Places · Town guide · Numbers through October 2026
Whitefish
A mountain-resort town on Whitefish Lake, with Whitefish Mountain Resort just up the road. Here's what it's really like to live here, and what homes are selling for right now.
See Whitefish with JeremyBook a consultation Whitefish is for you if you want a true mountain-resort town, where the ski hill, the lake and a walkable downtown are part of everyday life. Ski in the morning, swim at City Beach in summer, and walk or bike the Whitefish Trail right from town. It works just as well for full-time families as for second-home owners.
Whitefish is one of the most sought-after mountain towns in the West, and prices reflect it. If you'd like more house or land for your money, Kalispell is about 15 minutes south, with homes at about half the Whitefish price and the same lakes, mountains and Glacier National Park close by.
What I love about Whitefish
- The mountain is eight miles away. Whitefish Mountain Resort is close enough for a few runs before work.
- Forty-seven miles of trail. The Whitefish Trail has 15 trailheads around town, built by Whitefish Legacy Partners and the City of Whitefish, and it keeps growing.
- Easy to get to. An Amtrak station right downtown, with daily trains east and west, and Glacier Park International Airport about 11 miles south.
What to know first
- Planning to rent it nightly? Inside city limits, short-term rentals are allowed only in a few resort zones, with a city permit
- On the lake, ask about the lakeshore rules before you plan a dock or shoreline work
- For condos and homes on the mountain, review the association dues, the rental rules and who plows the road in winter
- Prices reflect the demand, so budget for what homes actually sell for here
12 months to October 2026
12 months to October 2026
Whitefish, single-familycondo & townhome
Ten years of Whitefish prices
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median | $380K | $417K | $475K | $493K | $669K | $820K | $1038K | $1013K | $1163K | $1185K | $1341K |
Areas of town
Whitefish, side by side
Living here
The everyday questions, answered
Getting around
Downtown Whitefish is compact and walkable, and the Whitefish Trail and city bike paths connect much of town.
Amtrak's Whitefish depot has a daily train east toward Chicago and one west toward Seattle. Glacier Park International Airport is about 11 miles south, Kalispell about 15 minutes, and Missoula about two and a half hours.
Outdoors
Whitefish Mountain Resort is 8 miles from town, and the west entrance of Glacier National Park is about 25 miles east on Highway 2.
In summer, life moves to Whitefish Lake and City Beach. The Whitefish Trail has 47 miles of trail and 15 trailheads, with more being built.
Winters
Winter is the season Whitefish is known for. The mountain gets far more snow than town, and the valley has plenty of gray days, which is one more reason to head up the hill.
In town, expect cold, snowy months from November into March, and plan on snow tires.
Healthcare
Logan Health – Whitefish, formerly North Valley Hospital, is a 25-bed hospital with a 24-hour emergency department, a birth center and orthopedic and minimally invasive surgery. Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell, about 15 minutes away, is the region's larger medical center.
Schools
Whitefish School District runs Muldown Elementary (kindergarten through fourth grade), Whitefish Middle School (fifth through eighth) and Whitefish High School, plus Whitefish Independent High School for a non-traditional setting.
Flathead Valley Community College, Montana's largest two-year public college, is in Kalispell, about 15 minutes south.
Live from the MLS
Homes for sale in Whitefish
Questions people ask
Buying and selling in Whitefish
How much does a home cost in Whitefish?
The median single-family home in Whitefish sold for $1,300,000 over the 12 months to October 2026, across 234 sales. That's up 13% from $1,150,000 the year before.
Condos and townhomes are the lower-priced option: a median of $815,000 over the same 12 months.
Is Whitefish more expensive than Missoula?
Yes. Over the 12 months to October 2026, the median single-family home sold for $1,300,000 in Whitefish and $588,000 in Missoula, about 2.2 times the Missoula price.
Homes in Whitefish also took a median of 82 days from listing to closing, against 56 in Missoula, so buyers usually have more time and more room to negotiate.
Is Whitefish a buyer's or seller's market right now?
At the end of October 2026, Whitefish had 5.2 months of single-family supply, which is balanced between buyers and sellers. Under about 4 months tends to favor sellers, 4 to 6 is balanced, and over 6 favors buyers.
Sellers got a median of 94.7% of their original asking price over the past 12 months.
How much have Whitefish home prices gone up?
The median single-family sale went from $380,000 in 2016 to $1,341,000 in 2026 so far, up about 253%. Prices climbed fastest from 2020 to 2022 and have kept rising since.
How far is Whitefish from the mountain, Glacier National Park and the airport?
Whitefish Mountain Resort is 8 miles from town, Glacier National Park's west entrance about 25 miles east, Glacier Park International Airport about 11 miles south, Kalispell about 15 minutes, and Missoula about two and a half hours by car.
Thinking about Whitefish?
Get the Whitefish numbers every month.
Prices, days on market and inventory, plus that month's video, the first week of every month.
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