Article Table Of Contents
Everyone wants a home that mixes affordability with comfort and Montana does this very well. Families love the Treasure State's beaches, midlands, and mountains as tourists before moving here and calling it home.
But before you decide to relocate, you have to do some research into the exact cost of living around the state -- and that's how we're going to help you.
These are the places in Montana that cost a pretty penny -- the most expensive cities in the state.
After we saved up for months and could finally afford it, we landed on this list of the ten most expensive cities in Montana for 2021.
So where is the most expensive place to live in Montana? That would be Whitefish.
the 2015-2019 American Community Survey for the 50 places in Montana with more than 1,000 people.
Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in Montana for 2021:
What's the most expensive place to live in Montana? Well, HomeSnacks crunched the numbers and discovered that Whitefish is the most expensive place to live in Montana.
So hopefully Colstrip (the cheapest place to live in Montana) can show these guys how to live on a budget in the coming years. Read on for how these places had costs rise faster than inflation.
And if you already knew these places were expensive, check out some more reading about Montana and the most expensive cities in the country:
The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In Montana For 2021
/10
Population: 7,714
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 7.0x (most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 51.3x (10th most expensive)
More on Whitefish: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Whitefish comes in at $52,037 and the median home value is $364,500 for 2021.
/10
Population: 46,746
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.6x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 51.5x (11th most expensive)
More on Bozeman: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Bozeman comes in at $55,569 and the median home value is $365,600 for 2021.
/10
Population: 1,549
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 8)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.2x (14th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 43.3x (2nd most expensive)
More on Manhattan: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Manhattan comes in at $60,324 and the median home value is $253,900 for 2021.
/10
Population: 73,710
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.9x (3rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 55.2x (14th most expensive)
More on Missoula: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Missoula comes in at $47,426 and the median home value is $279,700 for 2021.
/10
Population: 4,723
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.5x (4th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 42.4x (most expensive)
More on Hamilton: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Hamilton comes in at $32,006 and the median home value is $177,600 for 2021.
/10
Population: 2,182
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.5x (5th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 48.8x (6th most expensive)
More on Stevensville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Stevensville comes in at $33,219 and the median home value is $182,400 for 2021.
/10
Population: 2,212
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.1x (7th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 58.5x (17th most expensive)
More on Red Lodge: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Red Lodge comes in at $48,311 and the median home value is $244,700 for 2021.
/10
Population: 1,645
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.3x (6th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 44.9x (4th most expensive)
More on Eureka: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Eureka comes in at $32,934 and the median home value is $173,400 for 2021.
/10
Population: 4,918
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.1x (8th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 51.0x (9th most expensive)
More on Polson: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Polson comes in at $37,054 and the median home value is $187,200 for 2021.
/10
Population: 7,575
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.9x (11th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 56.7x (15th most expensive)
More on Livingston: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Livingston comes in at $46,097 and the median home value is $224,200 for 2021.
How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Treasure State For 2021
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:
- How much do money do I make?
- How much do I have spend to live there?
You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.
For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it's actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.
With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2015-2019 around incomes and costs. They are:
- Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
- Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
- Median Home Price
We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).
You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Montana to figure out which is the most expensive.
What you are left with is a "Cost of Living Index" by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.
So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 50 places in Montana that have more than 1,000 people.
The place with the highest cost of living in Montana according to the data is Whitefish. You can download the data here.
Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In Montana For 2021
Well there you have it, the places in Montana that have the highest cost of living, with Whitefish ranking as the most expensive city in the Treasure State.
Here's a look at the most affordable cities in Montana according to the data:
- Colstrip
- Scobey
- Chester
For more Montana reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Montana
- Cheapest Places To Live In Montana
- Most Dangerous Cities In Montana
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Montana
- Safest Places In Montana
- Worst Places To Live In Montana
Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In Montana
| Rank | City | ExpensiveScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whitefish | 4.33 |
| 2 | Bozeman | 4.67 |
| 3 | Manhattan | 6.67 |
| 4 | Missoula | 6.67 |
| 5 | Hamilton | 7.33 |
| 6 | Stevensville | 9.0 |
| 7 | Red Lodge | 9.67 |
| 8 | Eureka | 10.0 |
| 9 | Polson | 10.33 |
| 10 | Livingston | 12.0 |
| 11 | Thompson Falls | 12.67 |
| 12 | Kalispell | 14.33 |
| 13 | Dillon | 15.33 |
| 14 | Belgrade | 16.67 |
| 15 | Columbia Falls | 19.0 |
| 16 | Billings | 20.0 |
| 17 | Ronan | 20.33 |
| 18 | Three Forks | 20.67 |
| 19 | Sidney | 20.67 |
| 20 | Great Falls | 21.0 |
| 21 | Helena | 21.33 |
| 22 | Choteau | 23.67 |
| 23 | East Helena | 24.67 |
| 24 | Glendive | 24.67 |
| 25 | Libby | 27.0 |
| 26 | Laurel | 28.67 |
| 27 | Big Timber | 29.67 |
| 28 | Forsyth | 30.67 |
| 29 | Miles City | 30.67 |
| 30 | Roundup | 32.0 |
| 31 | Fort Benton | 32.0 |
| 32 | Lewistown | 33.33 |
| 33 | Plentywood | 34.0 |
| 34 | Columbus | 34.67 |
| 35 | Townsend | 35.33 |
| 36 | Havre | 36.0 |
| 37 | Shelby | 37.33 |
| 38 | Anaconda-Deer Lodge County | 38.67 |
| 39 | Conrad | 38.67 |
| 40 | Deer Lodge | 39.33 |
| 41 | Baker | 39.67 |
| 42 | Hardin | 42.0 |
| 43 | Glasgow | 42.0 |
| 44 | Cut Bank | 42.33 |
| 45 | Malta | 42.67 |
| 46 | Wolf Point | 44.67 |
| 47 | Harlowton | 46.33 |
| 48 | Chester | 46.33 |
| 49 | Scobey | 50.0 |
| 50 | Colstrip | 50.0 |
