Mountain townsMontana2026
Montana Mountain Towns
Whitefish, Bozeman and Big Sky were the most booked of the 16 mountain towns in Montana on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, with an estimated 22,488, 22,115 and 18,414 stays. July is the busiest month across them, and the typical stay is 4.8 nights.
Figures are AirROI estimates. How they are made
Ranking
Montana Mountain Towns Ranked by Airbnb Stays
Every one of the mountain towns and villages in Montana with 100 or more Airbnb homes and recent stays, most booked first.
| 1 | Whitefish | 22,488 | $502 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Bozeman | 22,115 | $325 |
| 3 | Big Sky | 18,414 | $850 |
| 4 | Columbia Falls | 13,895 | $345 |
| 5 | Kalispell | 11,054 | $322 |
| 6 | Gardiner | 9,185 | $331 |
| 7 | Livingston | 8,847 | $347 |
| 8 | West Yellowstone | 7,088 | $441 |
| 9 | Red Lodge | 6,886 | $336 |
| 10 | Belgrade | 5,790 | $285 |
| 11 | Coram | 3,811 | $271 |
| 12 | Emigrant | 3,697 | $449 |
| 13 | Hamilton | 2,622 | $286 |
| 14 | Hungry Horse | 2,432 | $318 |
| 15 | Anaconda | 2,359 | $296 |
| 16 | Ennis | 1,661 | $336 |
Figures are AirROI estimates for the 12 months to October 2026, and stays count Airbnb bookings only. Typical stay is a booking's length, occupancy the share of available nights booked, and revenue the yearly average per home, before costs. Guest rating is out of 5.
Town by town
Where the Top Towns Stand Out
3 of 8 are busiest in July. Columbia Falls and Kalispell peak in August, Gardiner and West Yellowstone in June, and Big Sky in March. Among guests who left a review, New York is the top home city in 4 of the 8. Houses are the largest home type in 7 of the 8. The lines below add what the table can't show, where one of the 8 most booked towns leads its peers or differs from the rest.
- Bozeman
Of the 10 mountain towns in Montana with 200 or more homes, Bozeman had the highest guest rating, at 4.92, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- Big Sky
Of the 10 mountain towns in Montana with 200 or more homes, Big Sky had the most Airbnb homes, at 1,068, and had the biggest share of homes that sleep 8 or more, at 60%, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- 5Kalispell
Of the 10 mountain towns in Montana with 200 or more homes, Kalispell had the longest typical stay, at 5.4 nights, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- 6Gardiner
Of the 10 mountain towns in Montana with 200 or more homes, Gardiner had the highest occupancy, at 56%, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- 8West Yellowstone
Of the 10 mountain towns in Montana with 200 or more homes, West Yellowstone had the biggest share of apartments and condos, at 49%, in the 12 months to October 2026.
When to go
Busiest and Quietest Months
July, August and June rank as the busiest months for Airbnb nights across the mountain towns in Montana, and November and April as the quietest. July is the busiest month in 8 of the 16, while Columbia Falls and Kalispell peak in August, and Big Sky in March. Across the 16 towns, nightly rates run lowest in November, at about $368, and highest in February, at about $557. Across the 16 towns, stays run longest in April, at 5.5 nights, and shortest in September, at 3.6 nights.
July ranks first, April last
Airbnb months in calendar order. The number is the month's rank, and 1 is the busiest. The bar shows its part of Airbnb nights.
- Three busiest months
- Other months
Month by month: rank, typical stay and nightly rate
| Rank | Month | Typical stay | Nightly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July | 4.8 nights | $488 |
| 2 | August | 4.1 nights | $450 |
| 3 | June | 4.6 nights | $444 |
| 4 | September | 3.6 nights | $407 |
| 5 | May | 5.0 nights | $385 |
| 6 | March | 5.0 nights | $521 |
| 7 | October | 4.3 nights | $371 |
| 8 | February | 4.8 nights | $557 |
| 9 | January | 4.9 nights | $508 |
| 10 | December | 5.0 nights | $445 |
| 11 | November | 4.7 nights | $368 |
| 12 | April | 5.5 nights | $381 |
Who comes
Where Guests Come From
Among guests who left a review, 93.8% come from within the United States. Among those guests, the largest group from abroad comes from Canada. The top home cities among those guests are New York, Billings and Seattle. Gardiner and West Yellowstone draw the most from abroad, at 12%, among towns with 200 or more homes.
Top home cities
Among guests who left a review
93.8% from within the United States
The money view
Revenue, Occupancy and Nightly Rate
Among the 10 towns with 200 or more Airbnb homes, Big Sky has the highest estimated revenue per home, at $79,294 a year. Of those 10, Gardiner has the highest occupancy, at 56%, and Belgrade has the lowest nightly rate on Airbnb, at $285. The most booked of the 16, Whitefish, earns about $59,030 per home.
Highest revenue per home of these 10
A year, AirROI estimate
- Big Sky $79,294
- Whitefish $59,030
- Gardiner $54,219
- West Yellowstone $51,701
- Bozeman $49,522
Highest occupancy of these 10
Nights booked, AirROI estimate
- Gardiner 56%
- Columbia Falls 52%
- Bozeman 48%
- West Yellowstone 47%
- Kalispell 47%
Lowest nightly rate of these 10
On Airbnb, AirROI estimate
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular mountain town in Montana?
By AirROI's estimates, Whitefish is the most booked of the 16 mountain towns in Montana, with 22,488 Airbnb stays in the 12 months to October 2026. Bozeman is second, with 22,115. This counts Airbnb bookings only.
What is the most affordable mountain town in Montana?
By AirROI's estimated nightly rate on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, among mountain towns in Montana with 200 or more homes, the lowest are Belgrade ($285), Kalispell ($322) and Bozeman ($325). That is the average asking price on booked nights, not what it costs to live or buy there.
What are some small mountain towns in Montana?
By AirROI's count of active Airbnb homes as of October 2026, the smallest of the 16 mountain towns it lists in Montana are Ennis (101), Hungry Horse (112) and Anaconda (112). AirROI's list starts at 100 homes, so smaller places are not on it.
What mountain towns in Montana offer the strongest Airbnb returns?
Returns depend on what a home costs to buy and run, which AirROI's figures do not cover. On AirROI's estimated revenue per home in the 12 months to October 2026, among mountain towns in Montana with 200 or more homes, the highest are Big Sky ($79,294), Whitefish ($59,030) and Gardiner ($54,219). Among the same towns, Gardiner has the highest occupancy, at 56%.
Method
How These Lists and Numbers Are Made
How a town gets on this list. A town needs 100 or more Airbnb homes with recent stays. A language model then judges the place from its name, state, country and coordinates, not from words in its name: it has to sit in a mountain range or right at its foot, with the mountains the reason it is known and why people go. The town's own listings can back that up, with 15% of its listing titles naming the mountains. A town whose listings do not gets a second, stricter check, which asks whether people go there for that or mainly for something else. Big cities stay off. Corrections come last: places the checks got wrong are added or taken off, and rows that name one place are joined.
How the figures are made. Stays, occupancy, nightly rate and revenue are AirROI estimates built from Airbnb listing data, and cover Airbnb only. A town's stays are its bookings in the period, and the typical stay and busiest month come from the same data. Guest ratings, home sizes and how far ahead guests book are the latest figures in each town's AirROI data. Month ranks compare each month's part of Airbnb nights. Origin rests on 413,585 reviews and describes guests who left a review, not everyone who stayed. A town needs 1,000 reviews before this page gives its share from abroad.