Missoula County, Montana Eviction Risk: Low

Missoula County earns a county average eviction-risk score of 2.9/10, placing it in the Low tier, yet that headline number carries a notable asterisk: it also holds rank 1 of 56 Montana counties, meaning no other county in the state scores higher. All 55 remaining counties are less risky for landlords than Missoula County is. Investors evaluating Montana markets should read the Low label as relative to the nation, not as a green light within state borders.

Across the 18 cities tracked inside the county, individual scores run from 2 to 3, a narrow band but one that still produces meaningful differences at the asset level. The county's 47.2% average renter share is well above most rural Montana benchmarks, and an average rent of $1,188 alongside an average rent burden of 29.7% keeps a non-trivial share of tenants financially stretched. These structural pressures are the primary driver of the county's elevated standing relative to the rest of Montana.

The cities inside Missoula County

The city of Missoula anchors the county at a score of 3/10, the highest in the county, and with a population of 76,514 it accounts for the overwhelming majority of the county's rental exposure. That concentration matters: a landlord whose portfolio sits entirely in Missoula eviction risk proper faces conditions meaningfully different from peers operating in the surrounding unincorporated corridor. Orchard Homes, at 2.8/10 and a population of 5,588, is the next-largest community and sits one step below the city core in terms of risk.

Several smaller communities, including Lolo (2.7/10) and Frenchtown (2.6/10), score at the lower end of the county range, reflecting the thinner rental markets and lower tenant-financial-stress indicators typical of exurban corridors. Risk in this county is genuinely hyper-local: two properties ten miles apart can carry materially different default probability profiles even under identical state statutes.

State-level laws that apply here

Every landlord operating in Missoula County is governed by Montana state law, principally MCA § 70-24 (the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act). For nonpayment of rent or a lease violation, the required notice is 3 days. No-cause terminations require 30 days notice. Montana does not require just cause for nonrenewal, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so no city within the county can impose a rent cap. Understanding the Montana eviction process is straightforward by national standards, but timelines still bite: uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 45 days, while contested matters can stretch to 45 to 120 days.

Montana eviction costs add up faster than many landlords anticipate. Court filing fees run $90 to $170, sheriff lockout fees add another $40 to $125, and attorney fees, when counsel is needed, range from $500 to $2,500. Keeping units filled with well-screened tenants, and staying current on Montana security deposit limits and Montana tenant protections, remains the most reliable way to avoid that cost stack entirely.

With an average poverty rate of 12.1% and nearly half of all residents renting, Missoula County's risk picture is driven by tenant financial fragility concentrated most heavily in the city of Missoula eviction risk; use the city grid above to compare scores across individual communities before committing capital to any specific submarket.