Bozeman vs Helena leftover
You'd keep $617 more a month in Helena
$2,450/mo leftover in Helena vs $1,833 in Bozeman after tax and rent ($617 more). +$7,404 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Bozeman leftover
$1,833
a month after tax and rent
Helena leftover
$2,450
+$617 vs Bozeman
Compare Bozeman to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Bozeman.
Monthly gap
Bozeman → Helena
$617
more / month in Helena
$2,450 in Helena · $1,833 in Bozeman · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 311 households moved Bozeman → Helena (avg AGI $70,675). 202 went the other way. The whole move →
+$617 / mo
| Per month | Bozeman | Helena | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,125 | $7,500 | +$375 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,741 | $1,875 | +$133 |
| Take-home pay | $5,384 | $5,625 | +$242 |
| Rent | $1,684 | $1,263 | −$421 |
| Getting around | $472 | $517 | +$45 |
| Groceries | $385 | $385 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $433 | $433 | $0 |
| Utilities | $241 | $241 | $0 |
| Everything else | $337 | $337 | $0 |
| Left over | $1,833 | $2,450 | +$617 |
To break even in Helena, you'd need to earn
$78,500
Household gross, versus $85,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Bozeman does now.
The tax difference alone
−$265
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.4% in Bozeman, 25.0% in Helena.
More about Helena
Bozeman, MT in full
State income tax topping out at 5.9%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $2,005 and 203 sunny days; commutes average 19 minutes.
Helena, MT in full
State income tax topping out at 5.9%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,503 and 197 sunny days; commutes average 19 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Helena on Helena wages.
Helena → Bozeman →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Helena than Bozeman?
A one-bedroom is about $1,684 in Bozeman versus $1,263 in Helena. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $617 a month higher in Helena. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Helena have state income tax?
Helena is in Montana, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Bozeman to Helena?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Montana tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Bozeman and Helena moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.