Great Falls, Montana

Population

Steady. Within 1% of 2020, every year since.

60,208

people, the 3rd-largest of Montana's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Montana's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

4 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

38.2%

of 30,958 jobs located in Great Falls are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Unemployment, 2026

The low came in May: 2.8%.

3.3%

in August 2026, the latest month released. A year earlier it was 3.4%.

BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, monthly, through August 2026. Not seasonally adjusted, so compare with the same month a year earlier. Sources: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

Rent

Median rent is up 71% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$900

a month. Montana's median is $1,081.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $1,449 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Cascade County.

• $565 Tract 22.01
• $2,014 Tract 23.01

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

Local wages can carry more rent than the median charged today.

$936–$1,403

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $900 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 1,116 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 59% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 86% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.3–1.1% to the 28,418 homes here.

85–310

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 32% less than Montana's.

$257,000

median home value in Great Falls.

• $257,000 Great Falls
• $375,800 Montana
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year