Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Missoula's standout: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 98% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades C+, 21st of 41 graded towns in Montana. Residents are healthier than 85% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and its schools outperform 82% of the state's. Its weakest subject is safety: its police reported 466 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 93% of U.S. towns. 72% of working residents work locally in Missoula, where Montana’s towns sit at 37% and U.S. towns at 8%. Its National Register listings include Wilma Theatre and St. Francis Xavier Church. On cost of living, just 7 of Montana’s 95 towns do worse.
Where Missoula beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Missoula County Courthouse
David Lynch
Its founding year, 1860, comes before those of 97% of the Montana towns we grade with a known year. Its 72 National Register listings are more than in any other Montana town with a listing.
Census counts: 400 in 1870, 73,489 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1883 and 2 maps from 1964 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Montana), ordered by how far Missoula is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for safety (better than 7%), so the C+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Missoula, and how to reach them.
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 Missoula.
Missoula has more trail for its size than nearly any town in Montana, has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and fares better on crime within Montana than nationally.
At 3.2 miles of trail per square mile, it ranks #3 of 32 Montana towns.
In Missoula, the trail network density is 3.2 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Fort Missoula Regional Park, at 83 acres. 76 parks and preserves cover 541 acres locally.
| Missoula | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 3.2 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 21% | 9.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Greenough Park | 1.1 mi | 29 |
| 2. Spartan Park | 1 mi | 44 |
| 3. High Park | 0.9 mi | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
That grade comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $564K.
Three of the 35 schools are below, and why each made the list. 6 public schools serve Missoula, with 2,525 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 669 | B+ |
| Sentinel High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,365 | B+ |
| Rattlesnake Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 393 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MT on state tests and graduation
At 57 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 80% of Montana’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 3,328 to 2,712 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Missoula’s violent crime rate comes in at 5.9 per 1,000 residents. The level of property crime here is 28.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Missoula | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 28.4 per 1,000 residents | 14.1 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.9 per 1,000 residents | 4.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
In Missoula, 16% of adults get no exercise outside work. Among 41 Montana towns, just 3 have a higher share of adults who binge drink than Missoula. Of 32 CDC measures, Missoula beats the Montana average on 14 and trails it on 3.
| Missoula | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 20% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 32% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 32% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 72% | 79% |
| What stands out | Missoula | MT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.6% | 3.5% |
| More binge drinkers | 23.9% | 20.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Missoula Intl Ap weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 130 days, shorter than in 95% of U.S. towns.
A winter brings about 43 inches of snow, with January nights at 18° and July afternoons at 86°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 7.5 years of the Missoula metro’s $75K median household income, the typical home (about $564K) costs more against local pay than in 82% of Montana towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $4,450, against $2,693 across Montana, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Among households in Missoula, 47% own their home. On the market here: a median 57 days to sell. Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 1.1% in value.
| Missoula | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 47% | 65% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 50% | 42% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,189 a month | $994 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Half of commuters travel less than 3 miles. In Missoula, the average trip to work is 16 minutes. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs locally rose by 7,815, to 51,352. For workers locally, the share who work from home is 15%.
| Missoula | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 15% | 7.7% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $66,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA puts 31% of Missoula’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 26% to cold waves. Since 1978, Missoula has seen 19 flood insurance claims paid out. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Missoula after 4 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Missoula. Close and well known come first.
7 mi LakeLake Missoula10 mi Ski areaMontana Snowbowl64 runs · 2,538 ft vertical
32 mi Park & preserveCSKT Bison Range
in town TheatreWilma Theaterin town MuseumMissoula Art Museum
in town MuseumMontana Museum of Art & CultureLake Missoula: USGS, Public domain · CSKT Bison Range: Paul Frederickson, CC BY 2.5 · Wilma Theater: Publichall, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Montana Museum of Art & Culture: DocFreeman24, CC BY-SA 4.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Missoula
About 11 of every 100 Missoula residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Montana.
72 places in Missoula on the National Register of Historic Places.
70 notable people were born in Missoula.
City in Montana, United States
Missoula ( mih-ZOO-lə) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five mountain ranges, and thus it is often described as the "hub of five valleys". It is the second-most populous city in Montana with a population of 73,489 at the 2020 census, increasing to an estimated 78,903 in 2025, while the Missoula metropolitan area has an estimated 128,698 residents. Missoula is home to the University of Montana, a public research university. The Missoula area was settled by people of European descent from 1858, including …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Missoula.
| Town | MT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missoula | #21 | C+ | D | D | A− | A− |
| Orchard Homes | #2 | A− | C− | — | A− | A− |
| East Missoula | — | — | C | — | A− | B+ |
East Missoula has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Orchard Homes and East Missoula report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Missoula with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Missoula grades C+ overall, better than 40% of U.S. towns and #21 of 41 in Montana. It grades A− for health, D for safety and A− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 7.5 years of the area's median household income ($74,989 across the Missoula, MT metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
70 notable people were born here, including David Lynch and Brian Schmidt.
