Moving to Montana: City Guides, Checklist & Tips
Updated July 2026
Montana levies no state sales tax — one of only a handful of states where everyday purchases arrive untaxed. Billings, the state's largest city at roughly 121,000 residents, anchors the economy of the eastern half: a regional medical and commercial hub for a trade area of more than 500,000 people spanning eastern Montana, northern Wyoming, and western South Dakota, led by healthcare, energy, and agriculture. The cost of living there runs about 5% below the national average — a composite index of 94.6 — with a median home price of $379,000, a 16-minute average commute, and unemployment at 3.6% as of 2025. This hub collects our city-by-city relocation guides for Montana, plus the practical steps to become a resident.
Montana City Guides
Billings
Montana's largest city — an affordable regional hub for healthcare and energy, with Yellowstone within day-trip range.
Read the Billings guide →
Montana Living and Vacationing Quick Reference
Living here
- State income tax
- A progressive tax with a top rate of 5.9% as of 2026
- Sales tax
- None — Montana is one of only a handful of states with no state sales tax
- Median home price
- Roughly $505,000 to $530,000 statewide as of 2026, pulled up by resort markets; $379,000 in Billings
- Cost of living
- About 5% below the national average in Billings — a composite index of 94.6
- Driver's license deadline
- 60 days after moving to start the license transfer — 30 days if you hold a commercial license
- Population
- About 1.15 million as of 2026, one of the least populous states in the country
Visiting first
- Main airport
- Billings Logan International (BIL), the state's busiest, though Bozeman Yellowstone International (BZN) is close behind for park access
- National parks
- Two — Glacier, entirely within Montana, and Yellowstone, which puts three of its five entrances (West, North, and Northeast) in the state
- Best scouting months
- July and August, when Glacier's Going-to-the-Sun Road is reliably fully open
- The cold, honestly
- Montana winters are real, but not uniform — Chinook winds can raise temperatures 40 to 50 degrees in hours, and a mountain valley can sit 30 degrees colder than a spot a thousand feet higher, a few miles away
- Not all mountains
- Much of eastern Montana is rolling Great Plains wheat country, not the peaks the state's name and tourism photos suggest
- Getting around
- Distances are long and towns are far apart — Billings to Glacier National Park is roughly a 4-hour drive
How Montana Got Its Name
Montana is Spanish for "mountain" — a name attached in 1864 by James Ashley, an Ohio congressman who chaired the committee that drew and named new territories. The irony is that much of the state east of the Rockies isn't mountainous at all; it's rolling Great Plains. Those plains carry a quieter distinction: scattered across central Montana and run from Malmstrom Air Force Base outside Great Falls sit roughly 150 Minuteman III missile silos of the 341st Missile Wing, one of the nation's three intercontinental ballistic missile fields. Some of the emptiest-looking wheat country in America is also some of its most strategically consequential.
How to Become a Montana Resident
Establishing residency unlocks a Montana driver's license, vehicle registration, in-state tuition, and resident access to state parks and programs. You establish residency in Montana by doing any one of the following — you don't need all of them:
- Renting or buying a house or apartment in Montana
- Being employed within Montana
- Being registered to vote in Montana
- Having a business located in Montana
- Having children who attend a Montana primary or secondary school
Montana Moving Checklist
- Transfer your driver's license and register your vehicle — deadlines in the quick reference above
- Update your car insurance policy to meet Montana requirements
- Register to vote at your new address
- Update your health insurance and other policies, and find new providers
- Transfer medical, dental, and school records, and enroll children in your new district
- Take care of financial details — banks, loans, and investments
- License your pets and find a local veterinarian
- Set up utilities and file your change of address with USPS
- Review the tax picture: Montana has no state sales tax
Questions Movers Ask About Montana
Does Montana have an income tax?
Yes — a progressive state income tax with a top rate of 5.9% as of 2026. What Montana does not have is a state sales tax, one of only a handful of states to skip it entirely, so everyday purchases go untaxed at the register.
How expensive is it to live in Montana?
In Billings, the state's largest city, the cost of living runs about 5% below the national average — a composite index of 94.6 — with a median home price of $379,000. Statewide, home prices run higher, in the $505,000 to $530,000 range as of 2026, reflecting pricier mountain-town and resort markets like Bozeman and Big Sky.
How long do I have to get a Montana driver's license after moving?
60 days. Montana's Motor Vehicle Division requires new residents to start the license transfer within 60 days of moving — 30 days if you hold a commercial license. College students and active-duty military stationed in Montana are generally exempt.
How many national parks does Montana have?
Two, and one is shared. Glacier National Park sits entirely within Montana. Yellowstone National Park is mostly in Wyoming, but Montana holds three of its five entrances — West, North at Gardiner, and Northeast at Cooke City.
Is Montana really that cold?
Winters are genuinely cold, but not uniformly so. Chinook winds — warm, dry gusts off the Rockies — can raise the temperature 40 to 50 degrees in a matter of hours, and a valley floor can sit 30 degrees colder than a slope a thousand feet higher just a few miles away. Cities like Billings, Missoula, and Bozeman also run several degrees warmer than the surrounding rural areas.
Which Montana city should I move to?
Billings is the state's largest city and the practical answer for most movers — a regional hub for healthcare, energy, and agriculture, with a below-average cost of living and Yellowstone within day-trip range. It's also the only Montana city with a dedicated ScoutLocale guide so far.
Moving to Montana from Another State?
We compare the two states side by side — taxes, housing, and what changes on day one:
Sources and Data Notes
Residency options, license and vehicle-registration deadlines, and tax rates on this page reflect requirements published by the Montana Motor Vehicle Division and the Montana Department of Revenue. Cost, housing, and job-market figures draw on the public datasets used across ScoutLocale's city guides, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, BestPlaces.net, and Niche.com.
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