Pros, cons, key stats, and the strongest Montana cities to consider. Based on our analysis of 23 tracked Montana city markets.
It depends on your budget and city choice. The better answer is city-specific: Montana contains both stronger and weaker markets, and the right fit depends on your budget, job needs, climate tolerance, and tax situation.
Pros
- No statewide sales tax
- Healthy housing-market momentum in tracked cities (70/100 median)
- Positive population growth across tracked cities (+1.9%/yr median)
- Lewistown is one of the strongest current city signals in Montana
Cons
- Social Security may be taxed by the state, depending on income
- Expensive tracked-city housing ($531,103 median)
- Fewer large/mid-size city options than bigger states (23 tracked)
- Best-known places can price above the statewide median
What this means in practice
Across 23 tracked Montana city markets, the median home costs $531,103 with a 1-year change of +0.6% and a median momentum score of 70 out of 100.
On taxes, No state sales tax. Income tax up to 5.9%. Partial SS tax (federally-taxable portion). Modest property tax. That matters because the cheapest state on paper can still be expensive if property tax, insurance, or local housing costs overwhelm the headline rate.
State-level averages mask city-level variation — within any state, individual cities can have radically different cost, climate, and trajectory. Use the strongest-momentum cities below as a starting point.
Top 5 Montana cities by momentum
- Lewistown — momentum 82, median $291,540
- Helena — momentum 75, median $477,090
- Great Falls — momentum 74, median $337,690
- Havre — momentum 72, median $233,525
- Polson — momentum 72, median $567,618