costs about 5.5 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Salt Lake City, is about 402 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
35,138
up 9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$387,300
Lewis and Clark County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$71,036
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Helena area
95.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
St. Peters Health
To Salt Lake City
402 mi
straight line

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 5.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood206 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 5.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 28.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town15 public schools: 11 elementary, 2 middle and 2 high schools.
  • A hospital close bySt. Peters Health is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySalt Lake City is about 402 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 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$387,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Lewis and Clark County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,092 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$71,036U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
53%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,552 a yearMontana: $2,693
Homes built before 1940
22%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
15%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%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 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, 2025 estimate
35,1382020: 32,252
Median age
40.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
51%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%U.S.: 6%
College students
7%share of all residents

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 (27%); government (16%); professional and business services (11%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
14 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
16%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
9%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, in town. 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

15 public schools in Helena, run by Helena Elem and Helena H S.

Colleges in or next to town: Helena College University of Montana (1,000 to 4,999 students); Carroll College (1,000 to 4,999 students).

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
77%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
89%U.S.: 91%

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
3,994 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

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: 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

67 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Forestvale Cemetery, the Fort Harrison Veterans' Hospital Historic District, the Gehring Ranch and Grant-Marshall Lime Kiln Historic District, The.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site36 miles

Campus life. Check Carroll College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Helena's history on Wikipedia.

Know Helena?

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

Smaller places

  • South Hills, MT (unincorporated)620 people, 3 miles
  • Unionville, MT (unincorporated)412 people, 5 miles
  • Helena West Side, MT (unincorporated)1,417 people, 5 miles
  • Clancy, MT (unincorporated)1,874 people, 10 miles
  • Rimini, MT (unincorporated)118 people, 13 miles
  • Spokane Creek, MT (unincorporated)740 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.