Moving from Montana to Wisconsin
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 Wisconsin, side by side.
Moving to Wisconsin costs about
+$140/mo
more than Montana each month, renting
Worth knowing
A cheaper house in Wisconsin, a bigger property tax bill
The median home in Wisconsin costs $266,500 against $375,800 in Montana, but you would pay about $3,784 a year in property tax rather than $2,706. The rate more than cancels the lower price.
Montana vs Wisconsin at a glance
| Montana | Wisconsin | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $375,800 | $266,500 |
| Median rent | $1,081/mo | $1,087/mo |
| State income tax | Up to 5.65% | Up to 7.65% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 1.42% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 96 | 94 |
| Utilities | 72 | 90 |
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 | WI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent) | $1,081 | $1,087 | +$6 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $263 | $288 | +$25 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $0 | $73 | +$73 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,760 | $1,729 | -$31 |
| Utilities | $295 | $367 | +$72 |
| Total | +$140 | ||
What the move itself costs
$2,500 to $5,500
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $700 to $1,050, 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 Milwaukee is not Wisconsin-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.