New data shows many Missoula County families struggle to find affordable housing

MISSOULA - The Montana Budget and Policy Center (MBPC) unveiled county-level rental housing affordability data through an innovative online interactive map. Research shows that there is no county in Montana where a minimum wage worker can afford a rental home at fair market rent. In Montana, 46 percent of all renters are cost burdened – paying more than 30 percent of their household income toward housing costs.

“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,” said...