Overall
- Helena
- 95.7
Diff -7.4 RPP
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington vs Helena
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Helena is 7.2% less expensive than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington.
7.2% less expensive
Helena, MT is 7.2% less expensive than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 95.7 vs 103.1). A $100,000 salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington buys about the same as $92,807 in Helena; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 103.1 (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington) vs 95.7 (Helena)
- $100k in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ≈ $92,807 purchasing power in Helena
- Rents drives the gap (-27.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:MT 103.1→95.7
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE TX × MT
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington would need to be in Helena for the same purchasing power:
| In Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | In Helena | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $46,404 | $-3,596 |
| $75,000 | $69,605 | $-5,395 |
| $100,000 | $92,807 | $-7,193 |
| $150,000 | $139,211 | $-10,789 |
$ in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington = in Helena
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (103.1 → 95.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Helena, MT is 7.2% less expensive than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 7.4-point overall gap.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is above 100 while Helena is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Helena 27.7 points lower than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington corresponds to $92,807 in Helena.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Helena
- 96.0
Diff -6.8 RPP
Services
- Helena
- 72.6
Diff -18.1 RPP
Rents
- Helena
- 90.1
Diff -27.7 RPP
| Category | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | Helena | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 103.1 | 95.7 | -7.4 |
| Goods | 102.8 | 96.0 | -6.8 |
| Services | 90.7 | 72.6 | -18.1 |
| Rents | 117.9 | 90.1 | -27.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 103.1
Helena 95.7
Goods
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 102.8
Helena 96.0
Services
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 90.7
Helena 72.6
Rents
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 117.9
Helena 90.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
103.1
Cost Index
Helena
95.7
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington and Helena share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 5.4 to 7.4 RPP points. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 14.8 points between the first and latest shared releases (32.8 to 18.1 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington RPP | Helena RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 101.4 | 96.0 | 5.4 points Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington higher |
| 2012 | 100.8 | 92.0 | 8.8 points Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington higher |
| 2016 | 98.0 | 95.6 | 2.5 points Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington higher |
| 2020 | 104.5 | 92.0 | 12.5 points Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington higher |
| 2024 | 103.1 | 95.7 | 7.4 points Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Helena more expensive than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington?
Helena is 7.2% less expensive than Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington. The overall cost index is 95.7 vs 103.1 (national average = 100).
What salary in Helena equals $100K in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington?
A $100,000 salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington has the same purchasing power as $92,807 in Helena. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington and Helena?
Rents in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington are indexed at 117.9 while Helena is at 90.1 (national average = 100). Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.