Overall
93.5
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Billings, MT
Cost-of-living indicators for Billings, MT, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 93.5
- Overall RPP
- #195
- of 387 metros
- 77.4
- Rents RPP
- $107K
- $100K national buys
Billings ranks #195 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Bloomington
The verdict
Billings costs less than 50% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 93.5, 6.5% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 72.4.
- bottom 50%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 96.0
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 72.4
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $106,922 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $93,526.
Service-cost relief profile
How Billings's cost structure works
Services provide the strongest cost offset in Billings: their index is 72.4, farther below the national baseline than rents or tradable goods. The overall RPP of 93.5 therefore has a different source than a place with cheaper housing instead.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Chattanooga, TN-GA, Lexington-Fayette, KY, Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN. They resemble Billings across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Billings's overall index has stayed within 1.4 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Billings vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
94 Top 50% higher than 50% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Billings cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
77.4 RPP
- Services
Services
72.4 RPP
- Overall
Overall
93.5 RPP
- Goods
Goods
96 RPP
What this shows Billings's strongest departure is services at 72.4; rents follows at 77.4. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Billings's cost comes from
Metros near Billings's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Billings (Billings, this metro): goods RPP 96, rents RPP 77.4
- Bloomington: goods RPP 93.6, rents RPP 74.7
- Scranton: goods RPP 100.7, rents RPP 67
- Monroe: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 74.6
- Homosassa Springs: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 78.4
- Roanoke: goods RPP 96.8, rents RPP 78.5
- Lafayette: goods RPP 94.3, rents RPP 76.4
Price Index Summary
Goods
96.0
Below avg
Services
72.4
Cheap
Rents
77.4
Cheap
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 1.4 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2020, when the index dropped 3.5 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Billings overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.0 |
| 2009 | 95.8 |
| 2010 | 95.0 |
| 2011 | 96.8 |
| 2012 | 98.0 |
| 2013 | 96.3 |
| 2014 | 97.1 |
| 2015 | 96.8 |
| 2016 | 94.8 |
| 2017 | 97.2 |
| 2018 | 94.2 |
| 2019 | 95.7 |
| 2020 | 92.2 |
| 2021 | 92.3 |
| 2022 | 91.7 |
| 2023 | 90.3 |
| 2024 | 93.5 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Billings's overall RPP rose +3.2 points, from 90.3 in 2023 to 93.5 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 72.9 to 77.4. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$93,526
in Billings, MT purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$46,763
$75,000 nationally
$70,145
$125,000 nationally
$116,908
$150,000 nationally
$140,289
$200,000 nationally
$187,052
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
C
53/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability C
53rd percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Billings's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Chattanooga, TN-GA
Goods 96.0 · Services 74.2 · Rents 76.5 Lexington-Fayette, KY
Goods 96.2 · Services 74.6 · Rents 77.1 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN
Goods 96.2 · Services 75.0 · Rents 78.6 Memphis, TN-MS-AR
Goods 96.2 · Services 74.1 · Rents 79.8 Clarksville, TN-KY
Goods 96.2 · Services 72.5 · Rents 73.8 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR
Goods 93.6 · Services 75.1 · Rents 76.9
MT-relative analysis
Goods prices places Billings, MT near the bottom of MT's metros
Among the 5 MT metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Billings, MT ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Billings, MT only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 5
0th percentile in MT
Services prices
#4 of 5
20th percentile in MT
Rent prices
#5 of 5
0th percentile in MT
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within MT only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Billings, MT: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (93.5 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (77.4 here).
Other MT Metros
View all MT metros → Cheapest in MT → Most expensive in MT →
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Billings, MT's index of 93.5.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Compare to Other Metros
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
What this means for Billings
How to read Billings's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $106,922 in Billings. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 72.4, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Billings head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Billings, MT?
Billings, MT has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 93.5, meaning it is 6.5% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 96.0, services at 72.4, and rents at 77.4. It ranks #195 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Billings, MT to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $93,526 in Billings, MT. Conversely, $100K earned in Billings, MT has the purchasing power of $106,922 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Billings, MT?
Rents in Billings, MT are indexed at 77.4, which is 22.6% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Billings, MT getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Billings, MT's overall cost index changed by -1.4 points (from 95.0 to 93.5). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Billings, MT?
The priciest category in Billings, MT is goods at 96.0, 4.0% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is services at 72.4, 27.6% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Billings, MT?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Bloomington, Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, Monroe. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Billings, MT's 93.5.
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.