Moving to Montana from Massachusetts
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Massachusetts to Montana — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Massachusetts to Montana, you would find that Montana is 16.9% cheaper than Massachusetts. A $75,000 salary in Massachusetts would need to be roughly $62,300 in Montana to maintain the same lifestyle. Boston and Billings are about 1,850 mi apart.
Is Montana cheaper than Massachusetts?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 2.3% less
Groceries
pay 15.9% less
Transportation
pay 13.8% less
Housing
pay 26.8% less
Childcare
pay 33.7% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 5.2% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Montana?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $62,300
To maintain the same standard of living in Montana
Calculate with your salary →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 16% less than cities in Massachusetts.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Massachusetts to Montana.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Massachusetts 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
Massachusetts generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Montana leads in diabetes rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Montana performs significantly better than Massachusetts across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Massachusetts generally does better on infrastructure, though Montana leads in average commute.
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
Massachusetts generally does better on employment & economy, though Montana leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Massachusetts performs better than Montana 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
Weather in Montana vs Massachusetts
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Boston | Billings |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 40°/26°F (4°/-3°C) | 47°/20°F (8°/-7°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 66°/50°F (19°/10°C) | 72°/43°F (22°/6°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 78°/62°F (25°/17°C) | 85°/52°F (30°/11°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 51°/38°F (11°/3°C) | 51°/25°F (11°/-4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Boston | Billings |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36°/22°F (2.1°/-5.4°C) | 41°/16°F (4.8°/-9.1°C) |
| Feb | 39°/25°F (3.7°/-4.1°C) | 45°/19°F (7.3°/-7.3°C) |
| Mar | 45°/31°F (7.4°/-0.5°C) | 54°/26°F (12.3°/-3.5°C) |
| Apr | 56°/41°F (13.1°/4.8°C) | 63°/34°F (17.2°/1.1°C) |
| May | 66°/50°F (18.9°/9.9°C) | 72°/43°F (22.3°/5.9°C) |
| Jun | 76°/60°F (24.4°/15.3°C) | 81°/51°F (27.0°/10.6°C) |
| Jul | 81°/65°F (27.4°/18.6°C) | 89°/57°F (31.9°/13.8°C) |
| Aug | 80°/65°F (26.4°/18.1°C) | 89°/55°F (31.5°/12.6°C) |
| Sep | 72°/57°F (22.4°/14.1°C) | 78°/45°F (25.5°/7.2°C) |
| Oct | 61°/47°F (16.3°/8.1°C) | 65°/35°F (18.1°/1.6°C) |
| Nov | 51°/38°F (10.8°/3.3°C) | 49°/24°F (9.7°/-4.2°C) |
| Dec | 41°/28°F (5.1°/-2.1°C) | 39°/15°F (4.0°/-9.2°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Montana than Massachusetts?
Yes — Montana is on average about 17% cheaper than Massachusetts. City-level variation can be significant.
How much money do I need to move to Montana?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $15,575 in Montana on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Montana safe?
Massachusetts performs better than Montana across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Montana compared to Massachusetts?
Massachusetts generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Montana leads in diabetes rate.
What's the weather like in Montana compared to Massachusetts?
The average high temperature in Billings is 64°F, compared to 59°F in Boston. Billings receives around 14.2 in of rainfall per year, while Boston gets 43.8 in.
