Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The difference between a comfortable retirement and a tight one often comes down to location. In Montana — known for Big Sky country with an inflating housing bubble, we evaluated 1 cities on healthcare costs, tax burden, and cost of living. Billings is the top pick for 2026.
#1 Ranked: Billings — cost index 81, rent $1,383/mo, income $71,855
Retiree-weighted scoring: healthcare index 96, state tax 5.9%, cost index 81 — protecting fixed retirement income
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
The difference between a comfortable retirement and a tight one often comes down to location. In Montana — known for Big Sky country with an inflating housing bubble, we evaluated 1 cities on healthcare costs, tax burden, and cost of living. Billings is the top pick for 2026.
Here's Billings by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 81. That's more or less in line with the region. Rent: $1,383/month. Income: $71,855/year. Home price: $390,654. Population: 120,864. The strongest category is Housing at 81; the most expensive is Healthcare at 96. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $6,144 per year vs. the national median. Even in a down market, this kind of cost structure protects household budgets.
That said, State context matters: Montana's 1 cities average a 81 cost index with $1,383/month median rent and $71,855 household income. Big Sky country with an inflating housing bubble. Below, we name the single metric that lifts this city past every competitor.
Bottom line: Billings leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers.
120,864 residents · Montana
What does daily life actually cost in Billings? Start with the 23% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. On the category level, Housing (index 81) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 96) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $71,855 and homes at $390,654 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to retirees. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in Montana by this personalized metric. 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 81 and median income of $71,855.
Billings scores highest for retirees due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,383/mo, and competitive 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.