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State relocation profile · Federal data

Montana

Cost of living, fair-market rent, wages, safety, schools and childcare for Montana - every figure straight from federal data.

94.6
Cost index (US=100)
$1,335
2BR rent / mo
$65,917
Median salary
40.1
Life Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Montana scores 40.1/100 (F) on the composite Life Score, with its strongest marks in environment and cost of living.

40.1
Life Score · F
94.6
Cost of living (US=100)
$65,917
Median annual salary (BLS)
$1,335
2BR fair-market rent / mo (HUD)

Weakest dimension: schools (18/100). State-level figures are a benchmark, individual metros can diverge sharply, so weigh each dimension against your own priorities.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and five other federal agencies, Montana has a cost-of-living index of 94.6 (100 = national average), a median 2-bedroom rent of $1,335/mo, and a median salary of $65,917. Its composite Life Score is 40.1/100 (F), with its strongest marks in environment and cost of living.

How Montana ranks nationally

Where Montana's composite Life Score falls among all 51 US states scored.

Life Score distribution - Montana marked 0 US states at 0–10 0 0 US states at 10–20 10 0 US states at 20–30 20 5 US states at 30–40 5 30 16 US states at 40–50 16 40 24 US states at 50–60 24 50 6 US states at 60–70 6 60 0 US states at 70–80 70 0 US states at 80–90 80 0 US states at 90–100 90 Life Score →
Bottom 12% by Life Score Lower Life Score than 88% of all 51 US states.

Montana has life score of 40.1. Distribution: 0 US states at 0-10; 0 US states at 10-20; 0 US states at 20-30; 5 US states at 30-40; 16 US states at 40-50; 24 US states at 50-60; 6 US states at 60-70; 0 US states at 70-80; 0 US states at 80-90; 0 US states at 90-100.

Evaluating Montana as a relocation target starts with the statewide BEA Regional Price Parity of 94.6 - where 100 is the national average, so every point above or below translates to percent-level cost of living difference. Housing costs in Montana index at 84.6, goods at 96.0, and services at 72.3. HUD Fair Market Rents averaged across Montana counties put a 2-bedroom at $1,335/month, the figure HUD uses to cap Section 8 voucher payments, so it reflects real submarket rents rather than listings bias.

On the income side, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a statewide median salary of $65,917 with a mean of $68,656 across 499,050 tracked jobs. For safety context, FBI UCR data shows a violent crime rate of 426 per 100,000 residents and a property crime rate of 1646 per 100K. These state-level reads let you benchmark Montana against both your origin state and national medians before zooming into specific metros.

Family and education costs often decide a move. Department of Labor data for Montana shows center-based infant care running $11,466/year, preschool at $10,243/year, and toddler care at $11,929/year. Montana contains 5 metropolitan statistical areas in our dataset - Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls and more - each with its own rent, wage and crime profile that can diverge sharply from the statewide average. The composite Life Score of 40.1/100 (F) folds all seven federal sources into one number for quick comparison.

Key Metrics

Cost of Living (RPP)
94.6
100 = national avg
Avg 2BR Rent (FMR)
$1,335
per month
Median Salary
$65,917
annual
Violent Crime Rate
426
per 100K

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for Montana (DOL data).

Infant (Center)
$11,466
per year
Toddler (Center)
$11,929
per year
Preschool (Center)
$10,243
per year

Life Score Breakdown

Montana's composite Life Score is 40.1/100 (F), computed across 7 dimensions.

Strongest dimension: Environment (90/100)

Montana - Life Score dimensions

Percentile vs all US states (100 = best in the nation for that dimension)

/100

What this shows Montana's strongest dimensions are environment and cost of living; its weakest is schools at 18/100. Each dimension is a federal-data percentile; the composite folds all seven into one comparable figure.

Source BEA · HUD · BLS · FBI · NCES · DOL · EPA As of Federal data, latest available vintage
Cost
58/100
Above average
Wages
20/100
Weak
Rent
42/100
Below average
Crime
22/100
Weak
Schools
18/100
Bottom decile
Childcare
41/100
Below average
Environment
90/100
Elite

Metros in Montana

Explore detailed relocation data for 5 metropolitan areas in Montana.

Billings, MT Bozeman, MT Great Falls, MT Helena, MT Missoula, MT

Relocation Guides

In-depth guides to help with your relocation research.

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Cost vs. Quality of Life

How cost of living correlates with livability across US metros.

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Relocating within or to Montana?

State figures are the benchmark, drill into a metro before you commit.

  • Montana has 5 metro areas with rent, wage and crime profiles that diverge from the statewide average, start with Billings. View Billings
  • Put two places on the same scorecard across cost, rent, wages, safety and schools before you decide. Compare metros
  • See how every US metro ranks on the composite LiveAbility Score, then re-weight it to your priorities. Rankings

Cost, rent and wages are state-level reads; safety, schools and childcare use state data where metro-level isn't published. Always verify the latest figures at the official source before you move.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cost of living in Montana?
Montana has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 94.6, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 84.6, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom fair market rent is $1,335/month.
What is the median salary in Montana?
The median salary in Montana is $65,917 annually (mean: $68,656). Total employment across the state is 499,050.
How safe is Montana?
The violent crime rate in Montana is 426 per 100,000 population. The property crime rate is 1646 per 100K.
How much does childcare cost in Montana?
Infant center-based childcare in Montana averages $11,466 per year. Preschool averages $10,243/year. Toddler care averages $11,929/year. These are state-level averages from the Department of Labor.
How many metro areas are in Montana?
Montana has 5 metropolitan statistical areas tracked by PlainRelocate, including Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls and 2 more.
Is Montana a good state to relocate to?
Montana has a Life Score of 40.1/100 (F), based on 7 dimensions: cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment. This is a below-average score, several dimensions likely pull the composite down; compare specific dimensions to see which ones.

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

Data Sources

  • Cost of Living: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities
  • Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR)
  • Wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES)
  • Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)
  • Schools: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
  • Childcare: Department of Labor (DOL)
  • Environment: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

This information is for research purposes only.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Related

Browse all → | Rankings →

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau →

Every figure on PlainRelocate is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.