Moving from Montana to Delaware
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 Delaware, side by side.
Moving to Delaware costs about
+$540/mo
more than Montana each month, renting
Worth knowing
Utilities cost 44% more in Delaware
Power, gas and water run about $129 a month more in Delaware than in Montana. It is the cost people forget to check, and over a year it is roughly $1,546.
Montana vs Delaware at a glance
| Montana | Delaware | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $375,800 | $352,000 |
| Median rent | $1,081/mo | $1,401/mo |
| State income tax | Up to 5.65% | Up to 6.60% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 0.50% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 96 | 96 |
| Utilities | 72 | 104 |
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 | DE | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent)Biggest factor | $1,081 | $1,401 | +$320 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $263 | $337 | +$74 |
| Local income tax (state average) | None | $11 | +$11 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,760 | $1,763 | +$3 |
| Utilities | $295 | $424 | +$129 |
| Total | +$540 | ||
What the move itself costs
$3,700 to $7,800
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $1,000 to $1,450, against roughly $800 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 5-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Billings is not Montana-average and Dover is not Delaware-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.