Moving to Montana from Tennessee
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Tennessee to Montana — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Tennessee to Montana, you would find that Montana is 3.8% more expensive than Tennessee. A $75,000 salary in Tennessee would need to be roughly $77,800 in Montana to maintain the same lifestyle. Nashville and Billings are about 1,300 mi apart.
Is Montana cheaper than Tennessee?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 9.9% more
Groceries
pay 4.4% less
Transportation
pay 2.7% more
Housing
pay 5.2% more
Childcare
pay 5.2% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 8.9% 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.
What salary do you need in Montana?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $77,800
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 14% more than cities in Tennessee.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Tennessee to Montana.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Montana performs significantly better than Tennessee 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 performs significantly better than Tennessee across all health & wellbeing metrics.
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 Tennessee leads in median home value.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Montana performs significantly better than Tennessee 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
Tennessee generally does better on employment & economy, though Montana leads in median household income.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Montana performs significantly better than Tennessee 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 Tennessee
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Nashville | Billings |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 53°/33°F (12°/1°C) | 47°/20°F (8°/-7°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 78°/56°F (26°/14°C) | 72°/43°F (22°/6°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 87°/66°F (30°/19°C) | 85°/52°F (30°/11°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 60°/40°F (16°/4°C) | 51°/25°F (11°/-4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Nashville | Billings |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47°/28°F (8.3°/-2.0°C) | 41°/16°F (4.8°/-9.1°C) |
| Feb | 52°/32°F (11.0°/-0.2°C) | 45°/19°F (7.3°/-7.3°C) |
| Mar | 61°/39°F (16.1°/3.9°C) | 54°/26°F (12.3°/-3.5°C) |
| Apr | 71°/47°F (21.4°/8.6°C) | 63°/34°F (17.2°/1.1°C) |
| May | 78°/57°F (25.7°/13.8°C) | 72°/43°F (22.3°/5.9°C) |
| Jun | 86°/65°F (30.0°/18.6°C) | 81°/51°F (27.0°/10.6°C) |
| Jul | 89°/69°F (31.8°/20.8°C) | 89°/57°F (31.9°/13.8°C) |
| Aug | 89°/68°F (31.7°/20.2°C) | 89°/55°F (31.5°/12.6°C) |
| Sep | 82°/61°F (28.0°/15.9°C) | 78°/45°F (25.5°/7.2°C) |
| Oct | 72°/49°F (22.1°/9.4°C) | 65°/35°F (18.1°/1.6°C) |
| Nov | 60°/39°F (15.7°/4.1°C) | 49°/24°F (9.7°/-4.2°C) |
| Dec | 49°/31°F (9.7°/-0.4°C) | 39°/15°F (4.0°/-9.2°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Montana than Tennessee?
No — Montana is on average about 4% more expensive than Tennessee. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Montana?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $19,450 in Montana on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Montana safe?
Montana performs significantly better than Tennessee across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Montana compared to Tennessee?
Montana performs significantly better than Tennessee across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Montana compared to Tennessee?
The average high temperature in Billings is 64°F, compared to 70°F in Nashville. Billings receives around 14.2 in of rainfall per year, while Nashville gets 47.2 in.
