Helena Valley NortheastMT
A town of 4,659 in Montana.
Is Helena Valley Northeast a good place to live?
Helena Valley Northeast’s grades pull in different directions. The weak point is cost of living — the typical home is worth about $577K, 7.3 years of the Helena metro’s $79K median household income. Its overall C+ puts it 20th of 41 in Montana. Nationally, it does better than 41% of U.S. towns. It lags on walkability as well. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than just over four fifths of U.S. towns. Where it does best is incomes (A−): the median household earns $141K. Schools are a strength too: its schools rank ahead of 68% of Montana towns.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow.
Helena Valley Northeast has grown 27% from 2010 to 2020
2,995 counted in 2010 and 3,813 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Helena Valley Northeast grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Montana), ordered by how far Helena Valley Northeast is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Helena Valley Northeast: who provides what
Helena Valley Northeast is unincorporated, so Lewis and Clark County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Helena Valley Northeast.
Helena Valley Northeast sends most of its workers to Helena and beyond, owes part of its health edge to its incomes and has a shorter frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Montana.
Helena Valley Northeast stands out in Montana and nationally, with fewer of its working residents who work locally
Helena Valley Northeast has 370 jobs for its 1,777 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Helena Valley Northeast’s typical journey to work is 21 minutes, above Montana’s towns (17 minutes) but below U.S. towns (25 minutes). Jobs in Helena Valley Northeast grew by 86 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 370. Of the 42 Montana towns we compare, none has a higher typical household income than Helena Valley Northeast. The share of residents in Helena Valley Northeast who live below the poverty line: 5.2%.
| Helena Valley Northeast | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $141,000 | $66,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.7% | 41% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.2% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Helena Valley Northeast’s grade for schools is a B+
Public schools: the Helena Elementary District. Its one school is below. 276 students attend Helena Valley Northeast’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warren SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 276 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MT on state tests and graduation
Natural hazards: low risk in Helena Valley Northeast, mostly cold waves
The FEMA risk score in Helena Valley Northeast is 31 of 100. 36% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from cold waves, followed by inland flooding at 31%. Since 1981, Helena Valley Northeast has seen 6 flood insurance claims paid out.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Four seasons and pleasant summers: that is Helena Valley Northeast’s year
The Helena Rgnl Ap weather station, 7 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 142 days: shorter than most of the country, but longer than 96% of Montana places with climate records.
In July, afternoons reach 86°; in January, nights fall to 15°, and about 37 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
On CDC estimates, Helena Valley Northeast is healthier than three in five U.S. towns
Against the 3,515 U.S. towns with household incomes like Helena Valley Northeast’s, it is less healthy than 91%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
In Helena Valley Northeast, 15% of adults report frequent physical distress. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Helena Valley Northeast is ahead of Montana on 2 and behind on 2. Helena Valley Northeast: 29% of adults sleep under 7 hours, against 32% in Montana’s towns and 36% across U.S. towns. 29% of adults in Helena Valley Northeast feel lonely; 76% had a checkup this year.
| Helena Valley Northeast | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 31% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 72% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 20% | 16% |
| What stands out | Helena Valley Northeast | MT |
|---|---|---|
| More adults getting a yearly checkup | 76% | 72.4% |
| More adults getting cholesterol checked | 85.6% | 82.5% |
| More adults with arthritis | 34.7% | 28.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Protected land: 5.5% of Helena Valley Northeast
In 2 parks and preserves, walkers have 13 miles of trail. The biggest park or preserve is Lake Helena Wildlife Management Area, at 1,500 acres. Helena Valley Northeast’s concentration of trails stands at 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Helena Valley Northeast | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.5% | 9.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lake Helena Wildlife Management Area | — | 1,500 |
| 2. Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest | — | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
A larger share of households in Helena Valley Northeast are owner-occupiers than in the typical Montana or U.S. town
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Helena Valley Northeast
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Helena Valley Northeast
About 3 of every 100 Helena Valley Northeast residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Montana.
98% of working residents leave Helena Valley Northeast for work
Where Helena Valley Northeast’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Helena Valley Northeast
Census-designated place in Montana, United States
Helena Valley Northeast is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Helena Valley Northeast had a population of 3,813. It is part of the Helena Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 51 sq mi
- Elevation
- 3,652 ft
- Area code
- 406
Helena Valley Northeast’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Helena Valley Northeast.
| Town | MT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helena Valley Northeast | #20 | C+ | C− | — | B+ | B |
| Helena Valley Southeast | #19 | C+ | C+ | — | B+ | B− |
| Helena Valley Northwest | #18 | C+ | C− | — | B+ | A |
| Helena | #12 | B− | C | D | B+ | A− |
| Helena Valley West Central | #10 | B | C+ | — | B+ | A− |
Helena Valley Northeast, Helena Valley Southeast, Helena Valley Northwest and Helena Valley West Central report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Helena Valley Northeast with a neighbor →
Questions about Helena Valley Northeast
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Helena Valley Northeast, MT a good place to live?
Helena Valley Northeast grades C+ overall, better than 41% of U.S. towns and #20 of 41 in Montana. It grades B for health and B+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Helena Valley Northeast, MT expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $577,000, 23% above the Montana typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.