Affordability is a major obstacle to housing security and quality of life, and a growing number of Montanans are paying levels of rent that severely strain the household budget.
The Montana Budget and Policy Center’s Housing Affordability Map is an interactive online resource that provides seven indicators of housing affordability and renter populations in each of Montana’s 56 counties. These indicators are: percent of households that rent; poverty rate for renter households; fair market rent for a two-bedroom rental; rental amount considered affordable for households living below poverty; number of work hours needed to afford fair market rent; supply of affordable rental units; and households living below poverty with high rental cost burden.
MBPC is a nonprofit organization focused on providing credible and timely research and analysis on budget, tax, and economic issues that impact low- and moderate-income Montana families.