Montana vs Idaho

Household income

Currently in

Moving to

Your $100,000 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

The same income in Idaho is worth

$104,712

at national prices · RPP 95.5BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

Your income goes −$996 less far in Idaho (−0.9% purchasing power).

Show the math

adjusted = income ÷ (RPP ÷ 100)

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

Idaho: $100,000 ÷ (95.5 ÷ 100) = $104,712

difference: $104,712 − $105,708 = −$996

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	Montana	Idaho	Difference
All items	94.6	95.5	+1.0%
Housing rents	84.6	90.0	+6.4%
Goods	96.0	96.3	+0.3%
Utilities	72.3	70.4	−2.6%
Other services	98.7	99.0	+0.3%

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.

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

IdahoMedian rent$1,238/moMedian home$418,600

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	Montana	Idaho
Income tax (top rate)	5.65%	5.30%
Sales tax (combined avg)	0.00%	6.03%

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 →

Montana vs Idaho: the read

The bottom line

Move a $100,000 income from Montana to Idaho and its purchasing power changes from $105,708 to $104,712 in national-average terms — a loss of $996. Montana is the cheaper of the two, running at 94.6 on the price index versus 95.5.

Where the difference comes from

The widest gap is housing rents: Montana sits at 84.6 and Idaho at 90 (100 = national). Montana has the edge there, and it's the main reason the two states diverge.

Housing

Median rent runs $1,081 in Montana against $1,238 in Idaho, and the typical home $375,800 versus $418,600. Montana is the more affordable place to buy.

Taxes

On tax, Montana has 5.65% top income tax and a combined sales tax of 0.00%; Idaho has 5.30% top income tax and 6.03%. Weigh both against the purchasing-power figure above.

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

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