California vs Montana

Household income

Currently in

Moving to

Your $100,000 in California is worth

$90,334

at national prices · RPP 110.7BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

The same income in Montana is worth

$105,708

at national prices · RPP 94.6BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

Your income goes +$15,374 further in Montana (+17.0% purchasing power).

Show the math

adjusted = income ÷ (RPP ÷ 100)

California: $100,000 ÷ (110.7 ÷ 100) = $90,334

Montana: $100,000 ÷ (94.6 ÷ 100) = $105,708

difference: $105,708 − $90,334 = +$15,374

Where the difference comes from

Price level by component, 100 = US average. Higher means more expensive.

Regional price parity by component for the two states, with the percentage difference.
Component	California	Montana	Difference
All items	110.7	94.6	−14.5%
Housing rents	154.3	84.6	−45.2%
Goods	106.1	96.0	−9.5%
Utilities	158.9	72.3	−54.5%
Other services	102.6	98.7	−3.8%

BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 · rel. February 2026 · Official API

Housing reality check

Typical rent and home price in each state — tangible context beyond the index.

CaliforniaMedian rent$2,036/moMedian home$734,700

MontanaMedian rent$1,081/moMedian home$375,800

US Census ACS 5-Year Estimates · ACS5 · 2024 · rel. December 2025 · Official API

Tax at a glance

Hand-curated, tax year 2026 · verified 2026-07-20

Income and sales tax for the two states.
Tax	California	Montana
Income tax (top rate)	13.30%	5.65%
Sales tax (combined avg)	8.99%	0.00%

Tax Foundation (income & sales) · Tax · 2026 · rel. tax year 2026 · Manually maintained · verified 2026-07-20

Official API Manually maintained2 of 3 metrics sourced from official APIs, 1 manually maintained. How every number is calculated →

California vs Montana: the read

The bottom line

Move a $100,000 income from California to Montana and its purchasing power changes from $90,334 to $105,708 in national-average terms — a gain of $15,374. Montana is the cheaper of the two, running at 94.6 on the price index versus 110.7.

Where the difference comes from

The widest gap is utilities: California sits at 158.9 and Montana at 72.3 (100 = national). Montana has the edge there, and it's the main reason the two states diverge.

Housing

Median rent runs $2,036 in California against $1,081 in Montana, and the typical home $734,700 versus $375,800. Montana is the more affordable place to buy.

Taxes

On tax, California has 13.30% top income tax and a combined sales tax of 8.99%; Montana has 5.65% top income tax and 0.00%. Weigh both against the purchasing-power figure above.

Full profiles: California ·Montana. Every figure here is sourced on the pages linked above.

Comparing a different pair?Use the full tool →