Postal Codes

59601 ZIP Code

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ZIP code 59601 covers Helena, Montana, with a population of about 31,822 and a median household income of $70,502.

Population
31,822244 per square mile
Median age
41.12.4 points above the US average
Median household income
$70,502about the Montana median
Poverty rate
9.1%3.3 points below the US average
Typical home value
$446,458up 28.6% in five years
Median rent
$1,023about the Montana median
Degree or higher
50.9%15.9 points above the US average
Homeownership
56.8%8.2 points below the US average
Time zone
Mountain UTC-07:00observes daylight saving time
Businesses
1,630

Where 59601 is

Helena, Montana — the area the Census Bureau draws for this ZIP code. ZIP codes are sets of delivery routes rather than areas, so this is the Census approximation of one, not a Postal Service boundary.

People and households

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Population31,822
Median age41.1
Family households50%
Born outside the US1.3%
Speaks a language other than English at home3.3%
White (non-Hispanic)88.5%
Black (non-Hispanic)0.7%
Asian (non-Hispanic)0.7%
Hispanic or Latino3.9%
Veterans8.3%
Population by age
MaleFemale0-45-910-1415-1920-2425-3435-4445-5455-6465-7475-8485+
Income and poverty

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Median household income$70,502
Income per person$46,397
Poverty rate9.1%
Households on SNAP or cash assistance9%

Household income distribution

Under $10k4.5%
$10–15k3.3%
$15–20k3.6%
$20–25k3.9%
$25–30k5.5%
$30–35k4.3%
$35–40k2.5%
$40–45k4.9%
$45–50k4.3%
$50–60k5.4%
$60–75k11.0%
$75–100k13.3%
$100–125k8.9%
$125–150k6.2%
$150–200k9.2%
$200k or more9.2%

Income as declared to the IRS

Filed returns rather than survey responses, so this counts tax units and not households.

Tax returns filed15,400
Mean adjusted gross income$81,868
Returns declaring $200,000 or more6%
Returns, under $25k24.4%
Returns, $25k–$50k24.5%
Returns, $50k–$75k16.8%
Returns, $75k–$100k10.5%
Returns, $100k–$200k17.8%
Returns, $200k or more6.0%
Housing

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Median home value$355,000
Median gross rent$1,023
Rent as a share of household income27%
Owner-occupied56.8%
Vacant homes7.4%
Median year built1973

What the homes are

Detached house55.7%
Attached house5%
2 to 4 units19.8%
5 to 19 units8.2%
20 or more units7.1%
Mobile home4.3%
Home values and rents today

Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index, courtesy of Zillow. Monthly and current, where the Census figures above are a five-year average and are capped at $2,000,000.

Typical home value$446,458as of 2026-07
Typical home value, 1 yearup 3.1%
Typical home value, 5 yearsup 28.6%
Typical home value, 10 yearsup 98.5%
Typical asking rent$1,505as of 2026-07
Typical asking rent, 1 yearup 1.9%
Typical home value since 2000
200920172026$446,458$187,953

$196,176 in 2009 to $446,458 in 2026.

Work, commuting and education

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Unemployment rate3%
Bachelor's degree or higher50.9%
High school diploma or higher96%
Works from home14%
Drives to work alone65.1%
Takes public transport0.3%
Commutes 45 minutes or more3.4%
Health

CDC PLACES 2025 release, model-based estimates. These are modelled small-area estimates for adults, not counts of diagnosed cases.

Obesity30.1% 3.3 pts below the national average of 33.4%
Diagnosed diabetes8.9% 3.1 pts below the national average of 12%
Currently smokes11% 2.2 pts below the national average of 13.2%
High blood pressure29.7% 4.4 pts below the national average of 34.1%
Fair or poor general health15.6% 4.7 pts below the national average of 20.3%
No health insurance (18–64)7.6% 3.7 pts below the national average of 11.3%
Depression25.8% 3.9 pts above the national average of 21.9%
No leisure-time physical activity17.4% 8 pts below the national average of 25.4%
Arthritis30.1% 5 pts above the national average of 25.1%
Binge drinking19.6% 3.6 pts above the national average of 16%
Taking blood pressure medication74.3% same as the national average of 74.7%
Cancer (non-skin)9.7% 2 pts above the national average of 7.7%
Current asthma11.3% 0.9 pts above the national average of 10.4%
Coronary heart disease5.8% same as the national average of 6.2%
Routine check-up in past year74.7% 2 pts below the national average of 76.7%
Cholesterol screening84.4% 1.5 pts below the national average of 85.9%
Cognitive disability12.8% 2 pts below the national average of 14.8%
Colorectal screening67.6% 3.3 pts above the national average of 64.3%
COPD6% 0.6 pts below the national average of 6.6%
Visited a dentist67.8% 6.5 pts above the national average of 61.3%
Any disability28.9% 1.8 pts below the national average of 30.7%
Lacks emotional support19.1% 5.7 pts below the national average of 24.8%
Food insecurity9.1% 8 pts below the national average of 17.1%
Received food stamps6.3% 8 pts below the national average of 14.3%
Hearing disability7.8% 1.1 pts above the national average of 6.7%
High cholesterol33% 3.2 pts below the national average of 36.2%
Housing insecurity7.2% 6.6 pts below the national average of 13.8%
Independent living disability6.9% 1.5 pts below the national average of 8.4%
Lacks transport6.2% 3 pts below the national average of 9.2%
Loneliness29.1% 5.3 pts below the national average of 34.4%
Mammography use77.9% 2 pts above the national average of 75.9%
Poor mental health (14+ days)16.5% same as the national average of 16.8%
Mobility disability11.9% 2.1 pts below the national average of 14%
Poor physical health (14+ days)12.9% 0.6 pts below the national average of 13.5%
Self-care disability3% 1 pts below the national average of 4%
Utility shut-off threat5.3% 3.5 pts below the national average of 8.8%
Sleeps under 7 hours28.5% 7.9 pts below the national average of 36.4%
Stroke3.1% same as the national average of 3.4%
All natural teeth lost9.6% 3.4 pts below the national average of 13%
Vision disability3.8% 1.8 pts below the national average of 5.6%
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Business and employment

Census ZIP Code Business Patterns 2022

Business establishments1,630
People employed17,742
Annual payroll$918,039,000
Natural hazard risk

FEMA National Risk Index, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data — the NRI is not published per ZIP.

Overall riskHigher than 66.8% of US census tracts
FEMA ratingRelatively Low to Relatively High across the 11 census tracts this ZIP code covers
Expected annual loss68.7 out of 100
Community resilience75.5 out of 100

By hazard

Score is out of 100 and is the area-weighted average across the census tracts this ZIP code covers. The rating beside it is the highest any one of those tracts carries.

Winter weather99Very High at its worst in this ZIP code
Cold wave95.8Very High at its worst in this ZIP code
Wildfire93.3Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
Landslide90.8Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Avalanche75.1Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Earthquake70.1Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
Lightning69.5Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
Drought58.8Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
River flooding46.5Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Strong wind30Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Hail26.6Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Heat wave11.4Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Ice storm5.9Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Tornado5.1Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Compared with Montana and the United States

State and national columns are figures for those areas, not for this ZIP code. American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

This ZIPMontanaUnited States
Median household income$70,502$69,922$78,538
Income per person$46,397$39,842$43,289
Poverty rate9.1%12%12.4%
Median home value$355,000$338,100$303,400
Median gross rent$1,023$1,031$1,348
Homeownership56.8%69.4%65%
Bachelor's degree or higher50.9%34.5%35%
Unemployment rate3%3.8%5.2%
Works from home14%11.6%13.5%
Born outside the US1.3%2.3%13.9%
Median age41.140.238.7
Climate

NOAA US Climate Normals 1991-2020, from the nearest weather station with a full year of records. The station and its distance are named above, because a station forty kilometres away describes somewhere else.

Weather stationHELENA RGNL AP, MT US4.5 km away
Rain in a year11 in
Snow in a year37 in

Average high and low by month

January32.4°F / 13.5°F0.39 in rain, 6.6 in snow
February37.2°F / 17.2°F0.42 in rain, 6.6 in snow
March47.5°F / 24.6°F0.52 in rain, 4.6 in snow
April56.7°F / 32.4°F1.02 in rain, 2.9 in snow
May66.4°F / 41.5°F1.95 in rain, 0.1 in snow
June74.7°F / 48.7°F2.21 in rain
July86.1°F / 55.1°F1.06 in rain
August84.6°F / 52.9°F1.04 in rain, 0.3 in snow
September73.3°F / 44.6°F0.96 in rain, 0.2 in snow
October57.6°F / 33.5°F0.78 in rain, 2.8 in snow
November42.8°F / 22.8°F0.59 in rain, 5.4 in snow
December32.6°F / 14.2°F0.46 in rain, 7.7 in snow
Access to food

USDA Food Access Research Atlas, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Each figure is the share of the ZIP code's land area that falls in a tract carrying that flag.

Low income and far from a supermarket7% of this ZIP code's area
Far from a supermarket24% of this ZIP code's area
No vehicle and far from a supermarket11% of this ZIP code's area
School districts

NCES Geographic Relationship File 2025, which states the association between each district and each ZIP code tabulation area directly. Elementary and secondary districts can cover the same ground, so shares need not total 100%.

This ZIP code is served by 3 school districts, so the address decides which one, not the ZIP code.

Helena Elementary School District49.4% of this ZIP code's land area
Helena High School District49.4% of this ZIP code's land area
East Helena K-121.2% of this ZIP code's land area
Community and walkability

CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index 2022 and the EPA National Walkability Index, both estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Vulnerability figures are national percentile ranks, not measurements.

Overall social vulnerability21more vulnerable than 21% of US census tracts
Socioeconomic status21more vulnerable than 21% of US census tracts
Household characteristics15more vulnerable than 15% of US census tracts
Racial and ethnic minority status10more vulnerable than 10% of US census tracts
Housing type and transport53more vulnerable than 53% of US census tracts
Walkability5.6 out of 20Least walkable
Nearby ZIP codes

The closest ZIP codes by centre point, which is not the same as sharing a border.

59625 Helena, MT2 km away
59620 Helena, MT2.5 km away
59624 Helena, MT2.5 km away
59626 Helena, MT2.5 km away
59623 Helena, MT2.9 km away
59636 Fort Harrison, MT6.8 km away
59604 Helena, MT7.2 km away
59635 East Helena, MT9 km away
Location, counties and time zone

County shares from Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files. Time zone from the USDOT National Transportation Atlas, which renders the boundaries written into 49 CFR Part 71.

Lewis and Clark County100% of this ZIP code's land area
Time zoneMountain (UTC-07:00 standard)
Daylight saving timeObserved
Land area130.18 sq mi
Water area0.26 sq mi
Population density244 people per sq mi
Latitude, longitude46.6131, -112.0213

Figures are published for this ZIP code or its Census tabulation area unless a section says otherwise. Estimates whose margin of error made them unreliable are omitted rather than shown. Sources: US Census Bureau, CDC, IRS.

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