Moving from South Carolina to Montana
South Carolina to Montana is a move of about 2,181 miles. Median rent is $1,081 a month in Montana and $1,180 in South Carolina, and the median home is $375,800 against $259,000. State income tax is up to 5.65% in Montana and up to 6.00% in South Carolina. Property tax runs 0.72% of home value in Montana and 0.48% in South Carolina.
Moving to Montana costs about
$300/mo
less than South Carolina 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 15 months
Moving costs somewhere around $4,223, and Montana runs about $300 a month cheaper. After roughly 15 months you are ahead.
South Carolina vs Montana at a glance
| South Carolina | Montana | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home value | $259,000 | $375,800 |
| Median rent | $1,180/mo | $1,081/mo |
| State income tax | Up to 6.00% | Up to 5.65% |
| Property tax rate | 0.48% | 0.72% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 96 | 96 |
| Utilities | 88 | 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: South Carolina vs Montana
| Monthly | SC | MT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent) | $1,180 | $1,081 | -$99 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $304 | $263 | -$41 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $88 | $0 | -$88 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,766 | $1,760 | -$6 |
| Utilities | $361 | $295 | -$66 |
| Total | -$300 | ||
Cost to move from South Carolina to Montana
$3,600 to $7,700
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $1,000 to $1,400, against roughly $650 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 4-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Greenville is not South Carolina-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.