Columbia Falls Needs Assessment

Columbia Falls sits at the doorstep of Glacier National Park — close enough that property values reflect national park proximity, not local wages. The speed of the market shift tells the story: licensed vacation rentals grew from 12 to 83 in five years. The median sale price nearly doubled, from $310,000 to $575,000, while wages grew 20%. Sixty percent of renters are cost-burdened. Only two vacant multi-family lots remain in city limits.

Eight percent of jobs sit unfilled because workers can’t find housing.

Western Spaces, with WSW Consulting and Urban Rural Continuum, conducted a housing market analysis documenting affordability gaps across income levels and the forces reshaping the year-round supply. Montana’s regulatory landscape offers communities fewer tools than Colorado’s, making the data case for action more important — and the path from analysis to policy less certain. The study gave the city a baseline for housing decisions in a state still building its affordable housing framework.