Moving to California from Montana
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Montana to California — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Montana to California, you would find that California is 17.3% more expensive than Montana. A $75,000 salary in Montana would need to be roughly $89,928 in California to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Sacramento averages 74°F vs 58°F in Helena, making it significantly warmer.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Montana to California.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $89,928
To maintain the same standard of living in California
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 9.0% more
Groceries
pay 13.8% more
Transportation
pay 32.0% more
Housing
pay 30.2% more
Childcare
pay 23.6% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 21.1% 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 California cost about 31% more than cities in Montana.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Montana and California 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 better than California 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
California 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 better than California across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Montana generally does better on infrastructure, though California leads in internet access.
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 generally does better on employment & economy, though California leads in gdp per capita.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
California performs significantly better than Montana across all family life metrics.
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 | Helena | Sacramento |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 40°/18°F (4°/-8°C) | 60°/41°F (15°/5°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 67°/41°F (19°/5°C) | 79°/51°F (26°/11°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 81°/50°F (27°/10°C) | 90°/57°F (32°/14°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 45°/22°F (7°/-6°C) | 65°/44°F (18°/7°C) |
View all months
| Month | Helena | Sacramento |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33°/13°F (0.7°/-10.6°C) | 54°/39°F (12.1°/3.8°C) |
| Feb | 39°/17°F (3.7°/-8.4°C) | 60°/41°F (15.7°/5.2°C) |
| Mar | 48°/24°F (9.0°/-4.3°C) | 65°/44°F (18.4°/6.7°C) |
| Apr | 58°/32°F (14.3°/0.1°C) | 71°/46°F (21.7°/7.9°C) |
| May | 67°/41°F (19.5°/4.9°C) | 80°/51°F (26.6°/10.6°C) |
| Jun | 76°/49°F (24.3°/9.2°C) | 87°/56°F (30.6°/13.2°C) |
| Jul | 86°/54°F (29.8°/12.4°C) | 92°/58°F (33.4°/14.7°C) |
| Aug | 85°/52°F (29.2°/11.2°C) | 91°/58°F (32.9°/14.4°C) |
| Sep | 73°/43°F (22.6°/6.2°C) | 87°/56°F (30.7°/13.2°C) |
| Oct | 59°/33°F (14.8°/0.3°C) | 78°/50°F (25.3°/10.1°C) |
| Nov | 43°/22°F (6.2°/-5.6°C) | 64°/43°F (17.7°/6.0°C) |
| Dec | 32°/12°F (-0.2°/-11.2°C) | 54°/38°F (12.2°/3.6°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in California than Montana?
Day-to-day costs in California run about 20% higher than Montana on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to California?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $22,482 in California for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is California safe?
Montana performs better than California across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in California compared to Montana?
California generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Montana leads in diabetes rate.
What's the weather like in California compared to Montana?
The average high temperature in Sacramento is 74°F, compared to 58°F in Helena. Sacramento receives around 18.5 in of rainfall per year, while Helena gets 11.2 in.
