Moving to Indiana from Montana
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Montana to Indiana — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Montana to Indiana, you would find that Indiana is 13.7% cheaper than Montana. A $75,000 salary in Montana would need to be roughly $64,800 in Indiana to maintain the same lifestyle. Billings and Indianapolis are about 1,200 mi apart.
Is Indiana cheaper than Montana?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 17.9% less
Groceries
pay 6.5% less
Transportation
pay 3.8% less
Housing
pay 19.2% less
Childcare
pay 10.0% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 18.8% 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 Indiana?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $64,800
To maintain the same standard of living in Indiana
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 Indiana cost about 15% less than cities in Montana.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Montana to Indiana.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Indiana performs significantly 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 Indiana leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Indiana performs significantly 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 better than Indiana 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
Indiana generally does better on employment & economy, though Montana leads in poverty rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Montana performs better than Indiana 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 Indiana vs Montana
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Billings | Indianapolis |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 47°/20°F (8°/-7°C) | 42°/26°F (6°/-3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/43°F (22°/6°C) | 72°/53°F (22°/12°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 85°/52°F (30°/11°C) | 81°/63°F (27°/17°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 51°/25°F (11°/-4°C) | 51°/35°F (11°/2°C) |
View all months
| Month | Billings | Indianapolis |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41°/16°F (4.8°/-9.1°C) | 35°/21°F (1.7°/-6.1°C) |
| Feb | 45°/19°F (7.3°/-7.3°C) | 40°/24°F (4.4°/-4.4°C) |
| Mar | 54°/26°F (12.3°/-3.5°C) | 51°/33°F (10.8°/0.8°C) |
| Apr | 63°/34°F (17.2°/1.1°C) | 63°/44°F (17.1°/6.4°C) |
| May | 72°/43°F (22.3°/5.9°C) | 72°/53°F (22.5°/11.7°C) |
| Jun | 81°/51°F (27.0°/10.6°C) | 81°/63°F (27.4°/17.4°C) |
| Jul | 89°/57°F (31.9°/13.8°C) | 84°/67°F (28.8°/19.2°C) |
| Aug | 89°/55°F (31.5°/12.6°C) | 83°/65°F (28.4°/18.3°C) |
| Sep | 78°/45°F (25.5°/7.2°C) | 77°/57°F (25.1°/13.9°C) |
| Oct | 65°/35°F (18.1°/1.6°C) | 64°/45°F (18.0°/7.3°C) |
| Nov | 49°/24°F (9.7°/-4.2°C) | 52°/36°F (11.0°/2.3°C) |
| Dec | 39°/15°F (4.0°/-9.2°C) | 38°/25°F (3.6°/-3.9°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Indiana than Montana?
Yes — Indiana is on average about 14% cheaper than Montana. City-level variation can be significant.
How much money do I need to move to Indiana?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $16,200 in Indiana on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Indiana safe?
Indiana performs significantly better than Montana across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Indiana compared to Montana?
Montana generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Indiana leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Indiana compared to Montana?
The average high temperature in Indianapolis is 62°F, compared to 64°F in Billings. Indianapolis receives around 40.8 in of rainfall per year, while Billings gets 14.2 in.
