What salary do you need to live in Great Falls, MT?

What housing costs in Great Falls

Census figures put the median gross rent in the Great Falls, MT metro at $679 for a one-bedroom, $967 for a two-bedroom and $1,193 for a three-bedroom. Moving from one to two bedrooms adds $288 a month, and the third bedroom another $226.

On the ownership side, the typical owner-occupied home is valued at $265,300. That works out to 3.9× the local median household income of $67,690, a mid-range ratio.

Price levels matter beyond rent. The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures Great Falls's overall prices at 96.8 on a scale where the nation is 100, which makes a $100,000 salary feel like about $103,258 would elsewhere.

How much you need to earn in Great Falls

The salary lines for a two-bedroom household land at $33,000 for Tight, $65,000 for Okay and $131,000 for Comfortable. The gap between the Okay and Comfortable lines alone is $66,000, which says how much extra income it takes to make housing feel roomy here rather than merely workable.

The Royal grade is within reach at $368,000 a year, where both rent and the median home price look small next to income.

How they were found: the same scoring function the calculator runs was evaluated at rising incomes until each cutoff was crossed, and the crossing rounded up to a whole $1,000.

Four salaries, three home sizes in Great Falls

At $75,000 home size barely changes the picture: one, two and three bedrooms all grade Okay, with scores from 46 to 55.

Read down the two-bedroom column and the first Comfortable row is $150,000, consistent with the $131,000 line above.

How Great Falls ranks among 387 metros

Ranked against all 387 metros, Great Falls sits 132nd on overall price level and 322nd on the two-bedroom rent median, counting from the most expensive. Its median home value ranks 191st.

Its nearest neighbors on the rent list are Minot, ND ($971) and Johnson City, TN ($964).

Great Falls next to Montana and similar metros

Statewide, Montana's median two-bedroom rent is $1,099 and its median home value $375,800. Great Falls's rent is −12% against that, and its home value −29%; the price parity is 96.8 versus 94.6 for the state.

Run Montana's statewide medians through the same score and Comfortable begins at $156,000; Great Falls's line is −16% from that.

If Great Falls is on your list, Helena, MT, Billings, MT, and Missoula, MT are the most similar Montana metros by two-bedroom rent and price level; the table shows where each turns Comfortable.

Does the typical Great Falls income clear the bar?

What about a typical local household? Census puts median household income here at $67,690, which grades Okay (46) for a two-bedroom at the median rent. Reaching Comfortable would take $63,310 more than the median household earns. For Montana as a whole, the median household income of $72,509 scores 43 against statewide rents. Household income can include more than one earner, so a single salary of the same size goes less far.

These are pre-tax estimates from public statistics, not financial advice.