Compare cities and metro areas ranked by the 2024 BEA cost-of-living index in Montana. 5 metro areas are available.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Billings, MT has the lowest overall Regional Price Parity in this Montana ranking at 93.5. The national average is 100, so this comparison identifies the lowest relative price level among the metro areas BEA reports; it does not estimate a household budget or citywide inflation.
A data-shaped reading
The sequence below follows the strongest decision signal in this state's component mix, metro spread, retained-release movement, and national-benchmark coverage.
Component driver
Services are the lowest component in Billings, MT at 72.4. Rents sit at 77.4 and goods at 96.0, so the result does not follow the usual cheap-housing script. The advantage is more relevant to households buying local labor-intensive services than to a renter choosing solely on lease price.
National benchmark coverage
4 of 5 listed metros are below the U.S. baseline, averaging 97.0 overall and 99.8 for rents. The majority supports a real affordable cluster, while the remaining above-benchmark metros prevent the label from being generalized to the state.
Strength of the lead
Billings, MT leads Helena, MT by 2.1 points. That is large enough to distinguish the first row from the immediate alternative, while the 9.0-point statewide range still leaves room for a different metro to fit a job or housing search better.
Latest retained release
From 2023 to 2024, Billings, MT's overall RPP rose by 3.2 points. The largest component move was rents, which changed by + 4.4 points. Because RPP is relative to the national price level, this describes movement against the U.S. benchmark, not literal deflation or inflation in a household's bills.
| # | Metro | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billings, MT | 93.5 |
| 2 | Helena, MT | 95.7 |
| 3 | Missoula, MT | 96.4 |
| 4 | Great Falls, MT | 96.8 |
| 5 | Bozeman, MT | 102.5 |
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities Index where national average = 100
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
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.