Cost of living in Montana

Montana at a glance

Median rent

$1,081

Census ACS, B25064, monthly

Median household income

$72,509

Census ACS, B19013, yearly

Median home value

$375,800

Census ACS, B25077

Median property tax bill

$2,693

Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners

Mean commute

19 min

Census ACS, DP03, one way

Unemployment

3.6%

Census ACS, DP03

Montana's own published state rows, never an average of its counties. Prices overall run 5% below the national average (BEA regional price parity, 2024).

Figures from the 2024 release of the Census American Community Survey, checked September 2026. Health, hazard and price-level readings name their own release beside them.

The three most populous counties in Montana

These are the most populous places in Montana, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

• Yellowstone County

  Population

  169K

  Rent

  $1,131

  Household income

  $76,570

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $2,832

  Set as targetPlan

• Gallatin County

  Population

  124K

  Rent

  $1,694

  Household income

  $93,528

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $3,933

  Set as targetPlan

• Missoula County

  Population

  121K

  Rent

  $1,190

  Household income

  $75,598

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $4,150

  Set as targetPlan

Montana, worth the trip

Admitted to the Union on November 8, 1889, as the 41st state. Members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804 to 1806 were the first non-Native explorers known to have set foot in Montana. Gold discoveries in the early 1860s drew prospectors, which led the federal government to establish Montana Territory in 1864.

• Glacier National Park

  Glaciers, alpine meadows, carved valleys and lakes, with over 700 miles of trails and the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

• Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

  The battlefield where Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors fought the 7th Cavalry on June 25 and 26, 1876.

• Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site

  The ranch that was once the headquarters of a 10 million acre cattle empire.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in Montana

Current owners in Montana pay a median 0.72% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $2,693 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $598 in Wibaux County to $4,150 in Missoula County. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

Health in Montana

Life expectancy

76.9 yrs

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics

No health insurance

10.5%

County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65

Poor or fair health

16.4%

County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted

Injury deaths per 100K people

103

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

Each is the figure County Health Rankings publishes for Montana as a whole, never an average of its counties. Each county's own health readings are on its page.

Natural hazards in Montana

Expected yearly loss, statewide

$754M

All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more

Building loss rate

$1.54

Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states

Costliest hazard

Inland flooding

$277M of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses

Air quality

—

The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

Side by side

Yellowstone County, MT is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

All 56 counties in Montana

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

• State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
• County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
• Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
• Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
• Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
• Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
• Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.