Missoula, MT housing supply, ownership, and rent

The local figures answer the first question: Missoula, MT's current ACS housing baseline includes 37,317 total housing units, 34,941 occupied units, and 2,376 vacant units. For the decision at hand, those counts can help a borrower establish the scale of the measured housing base before comparing tenure, rent, current listings, property condition, and financing. The figures describe stock across the survey period; they do not say that 2,376 homes were listed for sale or available to rent at one moment. In practical terms, reading 37,317 total units with 34,941 occupied and 2,376 vacant units keeps the release internally grounded while leaving live availability to current listing and property evidence.

Missoula, MT's ACS median gross rent is $1,189, while renter-occupied units account for 53.0% of occupied housing and owner-occupied units account for 47.0%. For borrower planning, the $1,189 median includes rent and certain utilities for the measured rental stock; it does not reveal a lease offer comparable to a home under consideration. Comparing $1,189 with only a mortgage's principal and interest would omit taxes, insurance, maintenance, association charges, transaction costs, and differences between the properties. A more useful Missoula, MT comparison matches real lease and ownership choices over the same expected horizon, then treats the tenure shares as market context instead of a break-even calculation.