Thompson Falls, Montana.
Typical home $446,312 (+5.9% in a year).
to buy the typical home at today's mortgage rate — +$1,531 (+189%) since Jan 2020.
- 1 year
- Up $24,720 +6%
- $421,591$446,312 since Sep 2025
- 5 years
- Up $118,242 +36%
- $328,070$446,312 since Sep 2021
Monthly payment to buy the typical home
Home value × that month's 30-year mortgage rate, 20% down, principal and interest. This is the line households feel: prices and rates compound each other.
- Thompson Falls$2,343
- Montana$2,453
- United States$1,922
At the last five years' pace, a typical home here doubles in price every 11 years.
Typical home values in Thompson Falls, MT rose 5.9% over the past year — faster than the nation's +1.2%.
Living in Thompson Falls, Sanders County, Montana
Thompson Falls is a city of 1,336 people in Sanders County. Unemployment in Sanders County was 4.6% in August 2026, and the county had 1.8% more jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most people in Sanders County work in schools and health care, then construction.
Written by AI Claude Sonnet 5.5 wrote this on 23 October 2026 from the figures here, a list of nearby places and what it knows. It can be wrong or out of date.
What it’s like
The place. Thompson Falls is a small city in Sanders County, western Montana, and it is home to relatively few people. Winters are cold and snowy, with the coldest weather in December, while summers are warm in July. Precipitation through the year is moderate, with snow making up part of it. Fewer adults here hold a four-year degree than is typical across the country, and household incomes in the county run below the national picture, though few residents live below the poverty line.
Work. Many residents work in schools, hospitals and social care, in the building trades, in farming, forestry and mining, and in restaurants, hotels and entertainment. Across Sanders County, some of the largest workplaces are Clark Fork Valley Hospital, Thompson River Lumber Company of Montana and the Forest Service. Very few people work from home, and the county has seen modest job growth over the past year, with unemployment a little lower than a year earlier.
Things to do. Thompson Falls State Park is a protected area in or beside town. The Thompson River is a short drive away. Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area is a ski area a longer drive away.
Report a mistake
- 19%of adults have a degree
- 6%below the poverty line
- 3%work from home
What people in Sanders County work in
Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Sanders County had 3,364 jobs in 2025, 1.8% more than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Weather through the year
Coldest in December, with highs near 33° and lows near 24°; warmest in July, with highs near 86° and lows near 53°. About 15 inches of snow and 22 inches of rain and melted snow a year.
Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Thompson Falls Ph weather station, under a mile away (NOAA).
Largest workplaces in Sanders County
- Clark Fork Valley HospitalCritical access hospital149FTE
- Thompson River Lumber Company of MontanaSawmills72
- Plains K-12 SchoolsSchool district66FTE
- Thompson Falls Elem SchoolsSchool district51FTE
- Forest ServiceFederal government · Department of Agriculture43
- Empres Operated by EvergreenNursing homes42
- Hot Springs K-12 SchoolsSchool district35FTE
- Thompson Falls H S SchoolsSchool district26FTE
Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 3 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 321 people in all across the county; Thompson Falls has two of its own. Hospitals come from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023), school districts from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24) and federal offices from OPM's federal workforce data (2026); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.
Natural hazards
- Winter weatherVery high
- Inland floodingVery high
- Ice stormsVery high
- LandslidesRelatively high
- WildfireRelatively high
- Cold wavesRelatively high
FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Thompson Falls’ census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively high. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.
From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Sanders County.
Thompson Falls home values
Zillow measures a city over its municipal boundary. Against the state and national figures, mid-tier homes, smoothed and seasonally adjusted.
- Thompson Falls$446,312
- Montana$467,275
- United States$366,157
Sellers are cutting prices on about 1 in 6 Thompson Falls listings — the market is roughly in balance.
When this market ran hot
Each cell is that month's year-on-year home-value growth. Read left to right, top row is the latest year — the 2021–22 band is the boom.
Market heat, inside the city limits
Share of listings with a price cut
The early-warning dial: sellers cut when buyers stop reaching. Rising cuts cool a market months before prices notice.
- Thompson Falls17.89%
- United States26.90%
Homes for sale
Active for-sale inventory. More supply hands power to buyers.
- Thompson Falls41
New listings per month
Sellers arriving at the market.
- Thompson Falls7
Zip codes with a Thompson Falls address
A different geography, not a breakdown. The figure above covers the municipality; these zips cover everywhere the Post Office calls Thompson Falls — often including townships beyond the city limits. Both come straight from Zillow, and they are not expected to average out.