Cost of Living Calculator: Montana
What does it cost to live in Montana? A single adult spends about $3,502 a month — roughly $42,024 a year — on housing, food, transportation, healthcare, and everyday essentials, with housing alone making up about 40.5% of that. Enter your take-home pay and household below to see whether your budget balances in Montana and where your money goes.
Monthly balance in Montana
+$1,737
left over each month · 33.2% savings rate
| Category | Per month | % of income |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | $1,420 | 27.1% |
| Food | $435 | 8.3% |
| Transportation | $615 | 11.7% |
| Healthcare | $379 | 7.2% |
| Other | $653 | 12.5% |
| Total expenses | $3,502 | 66.8% |
Prefills are Montana typical costs for your household; adjust to your real spending. An estimate, not financial advice.
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities (all items), via FRED; BLS CEX national baseline (RPP 94.64, US=100) · as of 2024 · methodology
How the Montana budget works
We prefill each spending category with what's typical for a household your size in Montana, based on the state's regional price level. You can override any number to match how you actually spend.
The tool compares your total monthly expenses against your take-home income, then shows your surplus or shortfall and your savings rate — the share of income you keep after covering costs.
A common benchmark is to keep housing near or below 30% of income and to save at least 20%. The category percentages here let you see, at a glance, where Montana costs push your budget away from those targets.
Housing is the biggest line by far: about $1,420 of the $3,502 monthly total for a single adult in Montana. That's why two people on the same salary can end up with very different budgets — whoever pays more for housing has less left for food, transport, and savings. It's also the first place to look if your Montana budget doesn't balance.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to live in Montana per month?
- About $3,502 a month for a single adult covering housing, food, transportation, healthcare, and other essentials. Larger households cost more but benefit from shared housing — set yours above to see the figure. The typical Montana household earns $75,340 a year before tax, which is what most local budgets are built around.
- Is Montana affordable?
- That depends on your income. This tool balances Montana's typical costs against your take-home pay so you can see your monthly surplus or shortfall directly, rather than relying on a one-size index.
- Where do these Montana cost figures come from?
- They scale a national household budget (US Bureau of Labor Statistics) by Montana's regional price parity (US Bureau of Economic Analysis), and are shown with their date. See our methodology page for the full approach.