Best PlacesWest End Helena, Helena, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West End Helena, Helena, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West End Helena, Helena ranks 1,310th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West End Helena, Helena
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
West End Helena, Helena's strengths and weaknesses
Where West End Helena, Helena ranks high
- Short commute13.3 minutes each way, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
Where West End Helena, Helena ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 32% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 36% of neighborhoods
- Household income$70,385 median, better than only 40% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in West End Helena, Helena
A household needs to earn about $98,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West End Helena, Helena home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $70,385, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses West End Helena, Helena's effective rate of 0.82%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West End Helena, Helena
West End Helena, Helena runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West End Helena, Helena.
Who works in West End Helena, Helena, and how
Work in West End Helena, Helena centers on public administration and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 18%
Life in West End Helena, Helena
West End Helena, Helena has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 90% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of West End Helena, Helena and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West End Helena, Helena, month by month
West End Helena, Helena sees roughly 151 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 23° | 12° |
| April | 60° | 44° | 31° |
| July | 91° | 73° | 55° |
| October | 61° | 46° | 33° |
Flying in and out of West End Helena, Helena
The nearest airport, Helena Regional, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 292 miles away.
The best schools in and around West End Helena, Helena
Schools across West End Helena, Helena average a B−, better than 66% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Jefferson SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Hawthorne SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Central SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- C R Anderson Middle SchlB · 46% proficient
- Helena Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Helena High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Capital High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West End Helena, Helena school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West End Helena, Helena measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare West End Helena, Helena against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in West End Helena, Helena
Is West End Helena, Helena a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West End Helena, Helena ranks 1,310th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on short commutes, low disaster risk, and quiet, and lowest on distance from a big city and transit. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West End Helena, Helena expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $373,331. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $70,385 median income, cost of living beats 55% of neighborhoods.
Is West End Helena, Helena safe?
Yes, West End Helena, Helena is safer than 72% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $483 per resident a year.
Compare West End Helena, Helena with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West End Helena, Helena. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West End Helena, Helena represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
West End Helena, Helena detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West End Helena, Helena: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West End Helena, Helena: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West End Helena, Helena: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West End Helena, Helena: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West End Helena, Helena detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.