State rental market reference · Data updated October 18, 2026
Montana rental market for DSCR investors: rent, taxes and insurance by county
What a rental in Montana rents for, what it costs to carry, and whether it stays rented, from official data for all 56 counties. Read it before you price a deal here.
Montana at a glance
What does a rental rent for?
$1,450 a month
HUD's FY2027 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent where most of Montana's renters live, from $1,014 (Phillips County) to $2,109 (Gallatin County). It is the government figure for a modest 2-bedroom unit, utilities included, not the rent for a house.
What will property taxes cost?
0.72% of value a year
Homeowners in Montana pay a median $2,693 a year on a median home value of $375,800 (Census ACS 2020–2024). A rental can be taxed at a different rate than an owner's home; the local tax bill is the real number.
What will insurance cost?
$1,400 a year
The median that homeowners with a mortgage in Montana report paying for homeowners insurance (Census ACS 2020–2024). It is not a landlord quote: a rental policy usually costs more, and flood cover is extra.
Will it stay rented?
5.3% rental vacancy
Share of Montana's rental homes vacant and for rent (Census ACS 2020–2024), across 141,459 renter households. Lower means rentals fill faster.
Are jobs growing?
Employment down 0.3% in a year
Employed residents in August 2026 against a year earlier; unemployment 3.0% (BLS, not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month a year apart).
Is new supply coming?
5,258 homes permitted in 2025
About 11.5 new homes per 1,000 households; 51% single-family (Census Building Permits Survey). More new homes means more competition for tenants and buyers.
How often does it flood?
924 flood claims since 2005
National Flood Insurance Program claims on properties in Montana since 2005, $13.8 million paid (FEMA). Claims show where water has reached insured buildings; they are not a flood map, so check the FEMA flood zone for the address.
What it means for a DSCR rental in Montana
A lender's DSCR is the monthly rent divided by the full monthly payment: principal, interest, property taxes, insurance and any HOA dues. Many lenders accept 1.00x; 1.20x leaves a cushion.
Take a home at Montana's median value of $375,800, bought with 25% down on a 7.5% 30-year loan, with the state's typical tax rate and insurance:
- Principal and interest ($281,850 loan)
- $1,971
- Property taxes
- $225
- Insurance
- $117
- Full monthly payment
- $2,313
- Rent for a 1.20x DSCR
- $2,780 a month
The government 2-bedroom figure where most of Montana's renters live is $1,450 a month, below the $2,780 that home needs. A house usually rents for more than a 2-bedroom unit, so price the house you are looking at with its own rent. The last column of the table below gives the same figure for each county.
Rules and costs a landlord faces in Montana
Each line quotes the official source it comes from and the date it was last checked. These are general rules, not legal advice; local rules can add to them.
- How long before you can file to evict for unpaid rent?
3 calendar days' notice for unpaid rent before an eviction can be filed.
If rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay rent within 3 days after written notice by the landlord of nonpayment and the landlord's intention to terminate the rental agreement if the rent is not paid within that period, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement
Montana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated), checked October 18, 2026
- How fast must the deposit come back?
Within 30 days after the tenancy ends.
Each landlord, within 30 days subsequent to the termination of a tenancy or within 30 days subsequent to a surrender and acceptance of the leasehold premises, whichever occurs first, shall provide the departing tenant with a written list of any rent due and any damage and cleaning charges
Montana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated), checked October 18, 2026
- Can rents be capped?
State law bars cities and counties from capping rents.
(26) any power to control the amount of rent charged for private residential or commercial property. Private residential property does not include property in which the local government unit has a property interest or in which the local government unit has an interest through a housing authority.
Montana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated), checked October 18, 2026
- What does the state charge to record a purchase?
No state transfer tax on a purchase.
Section 17. Prohibition on real property transfer taxes. The state or any local government unit may not impose any tax, including a sales tax, on the sale or transfer of real property.
Montana Legislature (Montana Constitution, Article VIII, Section 17), checked October 18, 2026
- Is a rental taxed like the owner's home?
A rental does not get the owner's homestead benefit.
"Principal residence" means class four residential property: ... (ii) in which an owner can demonstrate the owner owned and lived for at least 7 months of the year for which the homestead reduced tax rate for a principal residence is claimed
Montana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated), checked October 18, 2026
Market hubs in Montana
DSCRInfo does not publish a monthly market hub in Montana yet. The figures above and the table below cover every county; the market hubs cover other states.
Montana by county
All 56 counties, most renter households first. "Rent for 1.20x" is the monthly rent a home at that county's median value needs on the example loan above. A dash means the source publishes no reliable figure there.
| County | 2-bed FMR | Property tax | Insurance / yr | Rental vacancy | Jobs, 1 yr | Permits | Flood claims | Rent for 1.20x |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missoula County | $1,690 | 0.88% | $1,290 | 3.8% | +0.0% | 886 | 74 | $3,520 |
| Yellowstone County | $1,432 | 0.81% | $1,740 | 4.3% | -0.9% | 997 | 131 | $2,660 |
| Gallatin County | $2,109 | 0.59% | $1,350 | 6.2% | -0.8% | 1,544 | 34 | $4,730 |
| Flathead County | $1,682 | 0.58% | $1,260 | 7.8% | +0.9% | 830 | 51 | $3,810 |
| Cascade County | $1,308 | 0.87% | $1,450 | 3.9% | -0.8% | 253 | 79 | $2,050 |
| Lewis and Clark County | $1,653 | 0.79% | $1,390 | 3.3% | -0.1% | 193 | 62 | $2,930 |
| Silver Bow County | $1,417 | 0.98% | $1,290 | 8.8% | +0.9% | 130 | 9 | $1,990 |
| Ravalli County | $1,426 | 0.50% | $1,400 | 7.1% | -0.5% | 55 | 12 | $3,380 |
| Lake County | $1,448 | 0.61% | $1,340 | 4.7% | +1.8% | 76 | 2 | $3,050 |
| Park County | $1,608 | 0.56% | $1,220 | 4.5% | +3.0% | 0 | 50 | $3,330 |
| Hill County | $1,310 | 0.98% | $1,510 | 10.9% | +1.6% | 1 | 10 | $1,620 |
| Lincoln County | $1,173 | 0.54% | $1,170 | 0.0% | -0.6% | 27 | 7 | $2,140 |
| Fergus County | $1,450 | 0.75% | $1,460 | 2.1% | +1.3% | 2 | 19 | $1,810 |
| Glacier County | $1,278 | 0.84% | $1,310 | 2.5% | -2.2% | 0 | 1 | $1,310 |
| Custer County | $1,612 | 1.03% | $1,800 | 4.5% | -0.2% | 4 | 67 | $1,780 |
| Richland County | $1,315 | 0.74% | $1,480 | 9.4% | -1.1% | 1 | 4 | $2,000 |
| Beaverhead County | $1,074 | 0.67% | $1,360 | 4.9% | +1.2% | 42 | 1 | $2,280 |
| Big Horn County | $1,306 | 1.10% | $1,470 | 3.8% | -1.3% | 0 | 5 | $1,210 |
| Deer Lodge County | $1,082 | 0.78% | $1,200 | 4.0% | +1.8% | 22 | 1 | $1,760 |
| Rosebud County | $1,189 | 0.70% | $1,520 | 7.8% | -2.0% | 2 | 8 | $1,430 |
| Roosevelt County | $1,203 | 1.28% | $1,640 | 5.2% | -0.8% | 0 | 8 | $1,060 |
| Carbon County | $1,432 | 0.54% | $1,830 | 8.1% | -1.1% | 32 | 44 | $3,060 |
| Sanders County | $1,117 | 0.53% | $1,360 | 6.3% | +0.0% | – | 2 | $2,590 |
| Dawson County | $1,257 | 1.14% | $1,480 | 0.2% | -3.4% | 0 | 5 | $1,530 |
| Jefferson County | $1,410 | 0.55% | $1,460 | 2.7% | -0.3% | 20 | 5 | $3,200 |
Show the other 31 counties
| County | 2-bed FMR | Property tax | Insurance / yr | Rental vacancy | Jobs, 1 yr | Permits | Flood claims | Rent for 1.20x |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blaine County | $1,187 | 1.34% | $1,580 | 6.4% | -6.1% | 0 | 10 | $1,340 |
| Pondera County | $1,257 | 0.80% | $1,290 | 8.5% | -2.0% | 0 | 0 | $1,590 |
| Madison County | $1,543 | 0.41% | $1,640 | 18.1% | -6.6% | 7 | 2 | $3,320 |
| Chouteau County | $1,310 | 0.75% | $1,210 | 1.0% | -1.4% | 18 | 0 | $1,580 |
| Toole County | $1,233 | 0.87% | $1,090 | 5.1% | +2.4% | 0 | 0 | $1,670 |
| Powell County | $1,136 | 0.69% | $1,280 | 1.0% | +2.2% | 88 | 6 | $2,270 |
| Stillwater County | $1,271 | 0.57% | $2,130 | 5.4% | -1.1% | 0 | 42 | $3,000 |
| Valley County | $1,202 | 1.18% | $1,710 | 8.5% | -2.0% | 0 | 105 | $1,650 |
| Teton County | $1,363 | 0.75% | $1,340 | 4.8% | +0.9% | 2 | 2 | $1,990 |
| Phillips County | $1,014 | 0.78% | $1,460 | 3.5% | +0.0% | 0 | 9 | $1,540 |
| Sheridan County | $1,214 | 1.23% | $1,380 | 14.4% | -4.2% | 0 | 0 | $1,070 |
| Mineral County | $1,390 | 0.48% | $1,310 | 6.7% | -0.5% | 3 | 0 | $2,600 |
| Fallon County | $1,404 | 0.50% | $2,000 | 9.8% | +7.8% | 4 | 0 | $1,860 |
| Broadwater County | $1,755 | 0.56% | $1,420 | 8.0% | +0.0% | 3 | 2 | $3,070 |
| Granite County | $1,055 | 0.60% | $1,370 | 2.3% | -1.5% | – | 2 | $2,570 |
| Musselshell County | $1,348 | 0.55% | $1,540 | 0.0% | -2.4% | 7 | 33 | $1,760 |
| Sweet Grass County | $1,179 | 0.49% | $1,220 | 7.2% | +1.4% | 2 | 3 | $2,360 |
| Liberty County | $1,036 | 0.93% | $1,600 | 0.0% | -2.2% | – | 3 | $1,380 |
| Judith Basin County | $1,162 | 0.45% | $1,460 | 7.0% | -1.8% | – | 0 | $1,750 |
| Meagher County | $1,396 | 0.66% | $1,380 | 9.5% | -1.4% | – | 1 | $1,940 |
| Carter County | $1,247 | 0.45% | – | 6.8% | -3.6% | 5 | 0 | – |
| Wheatland County | $1,119 | 0.56% | $1,670 | 12.6% | -0.4% | – | 4 | $1,410 |
| Powder River County | $1,028 | 0.68% | $1,610 | – | +4.5% | – | 0 | $1,500 |
| Wibaux County | $1,552 | 0.61% | – | – | -2.4% | 1 | 1 | – |
| Daniels County | $1,026 | 0.87% | $1,680 | – | -3.1% | 0 | 0 | $1,490 |
| Garfield County | $1,101 | 0.62% | – | – | -4.2% | 0 | 5 | – |
| Treasure County | $1,552 | 0.59% | – | – | +42.3% | – | 0 | – |
| Prairie County | $1,552 | 0.84% | $1,170 | – | -26.9% | – | 0 | $1,300 |
| McCone County | $1,552 | 0.68% | $2,510 | – | -0.5% | 1 | 0 | $1,730 |
| Golden Valley County | $1,342 | 0.53% | $1,130 | – | -2.4% | – | 0 | $1,560 |
| Petroleum County | $1,552 | 0.60% | – | – | +4.5% | – | 0 | – |
Where these numbers come from
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rents, in effect from October 1, 2026: the rent and utilities of a modest 2-bedroom unit, set for housing vouchers. It is not a house rent. Where HUD publishes by town (New England), the county shows the range. HUD Fair Market Rents
- Property tax, insurance, vacancy and home value
- Census American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. Property tax is the median tax paid divided by the median home value of owner-occupied homes. Insurance is the median that owners with a mortgage report paying, not a landlord quote. Rental vacancy is homes vacant for rent divided by all rental homes. Figures from too few homes are left blank. American Community Survey
- Jobs
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics: employed residents in August 2026 against the same month a year earlier, not seasonally adjusted. BLS LAUS
- Permits
- Census Building Permits Survey: new housing units authorized in 2025, all building sizes. Building Permits Survey
- Flood claims
- FEMA National Flood Insurance Program claims with a loss in 2005 or later, and the net amount paid. Only insured buildings appear. Check a flood zone
These are screening figures for comparing places, not a quote, an appraisal or a loan offer. Montana total flood payments since 2005: $13.8 million.