Lewis and Clark County, MT
County Profile
73,464 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Lewis and Clark County, MT.
Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 14 sourcesLewis and Clark County ranks in the top 3% of counties measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 2.6% and median household income of $78,237.
Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 570 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 28% on the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.
Rent takes 26% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 4.2 times what its owners earn.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 2.6%, lower than in 96% of the 1,467 measured US counties.
Employment grew 0.8% over the past year, to 37,019 employed residents.
43% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 94% of measured US counties.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023 | $68,328 | 70th percentileof 1,417 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023 | $64,263 | 66th percentileof 1,417 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$3,2032024 ACS 5-Year | $78,237 | Top 20%of 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$1,5722024 ACS 5-Year | $44,837 | Top 13%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per-capita personal income2023 | $63,782 | Top 28%of 1,389 | 2023 |
| Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 7.7% | Top 11%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±0.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 19.5 min | Top 13%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 43.0% | Top 6%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 68.1% | 10th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 37,019 | Top 48%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | +1.3% | Top 34%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | +0.8% | Top 24%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 38,016 | 52nd percentileof 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 81.6% | Top 19%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.2% | 52nd percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | −0.4% | Top 35%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 2.6% | Top 4%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 14.5% | 85th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Helena, MT
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Business Operations Specialists, All Other | 1,420 | $80,410 |
| Retail Salespersons | 1,130 | $35,990 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 1,060 | $28,330 |
| Office Clerks, General | 1,010 | $46,450 |
| Registered Nurses | 990 | $98,690 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 960 | $36,570 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
45% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 55% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 16.3 students for every full-time teacher across 28 public schools, more than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital High School | Helena H S | 1,293 | 16.4 | 38% | 54% |
| Helena High School | Helena H S | 979 | 15.8 | 42% | 59% |
| C R Anderson Middle Schl | Helena Elem | 962 | 16.6 | 49% | 61% |
| Helena Middle School | Helena Elem | 701 | 17.1 | 46% | 54% |
| East Helena High School | East Helena K-12 | 563 | 22.5 | — | — |
| Four Georgians School | Helena Elem | 482 | 17.2 | 53% | 57% |
| Jim Darcy School | Helena Elem | 473 | 18.9 | 46% | 54% |
| East Valley Middle School | East Helena K-12 | 471 | 21.4 | 44% | 52% |
| Radley Elementary School | East Helena K-12 | 428 | 20.4 | 45% | 46% |
| Rossiter School | Helena Elem | 369 | 17.6 | 45% | 52% |
| Bryant School | Helena Elem | 288 | 14.4 | 22% | 37% |
| Warren School | Helena Elem | 276 | 16.2 | 52% | 57% |
38.0% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Montana’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 8% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 92.1, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Helena, MT Metro Area is up 46% over five years, but down 1.2% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,113 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.79% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,647, some 49% above the $1,102 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,647 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $65,900 a year, about 84% of the median household income here of $78,237.
The typical renter household here spends 26% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,102 a month.
A median home at $393,500 costs 4.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $94,591, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.
Prices here run about 8% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Helena, MT Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against Lewis and Clark County’s median household income of $78,237, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Helena, MT Metro Area’s figure2023 | 92.1 | Top 35%of 887 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Helena, MT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | −1.2% | 2nd percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Helena, MT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +45.7% | 56th percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Helena, MT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +113.9% | 82nd percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year | 4.2 | Bottom 10%of 3,217 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 70.1% | 29th percentileof 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±562024 ACS 5-Year | 34,082 | 76th percentileof 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,319 | Bottom 21%of 1,423 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $2,250 | Bottom 14%of 1,423 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,647 | Bottom 21%of 1,423 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$462024 ACS 5-Year | $1,102 | Bottom 22%of 3,215 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$9,3642024 ACS 5-Year | $393,500 | 91st percentileof 3,219 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$1082024 ACS 5-Year | $3,113 | 86th percentileof 3,172 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$3,3952024 ACS 5-Year | $94,591 | Top 19%of 3,218 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.79% | 49th percentileof 3,126 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 25.9% | Top 32%of 3,216 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±2892024 ACS 5-Year | 2,032 | 84th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 6.0% | 69th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 2.4% | 1st percentileof 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±3512024 ACS 5-Year | 2,867 | 65th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has grown 6% since 2020, reaching 75,129 in 2024.
Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 245 units authorized in 2025, 46% below the prior year.
Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 75,129 residents in 2024, up 0.4% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.
Federal tax returns show Lewis and Clark County gained about 0.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $68,328, above the $64,263 of households that moved out.
At 7.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Jefferson County, MT 226 people · 6.5% of arrivals
- Gallatin County, MT 198 people · 5.7% of arrivals
- Missoula County, MT 179 people · 5.1% of arrivals
- Cascade County, MT 139 people · 4.0% of arrivals
- Yellowstone County, MT 132 people · 3.8% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Jefferson County, MT 261 people · 8.1% of departures
- Missoula County, MT 203 people · 6.3% of departures
- Cascade County, MT 167 people · 5.2% of departures
- Gallatin County, MT 145 people · 4.5% of departures
- Yellowstone County, MT 120 people · 3.7% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 17°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 17.1 inches.
Air quality measures a median index of 46, in the Good band, and about 6 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 73 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 17.1" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 17°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 82°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 4 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 6 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 46 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 40°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are cold wave, inland flooding and earthquake, with cold wave alone responsible for 37% of it. Cold wave and inland flooding are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.
Overall hazard risk is lower than 82% of measured US counties.
Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, landslide, cold wave, avalanche, lightning, inland flooding, heat wave, drought, strong wind, ice storm, hail, tornado, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, hurricane.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.
Lewis and Clark County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.7 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at 25.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at about 12.1 per 100,000 residents in Lewis and Clark County.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Lewis and Clark County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Helena Rgnl at 40 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 90.3% | Top 24%of 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 40 mi | Bottom 43%of 1,463 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 4 | Top 43%of 1,463 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 6.9% | Top 23%of 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helena Rgnl | HLN | 40 mi | 9,000 ft |
| Great Falls Intl | GTF | 54 mi | 10,502 ft |
| Bert Mooney | BTM | 81 mi | 9,000 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyData & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing, Income | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.