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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The numbers are clear: 1 of 1 cities in Montana beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 112. Billings stands out at 100 on the index, with rent of $1,383/month and household income of $71,855. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data.
#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
The numbers are clear: 1 of 1 cities in Montana beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 112. Billings stands out at 100 on the index, with rent of $1,383/month and household income of $71,855. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data.
Why Billings ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 100 on the cost index, residents save roughly 12% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,383/month while the median household pulls in $71,855/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 92, though Healthcare (103) lags behind. Home prices average $390,654 — $76,716 below the national median.
The housing sub-index is derived from overall cost of living with regional BLS price adjustments. A score of 100 (the top-10 average here) means housing costs are about 0% below the national median. Billings leads at 100. Note: a low housing index doesn't guarantee a low overall cost — check the full cost breakdown table below.
What you won't find on most comparison sites: The 1 cities we track in Montana paint a clearly affordable picture. Average cost index: 100. Median rent: $1,383/month. Household income: $71,855. Montana is known for Big Sky country with an inflating housing bubble — and the data backs that reputation convincingly.
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
Here's Billings by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). And most of the time, cost index: 100. Rent: $1,383/month — we had to double-check this one — . Income: $71,855/year. Home price: $390,654. Population: 120,864. The strongest category is Utilities at 92; the most expensive is Healthcare at 103. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $6,144 per year vs. the national median. In a market where everything is going up, this stands still — in a good way.
Cities are ranked by their housing 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 housing index at 100, 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.