Missoula has no shortage of big conversations when it comes to economic development. Among all the issues, housing affordability stands out because it impacts nearly every other issue.
In 2025, homeownership in Missoula has moved further out of reach for a growing share of the population. While incomes have increased in recent years, home prices have grown faster—far faster. Today, the ratio between median home prices and median household income in Missoula sits at 8 times. Historically, that number has hovered closer to 4.5 times income.
This gap matters—not just to households trying to buy but also to employers trying to retain workers.
Housing and the Economic Engine
Basic job growth is a key driver of any regional economy. In Missoula, that includes everything from manufacturing to logistics to knowledge work. These jobs export value and bring outside dollars into the community. But when those employees can’t afford to live where they work, the system starts to wobble.
Over the past 18 to 24 months, Missoula has seen a notable drop in several key production and manufacturing employers. Pyramid Mountain Lumber, Roseburg Forest Products, and Elite OneSource are among them. In many of these cases, housing affordability factored heavily into workforce challenges. When skilled workers can’t afford to buy a home—or, in some cases, even rent reliably—employers struggle to keep talent and expand.
What the Numbers Say
Missoula’s market-rate apartment vacancies have risen a bit, but they’re still within a functional range. Construction is steady, with a healthy pipeline of units currently underway. It’s good news for renters in the short term. However, it doesn’t fix the larger problem—too few homes people can afford to buy.
People earning an average household income still can’t afford the average home. Even with steady pay raises and no price growth, it might take a decade to reach normal affordability again. That’s without factoring in rising insurance premiums, construction costs, or financing hurdles.
Meanwhile, new housing delivery is not meeting the demand of our population growth. At this pace, Missoula won’t keep up. If recent population growth holds steady, the region will fall behind by thousands of homes.
Not Just a Housing Problem
This isn’t just a housing issue. It’s a labor issue, a school enrollment issue, and a small business viability issue. When people can’t afford to buy into the community, they don’t stay long-term. That directly impacts local spending, civic engagement, and talent pipelines across sectors.
Retailers and restaurants have already felt the pressure—cutting hours, limiting services, and struggling to fill roles. More recently, those pressures have extended to industrial users and service providers. It’s not just low-income households feeling the pressure. People in skilled jobs—like healthcare, public service, and the trades—are also priced out.
Where Opportunity Lies
There’s no silver bullet solution, but there are clear steps that can move the needle:
Platting smaller, buildable lots: Missoula needs more sites where modest homes can actually be delivered. That means rethinking how land is divided and sold.
Smaller home footprints: The standard 2,300 SF home on a quarter-acre lot doesn’t work for the entry-level buyer anymore. Two-bedroom homes with efficient layouts and a simple carport can open the door to ownership for more households.
Support for build-to-rent models: While for-sale housing gets the spotlight, well-designed single-family rentals and townhomes can offer stability and long-term affordability for renters who aren’t ready—or able—to buy.
Encouraging hybrid ownership structures: Projects that allow an owner to live in one unit and rent out the others (like a duplex or fourplex) can offer both affordability and a path to long-term wealth building.
Reframing the Growth Conversation
Missoula has done significant work through its 2045 growth policy and zoning code updates. These frameworks offer direction on where and how the community wants to grow. But execution will require more than policy. Solving this will take new ideas, flexible financing, and a willingness to build housing we haven’t seen much of in recent years.
Missoula’s growth depends on treating housing as a core need—not a secondary concern. It has to be at the center of the conversation—because, without it, growth simply stalls.
