Moving to Montana from Iowa
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Iowa to Montana — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Iowa to Montana, you would find that Montana is 15.7% more expensive than Iowa. A $75,000 salary in Iowa would need to be roughly $89,175 in Montana to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Iowa to Montana.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $89,175
To maintain the same standard of living in Montana
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 13.2% more
Groceries
pay 16.9% more
Transportation
pay 8.0% more
Housing
pay 30.8% more
Childcare
pay 23.6% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 0.4% 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 17% more than cities in Iowa.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Iowa 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
Iowa performs better than Montana 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 generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Iowa leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Iowa performs better than Montana across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Montana performs significantly better than Iowa 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
Iowa performs better than Montana 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
Iowa generally does better on family life, though Montana leads in bachelor's degree or higher.
Data: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, OECD Regional Demography, US Census Bureau (American Community Survey)
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Des Moines | Helena |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 39°/21°F (4°/-6°C) | 40°/18°F (4°/-8°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/52°F (22°/11°C) | 67°/41°F (19°/5°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 82°/62°F (28°/17°C) | 81°/50°F (27°/10°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 48°/31°F (9°/-1°C) | 45°/22°F (7°/-6°C) |
View all months
| Month | Des Moines | Helena |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/14°F (-0.6°/-9.8°C) | 33°/13°F (0.7°/-10.6°C) |
| Feb | 36°/19°F (2.3°/-7.3°C) | 39°/17°F (3.7°/-8.4°C) |
| Mar | 49°/30°F (9.4°/-1.3°C) | 48°/24°F (9.0°/-4.3°C) |
| Apr | 62°/41°F (16.8°/5.1°C) | 58°/32°F (14.3°/0.1°C) |
| May | 72°/52°F (22.4°/11.2°C) | 67°/41°F (19.5°/4.9°C) |
| Jun | 82°/62°F (27.6°/16.7°C) | 76°/49°F (24.3°/9.2°C) |
| Jul | 86°/67°F (29.8°/19.3°C) | 86°/54°F (29.8°/12.4°C) |
| Aug | 84°/65°F (28.8°/18.2°C) | 85°/52°F (29.2°/11.2°C) |
| Sep | 76°/55°F (24.5°/12.9°C) | 73°/43°F (22.6°/6.2°C) |
| Oct | 63°/43°F (17.3°/6.1°C) | 59°/33°F (14.8°/0.3°C) |
| Nov | 48°/31°F (8.8°/-0.8°C) | 43°/22°F (6.2°/-5.6°C) |
| Dec | 34°/18°F (1.1°/-7.8°C) | 32°/12°F (-0.2°/-11.2°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Montana than Iowa?
Day-to-day costs in Montana run about 19% higher than Iowa 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 $22,294 in Montana for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Montana safe?
Iowa performs better than Montana across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Montana compared to Iowa?
Montana generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Iowa leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Montana compared to Iowa?
The average high temperature in Helena is 58°F, compared to 60°F in Des Moines. Helena receives around 11.2 in of rainfall per year, while Des Moines gets 36.0 in.
