Moving to Montana from Arkansas
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Arkansas to Montana — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Arkansas to Montana, you would find that Montana is 18.8% more expensive than Arkansas. A $75,000 salary in Arkansas would need to be roughly $89,100 in Montana to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Helena averages 58°F vs 72°F in Little Rock, making it significantly cooler.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Arkansas to Montana.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $89,100
To maintain the same standard of living in Montana
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 8.0% more
Groceries
pay 12.9% more
Transportation
pay 16.6% more
Housing
pay 27.4% more
Childcare
pay 24.0% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 16.8% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Montana cost about 18% more than cities in Arkansas.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Arkansas and Montana stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Montana performs significantly better than Arkansas across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Montana performs significantly better than Arkansas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Arkansas generally does better on what about housing?, though Montana leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Montana performs significantly better than Arkansas across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Montana performs significantly better than Arkansas across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Montana performs significantly better than Arkansas across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Little Rock | Helena |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 56°/38°F (13°/3°C) | 40°/18°F (4°/-8°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 80°/61°F (27°/16°C) | 67°/41°F (19°/5°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 89°/70°F (32°/21°C) | 81°/50°F (27°/10°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 62°/44°F (17°/7°C) | 45°/22°F (7°/-6°C) |
View all months
| Month | Little Rock | Helena |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 49°/33°F (9.7°/0.4°C) | 33°/13°F (0.7°/-10.6°C) |
| Feb | 54°/36°F (12.4°/2.4°C) | 39°/17°F (3.7°/-8.4°C) |
| Mar | 64°/44°F (17.6°/6.8°C) | 48°/24°F (9.0°/-4.3°C) |
| Apr | 73°/53°F (22.7°/11.6°C) | 58°/32°F (14.3°/0.1°C) |
| May | 80°/62°F (26.8°/16.4°C) | 67°/41°F (19.5°/4.9°C) |
| Jun | 88°/69°F (31.2°/20.7°C) | 76°/49°F (24.3°/9.2°C) |
| Jul | 92°/73°F (33.4°/22.7°C) | 86°/54°F (29.8°/12.4°C) |
| Aug | 92°/72°F (33.3°/22.2°C) | 85°/52°F (29.2°/11.2°C) |
| Sep | 84°/65°F (29.1°/18.1°C) | 73°/43°F (22.6°/6.2°C) |
| Oct | 73°/54°F (23.0°/12.3°C) | 59°/33°F (14.8°/0.3°C) |
| Nov | 62°/44°F (16.5°/6.6°C) | 43°/22°F (6.2°/-5.6°C) |
| Dec | 51°/35°F (10.7°/1.7°C) | 32°/12°F (-0.2°/-11.2°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Montana than Arkansas?
Day-to-day costs in Montana run about 19% higher than Arkansas on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Montana?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $22,275 in Montana for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Montana safe?
Montana performs significantly better than Arkansas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Montana compared to Arkansas?
Montana performs significantly better than Arkansas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Montana compared to Arkansas?
The average high temperature in Helena is 58°F, compared to 72°F in Little Rock. Helena receives around 11.2 in of rainfall per year, while Little Rock gets 50.0 in.
