Helena vs Great Falls leftover
Moving to Great Falls costs you $231 a month
$2,219/mo leftover in Great Falls vs $2,450 in Helena after tax and rent ($231 less). −$2,772 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Helena leftover
$2,450
a month after tax and rent
Great Falls leftover
$2,219
−$231 vs Helena
Compare Helena to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Helena.
Monthly gap
Helena → Great Falls
$231
less / month in Helena
$2,219 in Great Falls · $2,450 in Helena · 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, 107 households moved Helena → Great Falls (avg AGI $53,897). 85 went the other way. The whole move →
−$231 / mo
| Per month | Helena | Great Falls | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,500 | $6,898 | −$602 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,875 | $1,661 | −$214 |
| Take-home pay | $5,625 | $5,238 | −$388 |
| Rent | $1,263 | $1,042 | −$221 |
| Getting around | $517 | $583 | +$66 |
| Groceries | $385 | $385 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $433 | $433 | $0 |
| Utilities | $241 | $241 | $0 |
| Everything else | $337 | $337 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,450 | $2,219 | −$231 |
To break even in Great Falls, you'd need to earn
$87,000
Household gross, versus $90,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Helena does now.
The tax difference alone
+$426
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.0% in Helena, 24.1% in Great Falls.
More about Great Falls
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.
Great Falls, MT in full
State income tax topping out at 5.9%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,240 and 197 sunny days; commutes average 17 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Great Falls on Great Falls wages.
Great Falls → Helena →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Great Falls than Helena?
A one-bedroom is about $1,263 in Helena versus $1,042 in Great Falls. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $231 a month lower in Great Falls. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Great Falls have state income tax?
Great Falls is in Montana, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Helena to Great Falls?
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 Helena and Great Falls 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.