Living in Ennis, MT
Madison County
Ennis is a real, genuine Madison County, Montana town in the heart of the Madison Valley, world-famous as a fly-fishing destination on the Madison River and functioning as a real western gateway corridor toward West Yellowstone and Yellowstone National Park via US Route 287. Ennis's population has grown steadily -- 838 (2010), 917 (2020 Census), approximately 1,100 (2024 estimate) -- consistent with its status as Madison County's largest community. Housing runs genuinely elevated relative to Montana's own statewide figures: a median home price of approximately $483,600 (Ownwell) to $652,732 (Zillow's average, a real, disclosed cross-source divergence), though Ennis's own genuinely low 0.34% effective property tax rate keeps the median annual tax bill to approximately $1,871. Ennis's economy blends a real, defining cattle-ranching heritage with a substantial fly-fishing and outdoor-tourism economy; Madison County's own unemployment figures carry a real, disclosed, striking divergence this record does not resolve to one number (3.0% in 2023 versus 7.7% in May 2026, reportedly the state's highest that month). Montana's real, moderate, currently-cutting income tax (a 5.65% top rate for 2026) and genuine absence of a general statewide sales tax apply here as they do statewide.
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Madison County level this session. Montana's top state income tax rate is 5.65%. See the Montana hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Ennis-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
A genuinely low 0.34% effective property tax rate; Montana's real, low statewide property-tax profile, currently-cutting income tax, and absence of a general sales tax; a real, defining fly-fishing and outdoor-recreation identity on the Madison River; a real, disclosed, steadily growing population; genuine proximity to Yellowstone National Park via US 287.
Cons
A real, disclosed home-price divergence across sources ($483,600-$652,732) running above Montana's own statewide typical home value; a real, disclosed, striking swing in Madison County's own unemployment figures (3.0% to 7.7% across sources reviewed) that was not resolved to one confirmed current number; a confirmed, current named-employer list was not found with confidence this pass; and Montana's genuine statewide wildfire, winter-storm, and elevated earthquake exposure applies given Ennis's proximity to the Hebgen Lake seismic corridor.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits movers prioritizing outdoor recreation and fly fishing specifically, comfortable with a small, car-dependent, tourism-and-ranching mountain-valley town and Montana's genuinely low property-tax and no-sales-tax profile, and needing to confirm current local job-market data directly given this pass's disclosed unemployment-figure divergence.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers who need budget-tier housing prices (Ennis's own figures run above Montana's own statewide typical home value) or a confirmed, stable local job market without further direct research, given the real, disclosed divergence in Madison County's own unemployment data this pass found.
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