How Affordable Is Living In Montana?

Soon, we will be making resolutions to lose weight, hit the gym, find love, make a career change, or maybe even move to a new place.

For those of you who are considering doing that last one, I have to tell you: don't move to Montana. Now, I don't care if you move here; I'm a transplant myself. However, several locals don't want you moving here. But that's not the reason for not moving here, at least not my reason.

My reason for you not moving here is that it's expensive. However, don't just take my word for it; new data suggests that a majority of states in the United States are cheaper to live in than Montana.

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The folks over at Seven Seas Worldwide, which is a shipping company, gathered data from all 50 states to determine which states were the most affordable to call home. They used a few different metrics to determine the rankings, including rent, median home price, and utilities.

Where does Montana rank when it comes to affordability?

Well, Big Sky Country isn't the most expensive place to call home in America, but it is nowhere near the cheapest. In case you're curious, if you're wondering which state is the cheapest, that would be the great state of Arkansas. Now, I've been to Arkansas, and it's a lovely place, especially the northwestern part, but the random banjo music scares a lot of folks off.

So what about Montana?

According to the data, Montana ranks 33rd for affordability. I'm going to be honest, I thought we would be lower on the list, but I live in Bozeman, where the rent and home prices are outrageous.

Which states are more expensive to live in than Montana?

Folks won't be shocked to hear that both California and Hawaii are more expensive, but there are some northeastern states like Massachusetts and New York on the list. Our friends over in Washington and Oregon cost more than we do, which is why so many of the transplants are from California, Washington, and Oregon.

However, the real shocker to me was that the state of Florida costs more to live in than Montana. Having lived in Florida, I'm not sure that's true. Oh sure, you have to run the AC 11 months a year, but the rent and home prices are lower, at least compared to Bozeman.

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