Moving to Montana from Utah
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Utah to Montana — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Utah to Montana, you would find that Montana is 5.7% more expensive than Utah. A $75,000 salary in Utah would need to be roughly $79,300 in Montana to maintain the same lifestyle. Salt Lake City and Billings are about 390 mi apart.
Is Montana cheaper than Utah?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 17.6% more
Groceries
pay 6.8% more
Transportation
pay 18.7% less
Housing
pay 11.3% more
Childcare
pay 11.9% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 12.9% 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 → $79,300
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 12% more than cities in Utah.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Utah to Montana.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Utah 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
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
Utah 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
Utah performs 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
Utah generally does better on family life, though Montana leads in bachelor's degree or higher.
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 Utah
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Salt Lake City | Billings |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 45°/27°F (7°/-3°C) | 47°/20°F (8°/-7°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/48°F (22°/9°C) | 72°/43°F (22°/6°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 87°/60°F (31°/16°C) | 85°/52°F (30°/11°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 51°/32°F (10°/0°C) | 51°/25°F (11°/-4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Salt Lake City | Billings |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37°/22°F (3.0°/-5.8°C) | 41°/16°F (4.8°/-9.1°C) |
| Feb | 43°/25°F (6.2°/-3.8°C) | 45°/19°F (7.3°/-7.3°C) |
| Mar | 54°/34°F (12.1°/0.9°C) | 54°/26°F (12.3°/-3.5°C) |
| Apr | 62°/40°F (16.4°/4.2°C) | 63°/34°F (17.2°/1.1°C) |
| May | 72°/48°F (22.2°/8.8°C) | 72°/43°F (22.3°/5.9°C) |
| Jun | 83°/56°F (28.3°/13.6°C) | 81°/51°F (27.0°/10.6°C) |
| Jul | 93°/65°F (33.7°/18.2°C) | 89°/57°F (31.9°/13.8°C) |
| Aug | 90°/63°F (32.5°/17.4°C) | 89°/55°F (31.5°/12.6°C) |
| Sep | 79°/53°F (26.2°/11.7°C) | 78°/45°F (25.5°/7.2°C) |
| Oct | 65°/41°F (18.2°/5.2°C) | 65°/35°F (18.1°/1.6°C) |
| Nov | 49°/31°F (9.7°/-0.8°C) | 49°/24°F (9.7°/-4.2°C) |
| Dec | 38°/23°F (3.3°/-5.2°C) | 39°/15°F (4.0°/-9.2°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Montana than Utah?
No — Montana is on average about 6% more expensive than Utah. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Montana?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $19,825 in Montana on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Montana safe?
Utah performs better than Montana across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Montana compared to Utah?
Montana generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Utah leads in adult smoking rate.
What's the weather like in Montana compared to Utah?
The average high temperature in Billings is 64°F, compared to 64°F in Salt Lake City. Billings receives around 14.2 in of rainfall per year, while Salt Lake City gets 16.1 in.
