What is the cost of living in Missoula?

Missoula has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 96.4, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 94.9, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,361/month.

What is the median salary in Missoula?

The median salary in Missoula is $63,132 annually (mean: $66,291). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.

How safe is Missoula?

The violent crime rate in the Missoula area is 426 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1646 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Missoula?

The state of MT has 826 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 11.3:1. About 84.7% are Title I schools.

How much does childcare cost in Missoula?

Infant center-based childcare in the Missoula area averages $11,466 per year. Preschool averages $10,243/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Missoula a good place to relocate?

Missoula has a Life Score of 38.6/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This places Missoula in the bottom decile of scored metros; compare individual dimensions to see where the biggest gaps are.

Where does Missoula sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Missoula ranks #285 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Missoula, MT

LiveAbility 44.7/100 places Missoula #285 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

96.4
Cost index (US=100): $1,361
2BR rent / mo: $63,132
Median salary: 44.7
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Missoula ranks #285 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (44.7/100), with its strongest marks in schools and low hazard.

#285
of 387 US metros · Near median: 1,137,233
metro-area population: 426
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 826
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: climate (8/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Missoula ranks #285 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 96.4 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,361/mo, median salary $63,132; LiveAbility Score 44.7/100, strongest in schools and low hazard.

Signature: LiveAbility 44.7/100 places Missoula #285 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 96.4 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,361/mo.

LiveAbility 44.7/100 puts Missoula in the bottom third (#285 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Missoula area is 60,010.

Missoula vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

45 Top 74% higher than 26% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Missoula housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Missoula MSA; housing RPP 94.9 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,361/mo.

Studio

$941

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,083

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,361

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,632

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,915

/month

Missoula wages and employment

Missoula posts 60,010 total employment with median salary $63,132.

Median Salary

$63,132

Mean Salary

$66,291

Total Employment

60,010

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$30,510
Retail Salespersons	$35,430
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$38,050
General and Operations Managers	$81,120
Cashiers	$35,610

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Missoula area from NCES.

Schools

826

Enrollment

146,015

Student:Teacher

11.3:1

Title I %

84.7%

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Missoula area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$11,466

per year

Toddler (Center)

$11,929

per year

Preschool (Center)

$10,243

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Missoula's composite Life Score is 38.6/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

36/100

Below average

Wages

38/100

Below average

Rent

42/100

Below average

Crime

24/100

Weak

Schools

9/100

Bottom decile

Childcare

35/100

Below average

Environment

95/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Missoula ranks #285 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 44.7/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Schools (91/100)

Schools

91
Low hazard

63
Air quality

55
Housing

43
Job market

38
Cost of living

36
Safety

24
Climate

8

What this shows Missoula's strongest dimensions are schools and low hazard; its weakest among scored dims is climate at 8/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Missoula to

Macon-Bibb County Madison Manchester-Nashua Manhattan Mankato Mansfield

Metros near Missoula on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Missoula on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Missoula cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Missoula wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

What to do with the Missoula numbers

On the federal data, Missoula shows a $63,132 median salary, a 96.4 cost index and a LiveAbility rank of #285 of 387.

Turn Missoula's pay and cost figures into a number for your own budget. Salary calculator
Line Missoula up against another city, dimension by dimension. Compare Missoula
In this corpus the closest related metro is Abilene; see how the two compare. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score can point in different directions; this guide covers how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Federal-data percentiles for cost, salary and score; they are not a recommendation to move.