Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,417.
Helena West Side’s best subject grades are an A for health and an A+ for the outdoors; its weakest is a C− for cost of living. On health, just 4 of Montana’s 94 towns do better. Helena West Side's schools outperform 68% of the state's. Only 3 of the 43 Montana towns we compare have a lower share of residents 65 or older than Helena West Side. 31% of the land in Helena West Side is conserved, against 9.2% in Montana’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 2 of Montana’s 95 towns do better. Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, at 1,957 acres with 5.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Helena West Side has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Helena West Side beats most towns.
1,637 counted in 2010 and 1,331 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Montana), ordered by how far Helena West Side is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 3 maps from 1950 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Helena West Side 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Helena West Side.
Most working residents leave Helena West Side for work: only 8% work in town. Jobs based in Helena West Side grew to 2,246 in 2023, 1,514 more than in 2013. Helena West Side’s average trip to work is 25 minutes, where Montana’s towns sit at 17 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes.
| Helena West Side | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 7.6% | 39% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.9% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $67,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Helena West Side beats the Montana average on 17 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 28% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Helena West Side. Only 1 of the 42 Montana towns we compare have a lower share of adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance than Helena West Side.
| Helena West Side | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 21% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 20% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 35% |
| What stands out | Helena West Side | MT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.9% | 12.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.6% | 11.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
46 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. Helena West Side’s trail density is 3.0 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest | 5.8 mi | 1,957 |
| 2. Spring Meadow Lake State Park | 1.2 mi | 54 |
| 3. Mount Helena City Park | 0.9 mi | 19 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 77% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
People 65 and older are 10% of residents (20% statewide); children under 18 are 27% of residents (21% statewide). 45% of Helena West Side adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Helena West Side | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 45% | 30% | 29% |
| Median age | 34.5 years | 38.9 years | 40.5 years |
Somewhere between 43% and 70% women
The Census survey reached too few of Helena West Side’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±13.4 points. Across Montana, 49.3% of residents are women.
| Helena West Side | MT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 20% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.7% | 10% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 12.4% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.8% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 7.7% | 12.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 19.5% | 11.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.8% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 5.2% | 12.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.9% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11% | 5.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 10.5% | 27.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.1% | 22.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.5% | 9.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 28.8% | 23.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16% | 12% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,400, single groups can be off by several points
Helena West Side has cold, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 14° and about 37 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Helena West Side
About 5 of every 100 Helena West Side residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Montana.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
5 places in Helena West Side on the National Register of Historic Places.
Census-designated place in Montana, United States
Helena West Side is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Helena West Side had a population of 1,331. Annexation of part of the CDP by the city of Helena reduced the CDP's population in earlier counts. It is part of the Helena Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $402,000, 14% 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−.
