While Wyoming neighbors Idaho and Montana continue to see residential rents shoot as high as the Tetons, rents in the Cowboy State remain relatively stable, even dropping between 2024 and 2025, according to a study from the housing industry research firm Construction Coverage.
While Jackson Hole residents might roll their eyes at the notion that rents in the state are dropping, the price of an apartment or rental home in Wyoming doesn’t appear to be shooting up at the rate researchers found in Montana and Idaho.
The study found Boise, Idaho, is facing a staggering 32.1% rent increase year-over-year, the second-highest rate in the country.
This surge in Idaho's rental costs, particularly in Boise, might be attributed to a combination of population growth and limited housing inventory, which has created a highly competitive rental market. This trend is characteristic of broader housing affordability challenges observed throughout the Mountain West region, where demand is outpacing available supply.
Idaho's rental increases are happening against a backdrop of national rent growth, which is projected at 4.8% for 2025.
But Boise's 32.1% increase is more than six times the national average. This dramatic disparity indicates that Idaho is experiencing particularly intense housing cost pressures compared to most other areas of the country, creating significant financial strain for renters in the state.
In North Idaho’s Kootenai County, home to the lakeside resort destination of Coeur D’ Alene, Realtor Jim Elgee told Cowboy State Daily he’s seeing homebuyers pushed into rental situations by a variety of factors.
First, there are out-of-state rental home speculators, who are liquidating rental properties in places like California and Washington, then buying homes in Idaho as rental investments.
“They are flying above the clouds and not impacted by interest rates,” said Elgee, who has one client who has found a sweet spot buying three-bedroom, two-bathroom homes built in 2017 or after and priced between $450,000 and $500,000.
These properties rent for between $1,800 to $2,200 a month, and for a first-time homebuyer who is scared off by the current 6.7% interest rates and a necessary 20% down payment of around $100,000, that amount of rent is the best deal they can find.
“The cop and the nurse in Kootenai County with two kids, they’re not making a lot of money,” said Elgee.
For working professionals who want to get away from renting in North Idaho, said Elgee, they might consider a lower-priced and older home. But those still run more than $400,000 and might only offer 1,200 square feet of living space.
“When you put three bedrooms and two baths in that amount of space, you’re really on top of eachother,” said Elgee, offering this as an example about why demand for rentals remains strong even in the face of rising rents. Families can often land on a lower monthly payment, said Elgee, and get more square footage of living space by renting.
Priced Out In Montana
As executive director of Montana Fair Housing, a nonprofit set up to advocate for renters and those experiencing housing discrimination, Pam Bean confirmed for Cowboy State Daily that rents in Montana are also on the rise.
“There is such a limited availability. The market is very competitive so housing providers are able to increase the amount of rent that they charge,” said Bean, who is seeing more elderly residents on fixed incomes priced out and facing homelessness.
One bright spot is Missoula, said Bean, where an increase in the number of available rentals is forcing rents down.
“I think that will be the only thing that has a significant impact is more housing being available,” said Bean.
Nationwide, the Construction Coverage study shows studio apartments are projected to see the largest increase among all unit types, with rents rising 5.9% to a median of $1,384 in 2025. One-bedroom units follow with a 5.3% increase, while two-bedroom units are expected to rise by 4.8%.
Those trying to find an apartment in Bozeman or Helena, Montana, should brace themselves for a bout of sticker shock.
Helena, for example, is projected to see one of the largest rent increases in the country, with rents expected to climb by 29.5% from 2024 to 2025, according to the study. Other data paints a rosier picture for renters, but pressures driving up costs remain.
Just as homeowners are seeing their mortgage payments bump up due to increases in the cost of homeowners insurance, landlords are also seeing bigger insurance bills and they are passing that cost on to renters.
Signs Of Rents Dropping?
The Construction Coverage housing analysis primarily used data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) 50th Percentile Rent Estimates and the U.S. Census Bureau's 2023 American Community Survey.
To determine which locations had the biggest changes in rent prices, they ranked locations by the percentage change in median rent from 2024 to 2025.
Since the start of 2025, other online sources of real estate data show an improving picture for renters.
According to numbers for apartments.com, the average apartment size in Bozeman is 982 square feet and the average rent is $2,245. Zillow pegged the average rent in Bozeman at $2,400, with the month-over-month change showing a recent decrease of $150 per month.
Looking at data for Jackson, Wyoming, from apartments.com, Zillow and the real estate site Zumper, in 2025 the average two-bedroom rental is going for $4,100 to $4,500, with some indications that prices in Jackson are coming down.
The website HotPads shows a lower $3,166 to $3,406 per month average for two-bedroom units in Jackson, though this may reflect limited inventory or a smaller sample size.
New Feudalism?
As two desirable locations for those looking to live in a scenic Rocky Mountain resort town, Jackson and Bozeman continue to present challenges for those striving to find an affordable place to live.
In Bozeman, there are a variety of initiatives and programs set up to make this combo college-ski town more affordable for the local workforce.
“Obviously, we need people to be able to rent, but the fact is that all of these developments that are coming into Bozeman right now, that are using affordable incentives, none of them are offering ownership to people who want to stay in the community,” local resident Noah ten Broek, told Cowboy State Daily.
As one in a growing cadre of local housing activists in Bozeman, ten Broek said he hopes to see more work done to create a sustainable coexistence between working-class locals and the increasing number of wealthy newcomers.
He sizes up the current situation as, “eroding the middle class” and “a new age of feudalism.”
“It's like on one hand, we pay you a wage that isn't a living wage in Bozeman,” said ten Broek. “And on the other end, we take it back from you through rents and it's gross.”
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
