Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Real talk: Dollar for dollar, few states match Montana's value. 1 out of 1 cities undercut the national cost index of 112 — for better or worse — . Leading the pack: Billings at index 100, where median rent of $1,383/month saves renters $6,144/year versus the national median (not adjusted for inflat…
#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
Real talk: Dollar for dollar, few states match Montana's value. 1 out of 1 cities undercut the national cost index of 112 — for better or worse — . Leading the pack: Billings at index 100, where median rent of $1,383/month saves renters $6,144/year versus the national median (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
The healthcare sub-index is derived from overall cost of living with regional BLS price adjustments. And with some exceptions, a score of 103 (the top-10 average here) means healthcare costs are about -3% below the national median. Billings leads at 103. Note: a low healthcare index doesn't guarantee a low overall cost — check the full cost breakdown table below.
A closer look at Billings: the cost index of 100 — for better or worse — 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 (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours.
120,864 residents · Montana
The #1 spot goes to Billings, and the breakdown explains why. And depending on your situation, you get the picture. Renters here pay $1,383/month — saving renters $6,144 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 92, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Healthcare at 103. At a 23% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget.
Cities are ranked by their healthcare 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 healthcare index at 103, 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.