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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Dollar for dollar, few states match Montana's value. 1 out of 1 cities undercut the national cost index of 112. Leading the pack: Billings at index 100, where median rent of $1,383/month saves renters $6,144/year versus the national median.
#1 Ranked: Billings — cost index 100, rent $1,383/mo, income $71,855
1 of 1 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 112
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Dollar for dollar, few states match Montana's value. 1 out of 1 cities undercut the national cost index of 112. Leading the pack: Billings at index 100, where median rent of $1,383/month saves renters $6,144/year versus the national median.
Dive into Billings's numbers: cost index 100 (12 points below national average), rent $1,383/month, income $71,855, and a home price of $390,654. It lines up with what you'd expect. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 92, while Healthcare runs 103. With 120,864 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
The food & groceries sub-index is derived from overall cost of living with regional BLS price adjustments. And roughly speaking, a score of 98 (the top-10 average here) means food & groceries costs are about 2% below the national median. Billings leads at 98. Note: a low food & groceries index doesn't guarantee a low overall cost — check the full cost breakdown table below (which, to be fair, is a metric that favors smaller cities).
The state-level view adds helpful context here. Montana — Big Sky country with an inflating housing bubble. The 1 cities we track here average a cost index of 100 and median income of $71,855. It's a clear buyer's market compared to national norms. The typical rent runs $1,383/month, which is $512 less than the national median (that's pre-tax, of course).
Real talk: What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
120,864 residents · Montana
A closer look at Billings: the cost index of 100 breaks down to a Utilities index of 92 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 103 (weakest). Median rent is $1,383/month — 27% below the national median — while household income sits at $71,855, meaning locals spend about 23% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard.
Cities are ranked by their food & groceries cost sub-index within Montana. Each sub-index is derived from the overall cost of living with regional adjustment factors. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Billings ranks #1 in Montana for this analysis with a cost index of 100 and median income of $71,855.
Billings, MT has the lowest food & groceries index at 98, compared to the national average of 100.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Billings is $1,383/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $512 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Billings is $390,654, which is 5.4× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. The national median home price is $467,370.
Montana has a 5.9% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 0%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.74%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.