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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Look, Dollar for dollar, few states match Montana's value. You get the picture. 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.
120,864 residents · Montana
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. 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.
#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
Look, Dollar for dollar, few states match Montana's value. You get the picture. 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.
The ranking uses a composite of 2026 data from Census Bureau population/income surveys, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary benchmarks, and Tax Foundation tax rates. And broadly, billings (index 100, rent $1,383). Each city profile below links to the full detail page with 12-month trends, salary breakdowns, and cost category comparisons. Not flashy. Just effective.
Look, Here's Billings by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). And generally speaking, cost index: 100. Rent: $1,383/month. 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. Over thirty years of homeownership, the property tax savings alone are staggering (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.
Cities are ranked by total population from the latest Census estimates. Growing populations typically signal economic opportunity — but also rising costs. We pair population data with affordability metrics for context. 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.
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.