Helena vs Missoula leftover
Moving to Missoula costs you $405 a month
$2,045/mo leftover in Missoula vs $2,450 in Helena after tax and rent ($405 less). −$4,860 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
Missoula leftover
$2,045
−$405 vs Helena
Compare Helena to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Helena.
Monthly gap
Helena → Missoula
$405
less / month in Helena
$2,045 in Missoula · $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, 142 households moved Helena → Missoula (avg AGI $48,965). 133 went the other way. The whole move →
−$405 / mo
| Per month | Helena | Missoula | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,500 | $6,750 | −$750 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,875 | $1,608 | −$267 |
| Take-home pay | $5,625 | $5,142 | −$483 |
| Rent | $1,263 | $1,210 | −$53 |
| Getting around | $517 | $492 | −$25 |
| Groceries | $385 | $385 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $433 | $433 | $0 |
| Utilities | $241 | $241 | $0 |
| Everything else | $337 | $337 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,450 | $2,045 | −$405 |
To break even in Missoula, you'd need to earn
$88,500
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
+$531
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.0% in Helena, 23.8% in Missoula.
More about Missoula
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.
Missoula, MT in full
State income tax topping out at 5.9%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,440 and 189 sunny days; commutes average 19 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Missoula on Missoula wages.
Missoula → Helena →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Missoula than Helena?
A one-bedroom is about $1,263 in Helena versus $1,210 in Missoula. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $405 a month lower in Missoula. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Missoula have state income tax?
Missoula is in Montana, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Helena to Missoula?
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 Missoula 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.