Moving to Utah from Montana
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Montana to Utah — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Montana to Utah, you would find that Utah is 5.4% cheaper than Montana. A $75,000 salary in Montana would need to be roughly $70,900 in Utah to maintain the same lifestyle. Billings and Salt Lake City are about 390 mi apart.
Is Utah cheaper than Montana?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 15.0% less
Groceries
pay 6.4% less
Transportation
pay 23.0% more
Housing
pay 10.2% less
Childcare
pay 10.6% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 11.4% 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 Utah?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $70,900
To maintain the same standard of living in Utah
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 Utah cost about 10% less than cities in Montana.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Montana to Utah.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Utah 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 Utah leads in adult smoking rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Montana generally does better on what about housing?, though Utah leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Montana generally does better on infrastructure, though Utah 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
Utah performs significantly 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
Montana generally does better on family life, though Utah leads in life expectancy.
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 Utah vs Montana
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Billings | Salt Lake City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 47°/20°F (8°/-7°C) | 45°/27°F (7°/-3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/43°F (22°/6°C) | 72°/48°F (22°/9°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 85°/52°F (30°/11°C) | 87°/60°F (31°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 51°/25°F (11°/-4°C) | 51°/32°F (10°/0°C) |
View all months
| Month | Billings | Salt Lake City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41°/16°F (4.8°/-9.1°C) | 37°/22°F (3.0°/-5.8°C) |
| Feb | 45°/19°F (7.3°/-7.3°C) | 43°/25°F (6.2°/-3.8°C) |
| Mar | 54°/26°F (12.3°/-3.5°C) | 54°/34°F (12.1°/0.9°C) |
| Apr | 63°/34°F (17.2°/1.1°C) | 62°/40°F (16.4°/4.2°C) |
| May | 72°/43°F (22.3°/5.9°C) | 72°/48°F (22.2°/8.8°C) |
| Jun | 81°/51°F (27.0°/10.6°C) | 83°/56°F (28.3°/13.6°C) |
| Jul | 89°/57°F (31.9°/13.8°C) | 93°/65°F (33.7°/18.2°C) |
| Aug | 89°/55°F (31.5°/12.6°C) | 90°/63°F (32.5°/17.4°C) |
| Sep | 78°/45°F (25.5°/7.2°C) | 79°/53°F (26.2°/11.7°C) |
| Oct | 65°/35°F (18.1°/1.6°C) | 65°/41°F (18.2°/5.2°C) |
| Nov | 49°/24°F (9.7°/-4.2°C) | 49°/31°F (9.7°/-0.8°C) |
| Dec | 39°/15°F (4.0°/-9.2°C) | 38°/23°F (3.3°/-5.2°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Utah than Montana?
Yes — Utah is on average about 5% cheaper than Montana. City-level variation can be significant.
How much money do I need to move to Utah?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $17,725 in Utah on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Utah safe?
Utah performs significantly better than Montana across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Utah compared to Montana?
Montana generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Utah leads in adult smoking rate.
What's the weather like in Utah compared to Montana?
The average high temperature in Salt Lake City is 64°F, compared to 64°F in Billings. Salt Lake City receives around 16.1 in of rainfall per year, while Billings gets 14.2 in.
