The county in Montana with the lowest cost of living is Phillips County. The average living wage in Phillips County is $87,120 according to MIT data. Phillips County has the lowest cost of living because it has relatively less expensive childcare and housing costs compared to Montana as a whole. Childcare costs $16,384 a year in Phillips County for two children compared to the Montana average of $16,520. Housing costs, defined as a blend of the average rent and average mortgage payment, are $8,808 per year in Phillips County compared to $10,975 on average in Montana.
The average home value in Phillips County is $141,600 and the average income is $46,686 per year. Part of the reason this county has the lowest cost of living in Montana is a relatively high level of poverty for Montana and higher than average crime rates. These factors make a place less desirable to live, but also push down the cost of living.
Yes, Montana is a dangerous state as it ranks as the #12 most dangerous state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in Montana ranks 11th most dangerous in the United States -- 27.05% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Treasure State ranks 22nd most dangerous in the United States -- 8.51% worse than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022.
Yes, Billings is a dangerous city. Billings ranks as the #37 most dangerous out of 328 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Billings might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are.
Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Billings ranks 48th highest in America -- 67.84% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks 38th highest in the United States -- 58.19% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022 and that no city in America is "dangerous". Despite the uptick in murders, it's nothing like you'd see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.
The cost of living in Montana is 0.0% lower than the US average. According to MIT, the required living wage for a family of four with two working parents in Montana is $89,744 vs the national average for a family of four with two working parents of $89,744. The median income of a Montana household is $56,539.
The cheapest housing market in Montana is Roundup. The average home value in Roundup is $86,100, the lowest in the state. The average home value in Montana is $244,900, almost 2.8 times higher than Roundup.