Lewis and Clark County, MT
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 47.13, -112.37.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 91st pct · 257th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 78th pct · 13th of 56 Montana counties · median $286,409
- counties in the Helena metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Helena metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 52nd pct · 1,469th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 36th pct · 36th of 56 Montana counties · median +3.9%
- counties in the Helena metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Helena metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 62nd pct · 516th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 66th pct · 4th of 10 Montana counties · median $1,628
- counties in the Helena metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Helena metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 80th pct · 616th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 92nd pct · 5th of 56 Montana counties · median 2,560
- counties in the Helena metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Helena metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 82nd pct · 565th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 90th pct · 6th of 56 Montana counties · median $996
- counties in the Helena metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Helena metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 89th pct · 336th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 65th pct · 20th of 56 Montana counties · median 5.5
- counties in the Helena metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Helena metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $466,454 (Sep 2026), +3.0% over one year, +27.3% over five
- 91st pct · 257th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 78th pct · 13th of 56 Montana counties · median $286,409
- counties in the Helena metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Helena metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | $466,454 · +3.0% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Typical rent $1,648/mo (Sep 2026), +3.3% over one year; price-to-rent 23.6
- 62nd pct · 516th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 66th pct · 4th of 10 Montana counties · median $1,628
- counties in the Helena metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Helena metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | $1,648/mo · +3.3% 1-yr |
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $2,584 a month on $466,454 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,508 a month: 46.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $466,454 × 80% = $373,163, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $2,584/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,271 × 52 / 12 = $5,508) = 47% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $466,454 / ($1,271 × 52) = 7.1
- price-to-rent = $466,454 / ($1,648 × 12) = 23.6
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
39,252 jobs at 3,758 employers (2026 Q1); -0.1% jobs and +3.5% average weekly wage over the year
- 80th pct · 616th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 92nd pct · 5th of 56 Montana counties · median 2,560
- counties in the Helena metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Helena metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | 39,252 jobs · $1,271/wk · -0.1% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 5,657 | $1,187 | 0.96 | -1.4% |
| Retail trade | 4,880 | $763 | 1.28 | +7.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 3,314 | $457 | 0.94 | +2.7% |
| Professional and technical services | 2,540 | $1,921 | 0.94 | -0.3% |
| Other services | 1,986 | $1,057 | 1.69 | -1.6% |
| Construction | 1,970 | $1,386 | 0.96 | +3.4% |
| Finance and insurance | 1,666 | $2,999 | 1.04 | +0.8% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,304 | $906 | 0.58 | -4.0% |
| Manufacturing | 1,121 | $1,525 | 0.35 | +0.0% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 843 | $397 | 1.30 | +11.1% |
| Educational services | 709 | $852 | 0.84 | +7.3% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 677 | $964 | 0.41 | +0.0% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
No drought class at this point (USDM covers the United States only)
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$2.6 bn in deposits at 25 offices of 13 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,549, moderately concentrated. $894.2 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $554.2 m, grants $262.3 m), $22,780 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Glacier Bank | $639.0 m · 24.5% share · 4 offices | |
| First Interstate Bank | $465.9 m · 17.8% share · 3 offices | |
| Opportunity Bank of Montana | $368.9 m · 14.1% share · 4 offices | |
| Lewis and Clark, MT | $894.2 m FY2026 · $22,780/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $511.7 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glacier Bank | $638,983,000 | 24.5% | 4 |
| First Interstate Bank | $465,872,000 | 17.8% | 3 |
| Opportunity Bank of Montana | $368,915,000 | 14.1% | 4 |
| Stockman Bank of Montana | $342,398,000 | 13.1% | 3 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $309,800,000 | 11.9% | 2 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $263,905,000 | 10.1% | 1 |
| Ascent Bank | $92,415,000 | 3.5% | 2 |
| Citizens Alliance Bank | $42,900,000 | 1.6% | 1 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $31,255,000 | 1.2% | 1 |
| Farmers State Bank | $26,047,000 | 1.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,549 across 13 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 13 banks with deposits in the county = 24.5² + 17.8² + 14.1² + … (10 more) = 1,549
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
USAspending place-of-performance obligations for FY2026, by awarding agency.
| Awarding agency | Obligations |
|---|---|
| Social Security Administration | $407,902,701 |
| Department of Education | $189,075,556 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $117,620,769 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $51,289,420 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $30,104,580 |
| Department of Defense | $27,256,045 |
| Department of Transportation | $21,979,104 |
| Department of Agriculture | $21,765,369 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $18,932,611 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $7,544,906 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $5,545,732 |
| Department of Justice | $2,956,632 |
That is $22,780 per covered job, against 39,252 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $894.2 m / 39,252 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $22,780
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 17.95 | 2026-10-18 | -2.6% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.20 | 2026-10-19 | +0.0% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 7.00 | 2026-10-13 | +133.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 101.91 | 2026-10-14 | +1.0% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.40 | 2026-10-15 | +0.0% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 652,115.00 | 2026-09-01 | +0.7% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Lewis and Clark County, MT: 10 findings, 2 at a watch level and 8 noted
watchLewis and Clark County, MT's covered employment is -0.1% against a year earlier, a watch level here: covered employment below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -0.1 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchLewis and Clark County, MT's price-to-rent ratio of 23.6 scores 90 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 22 across Montana counties, a gap of 67 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 67 = |90 across US counties - 22 across Montana counties|
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteLewis and Clark County, MT's average weekly wage was 3.5% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +3.5 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteLewis and Clark County, MT's covered employment was 0.1% lower than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- -0.1 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteLewis and Clark County, MT's covered employment of 39,252 ranks 5th of 56 Montana counties, against a median of 2,560.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 93 on the 0-to-100 scale across 56 Montana counties that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 10 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.