Living Expenses In Montana: Compare The Numbers

Every day, it seems like it's more expensive to live in Montana.

I live in a home that's 650 square feet, it's small, but it's mine.  I moved in at the end of January of 2020.  At that time, to live in my 650 square foot house, it cost roughly $950 a month to RUN THE HOUSE.  Rent, city, gas, and electric.  Fast forward to now, it's about $1,010 just to run the house with water, garbage, gas and electric.  This doesn't include any other bills like internet, car payments, phone bill etc.  If I add those things in, it gets closer to $2,000 a month.

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Doxo says people who live in Great Falls are spending about $1,738 a month to run their households.  That works out to 40% of the annual income of a Great Falls resident.  The average salary in Great Falls is around $53,266.

Great Falls is the second most affordable town in the state.

Montana's Most Expensive Town:

Before Yellowstone became a thing, who would have thought that Bozeman would be the most expensive place in the state?  Up until Yellowstone, and rich companies buying up the land around Bozeman, it was always the Kalispell area.

Doxo is highlighting both Bozeman and the least expensive town in Montana for comparison.

Cost of Living In Bozeman:

Doxo reports people living in Bozeman are paying about $2,449 a month (43% of their income) on living expenses. The average annual salary is $69,825/year.  It works out to Bozeman residents paying about 4,827 a year MORE than the average American.

Now, let's move to the other end of the spectrum.  Montana's most affordable town is one that you either absolutely love it or hate it.

Montana's Least Expensive Town:

Butte is the most affordable town to live in in the state.

This surprises me in that I thought it would be a small town.  It appears that Doxo is comparing the larger cities in Montana.

Cost Of Living In Butte:

According to Doxo residents of Butte spend an average of $1,666 a month on household expenses spending 41% of their annual income.  The average yearly salary in Butte is $49,167.