Moving from Montana to Arizona
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 Montana and Arizona, side by side.
Moving to Arizona costs about
+$500/mo
more than Montana each month, renting
Worth knowing
Groceries and everyday goods barely change
The weekly shop costs within $12 a month of what you pay now. Almost all of the difference between these two states is housing and taxes, not day-to-day spending.
Montana vs Arizona at a glance
| Montana | Arizona | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $375,800 | $394,500 |
| Median rent | $1,081/mo | $1,543/mo |
| State income tax | Up to 5.65% | Flat 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 0.48% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 96 | 95 |
| Utilities | 72 | 92 |
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 | MT | AZ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent)Biggest factor | $1,081 | $1,543 | +$462 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $263 | $149 | -$114 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $0 | $84 | +$84 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,760 | $1,748 | -$12 |
| Utilities | $295 | $377 | +$82 |
| Total | +$500 | ||
What the move itself costs
$2,400 to $5,300
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $650 to $950, against roughly $400 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 3-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Billings is not Montana-average and Phoenix is not Arizona-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.