Montana cost of living
Prices in Montana run at 94.6 against a national average of 100, which makes it the 30th most expensive of the 51 jurisdictions. Housing is the part that separates states: rents there sit at 84.6.
Where the difference actually is
Prices in Montana run at 94.6 where the national average is 100, so about 5.4 per cent below the country as a whole. It ranks #30 of 51 states.
Housing is unusually cheap relative to everything else here. Rents sit at 84.6 against goods at 96.0 and other services at 72.3, so the overall figure of 94.6 understates how affordable the housing itself is. Services, which are priced by local wages, are what hold the overall number up. Goods at 96.0 are themselves 4 points off national, which is a wide gap for a category that is mostly shipped in.
Low prices only help if pay does not fall by more. Dividing the local median wage by 94.6 is how to check, and the wage pages carry that comparison.
The vertical line is the national average of 100. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, SARPP, 2024.
What it costs, in actual money
Parities are ratios. These are the figures behind them for Montana, drawn from the other datasets on this site.
| Montana | |
|---|---|
| Median home value | $338,100 |
| Median gross rent | $1,031 a month |
| Median household income | $69,922 |
| Average electricity bill | $113 a month |
| Effective property tax | 0.75% |
Metro areas in Montana
Within a state, cities and rural areas diverge sharply. A statewide parity averages over that.
| Metro area | All items | Goods | Rents | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bozeman | 102.5 | 96.0 | 139.2 | #51 |
| Great Falls | 96.8 | 96.0 | 97.1 | #133 |
| Missoula | 96.4 | 96.0 | 94.9 | #141 |
| Helena | 95.7 | 96.0 | 90.1 | #151 |
| Billings | 93.5 | 96.0 | 77.4 | #194 |
Montana cost of living: common questions
Is Montana expensive to live in?
Prices overall are 5.4% below the national average, at a parity of 94.6 where 100 is the country as a whole. It ranks #30 of 51. Goods run at 96.0, rents at 84.6 and other services at 72.3.
What is a salary in Montana really worth?
The median wage there is $47,360. Adjusted for local prices that buys what $50,063 buys nationally. A state that pays well and costs more can leave a household no better off, and this is the arithmetic that shows it.
What is a regional price parity?
An official measure from the Bureau of Economic Analysis of what a dollar buys in one place against the national average, set at 100. It is built from the same price collection that underlies the consumer price index, extended to compare places rather than time periods. It is the only government measure of cost of living differences between states.
Why is housing treated separately?
Because it carries most of the difference. In Montana rents sit 10 points below the state's overall parity. Goods barely vary between states, since most of them are shipped nationally; services vary more; housing varies enormously. Any cost of living comparison that does not separate housing is mostly measuring housing anyway.