Helena Valley SoutheastMT
Some 9,108 people live in this town, in Montana.
Is Helena Valley Southeast a good place to live?
Neither a standout nor a worry on most counts. Its weakest is cost of living — the typical home is worth about $332K, 4.2 years of the Helena metro’s $79K median household income. It also trails on walkability (C+). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 63% of U.S. towns. Where it does best is schools (B+): its public schools beat 66% of Montana towns on state tests and graduation. The overall grade lands at C+, 19th of 41 in Montana. On that grade it does better than 41% of U.S. towns. On history, just 7 of Montana’s 95 towns do worse.
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places.
Helena Valley Southeast has grown 11% from 2010 to 2020
8,227 counted in 2010 and 9,168 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Helena Valley Southeast grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Montana), ordered by how far Helena Valley Southeast is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Helena Valley Southeast: who provides what
Helena Valley Southeast 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 Southeast.
Helena Valley Southeast sends most of its workers to Helena and beyond and has a shorter frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Montana.
Compared with most of Montana and the rest of the country, fewer of Helena Valley Southeast’s working residents work locally
Helena Valley Southeast has 753 jobs for its 4,489 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
13% of workers do their job from home in Helena Valley Southeast, above both Montana’s towns (7.7%) and U.S. towns (11%). Employers in Helena Valley Southeast added 106 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 753. The typical journey to work for Helena Valley Southeast comes to 20 minutes. The top destinations are Helena (53%), Helena West Side (5%) and East Helena (4%).
| Helena Valley Southeast | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 3.4% | 41% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 13% | 7.7% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 8.3% | 11% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Helena Valley Southeast’s grade for schools is a B+
Its two schools are below. The public schools here belong to the East Helena K-12 school district. 161 students attend Helena Valley Southeast’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastgate SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–K | Grades PK–K | 161 | – |
| Helena Christian School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 212 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MT on state tests and graduation
Expect four seasons and pleasant summers in Helena Valley Southeast
The Helena Rgnl Ap weather station 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.
Summer afternoons peak near 85° in July, and January nights bottom out around 15°; snowfall runs to about 37 inches a winter. Summers in Helena Valley Southeast are warm, and winters cold, snowy, with very little rain.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Young adults are less common in Helena Valley Southeast than in Montana
Adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (22% statewide). Nearly a quarter of residents are under 18 in Helena Valley Southeast, above both the Montana town median (21%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). The bachelor’s-degree share among adults 25 and older is 25%, against 35% across Montana.
| Helena Valley Southeast | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 23% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 25% | 31% | 29% |
| Median age | 41.3 years | 38.8 years | 40.5 years |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.4 points. Across Montana, 49.3% of residents are women.
| Helena Valley Southeast | MT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.8% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.5% | 10% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.7% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.9% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.2% | 12.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.4% | 11.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.9% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.6% | 12.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.5% | 5.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.2% | 27.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.3% | 22.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.6% | 9.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.9% | 23.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.5% | 12% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
In Helena Valley Southeast, 6.9% of the land is conserved
Trails total 9.5 miles in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Bureau of Land Mgmt, 464 acres with 5.7 miles of trail. Parks and preserves in Helena Valley Southeast: 2, covering 470 acres.
| Helena Valley Southeast | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.9% | 9.3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bureau of Land Mgmt | 5.7 mi | 464 |
| 2. Eastgate Village Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Helena Valley Southeast has a moderate natural-hazard risk, chiefly from cold waves
46% of Helena Valley Southeast’s expected losses from natural hazards come from cold waves, followed by inland flooding at 29%. Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out locally.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Residents of Helena Valley Southeast are healthier than 52% of U.S. towns
In Helena Valley Southeast, 28% of adults have been diagnosed with depression. This Montana town tracks Montana closely on all 32 CDC measures. Among adults locally, 73% had a checkup this year and 19% report frequent mental distress.
| Helena Valley Southeast | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 72% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 20% | 16% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median home in Helena Valley Southeast sells for about $595K
Among 42 Montana towns, just 4 have a higher home-ownership rate than Helena Valley Southeast. A home in Helena Valley Southeast typically sold within 40 days of listing. The rent at the middle of the market locally is $1,106 a month.
| Helena Valley Southeast | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,106 a month | $994 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Helena Valley Southeast
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Helena Valley Southeast
About 4 of every 100 Helena Valley Southeast residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Montana.
97% of working residents leave Helena Valley Southeast for work
Where Helena Valley Southeast’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Helena Valley Southeast
Census-designated place in Montana, United States
Helena Valley Southeast is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Helena Valley Southeast had a population of 9,168. It is part of the Helena Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 14 sq mi
- Elevation
- 3,796 ft
- Area code
- 406
Helena Valley Southeast’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with Helena Valley Southeast.
| Town | MT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helena Valley Southeast | #19 | C+ | C+ | — | B+ | B− |
| East Helena | — | — | C+ | C | B | B |
| Helena Valley Northeast | #20 | C+ | C− | — | B+ | B |
| Helena | #12 | B− | C | D | B+ | A− |
East Helena has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Helena Valley Southeast and Helena Valley Northeast report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Helena Valley Southeast with a neighbor →
Questions about Helena Valley Southeast
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Helena Valley Southeast, MT a good place to live?
Helena Valley Southeast grades C+ overall, better than 41% of U.S. towns and #19 of 41 in Montana. It grades B− for health and B+ for schools.
Is Helena Valley Southeast, MT expensive?
The typical home is worth about $332,000, 29% below 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+.