Moving from California to Montana
Everyone compares rent and groceries. Almost nobody compares the two numbers that actually decide whether a move works: state income tax and property tax. Here is California and Montana, side by side.
Moving to Montana costs about
-$1,650/mo
less than California each month, renting
Worth knowing
The move pays for itself in about 2 months
Moving costs somewhere around $2,733, and Montana runs about $1,650 a month cheaper. After roughly 2 months you are ahead.
California vs Montana at a glance
| California | Montana | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $734,700 | $375,800 |
| Median rent | $2,036/mo | $1,081/mo |
| State income tax | Up to 13.30% | Up to 5.65% |
| Property tax rate | 0.70% | 0.72% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 106 | 96 |
| Utilities | 159 | 72 |
Price levels are indexes where 100 is the national average. They cover everyday spending only; housing is the two rows above.
What changes each month
| Monthly | CA | MT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent)Biggest factor | $2,036 | $1,081 | -$955 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $298 | $263 | -$35 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $120 | $0 | -$120 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,945 | $1,760 | -$185 |
| Utilities | $649 | $295 | -$354 |
| Total | -$1,650 | ||
What the move itself costs
$2,300 to $5,200
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $600 to $900, against roughly $250 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 2-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Los Angeles is not California-average and Billings is not Montana-average, so a specific city can look nothing like its state. Compare metro areas instead to narrow it to 387 real places, including which side of a state line you would live on.
Run this with your own numbers
Estimates only, not advice. Housing and income figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2024); price levels from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024); tax rates are for the 2026 tax year, compiled from state revenue departments and the Tax Foundation. Moving costs are modelled from published ranges rather than quoted. Every figure is a statewide median or average and will not match any particular household.