Moving from Washington to Montana
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 Washington and Montana, side by side.
Moving to Montana costs about
-$750/mo
less than Washington each month, renting
Worth knowing
The move pays for itself in about 3 months
Moving costs somewhere around $2,236, and Montana runs about $750 a month cheaper. After roughly 3 months you are ahead.
Washington vs Montana at a glance
| Washington | Montana | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $564,600 | $375,800 |
| Median rent | $1,760/mo | $1,081/mo |
| State income tax | No state income tax | Up to 5.65% |
| Property tax rate | 0.81% | 0.72% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 104 | 96 |
| Utilities | 93 | 72 |
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 | WA | MT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent)Biggest factor | $1,760 | $1,081 | -$679 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $0 | $263 | +$263 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $101 | $0 | -$101 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,913 | $1,760 | -$153 |
| Utilities | $379 | $295 | -$84 |
| Total | -$750 | ||
What the move itself costs
$1,800 to $4,200
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $450 to $650, against roughly $200 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 2-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Seattle is not Washington-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
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.