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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
On a student budget, the math is brutal: loans, part-time income, zero margin. We ranked 1 cities in Montana on rent, food costs, and overall affordability. Billings leads with rent at $1,383/mo and a food index of 93.
#1 Ranked: Billings — cost index 81, rent $1,383/mo, income $71,855
Student-budget scoring: rent $1,383/mo, food index 93, cost index 81 — survival-level affordability
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
On a student budget, the math is brutal: loans, part-time income, zero margin. We ranked 1 cities in Montana on rent, food costs, and overall affordability. Billings leads with rent at $1,383/mo and a food index of 93.
At $1,383/month for rent and a cost index of 81, Billings is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. Income is $71,855. That tracks.
Student affordability boils down to three survival metrics: rent under $1,200/month (25pts), overall cost index (20pts), and food costs (10pts). And as a general rule, billings leads at $1,383/month rent with a food index of 93 — 7% below the national food cost baseline.
Surprising? Maybe. But the data's clear.
Now, the part that complicates the narrative: Across Montana, the average cost of living index is 81 — 30 points below the national median. Known for Big Sky country with an inflating housing bubble, the state offers 1 tracked cities with median rents averaging $1,383/month. That's $512 less than the national average of $1,895. If you've ever felt priced out, the numbers here offer a different path.
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
Billings earns its position at #1 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 81 cost index sits 30 points below the national baseline, and the $71,855 median income means purchasing power here is amplified by the low cost base. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is. Homes list at $390,654 — $76,716 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 81, while Healthcare trails at 96.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to students. 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 students 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.