Moving from California to Montana
California to Montana is a move of about 1,052 miles. Median rent is $1,081 a month in Montana and $2,036 in California, and the median home is $375,800 against $734,700. State income tax is up to 5.65% in Montana and up to 13.30% in California. Property tax runs 0.72% of home value in Montana and 0.70% in California.
Moving to Montana costs about
$1,650/mo
less than California each month, renting on a $80,000 household income
Not your income? Run it on your own numbers
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 value | $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.
Monthly cost of living: California vs Montana
| 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 | -$1,649 | ||
Cost to move from California to Montana
$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
What jobs pay in Montana, after the cost of living
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.