Cost Of Living in Helena Valley West Central, MT

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Helena Valley West Central	Montana	National
Cost of living	107	101	100
Goods & Services	90	104	100
Groceries	100	103	100
Health care	93	98	100
Housing	138	99	100
Transportation	103	109	100
Utilities	93	93	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Helena Valley West Central is 6% higher than the Montana average
The cost of living in Helena Valley West Central is 7% higher than the national average
Helena Valley West Central housing is 38% higher than the national average
Montana general sales tax is 100% lower than the national average
Montana state income tax is 61% lower than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$81,472	$6,789	$1,901	$2,444
Renters	$41,222	$3,435	$962	$1,237

The affordability of the housing market in Helena Valley West Central, MT as well as the overall cost of living can be predicted by what percent of the monthly income is spent on housing related costs. This is konwn as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The overall rule of thumb is that no more than 28% of your gross income should be spent on the overall costs related to housing and no more than 36% of gross income on all expenses and debts. Among Helena Valley West Central homeowners, the median income is $81,472. This indicates that a monthly maximum of $1,901 should be spent by homeowners on all housing related costs. Renters have a median income of $41,222. This indicates that renters would have a maximum of $962 for their rent related monthly costs.

Montana Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Montana	0%	0%

Montana Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Montana	1%	6.75%

Goods & Services

Item	Helena Valley West Central	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$15.71	$24.26	35.2%
Beauty Salon	$37.87	$45.56	16.9%
Toothpaste	$4.19	$3.70	13.3%
Shampoo	$1.16	$1.28	9.2%
Movie	$12.99	$12.13	7.1%
Bowling	$16.78	$18.00	6.8%

Groceries

Item	Helena Valley West Central	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$6.31	$5.84	8.0%
Fried Chicken	$1.59	$1.57	1.2%
Milk	$4.55	$4.67	2.5%
Potatoes	$4.61	$4.93	6.5%
Pizza	$12.03	$12.09	0.5%
Beer	$10.57	$10.41	1.5%

Health Care

Item	Helena Valley West Central	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$105.94	$125.68	15.7%
Doctor	$115.67	$135.78	14.8%
Dentist	$112.63	$113.29	0.6%
Ibuprofen	$10.57	$10.65	0.7%
Lipitor	$444.64	$468.60	5.1%

Housing

Item	Helena Valley West Central	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$257,200.00	$184,700.00	39.3%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,553.45	$2,346.69	33.8%
Apartment Rent	$1,283.00	$949.00	35.2%

Transportation

Item	Helena Valley West Central	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.37	$3.46	2.5%
Tire Balancing	$69.17	$59.92	15.4%

Utilities

Item	Helena Valley West Central	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$176.82	$193.99	8.9%
Phone	$182.36	$192.25	5.1%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Marysville, MT	71	91	8.5%
East Helena, MT	1,684	96	4.1%
Helena Valley Southeast, MT	8,546	101	0.5%
Helena, MT	32,655	104	3.8%
Helena Valley Northwest, MT	4,256	106	6.0%
Helena Valley West Central, MT	8,042	107	7.3%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Pismo Beach, CA	8,042	184	84.0%
Chestnut Ridge, NY	8,041	151	50.9%
Mansfield Center, MA	8,043	129	29.0%
Innisfail, AB	8,040	n/a
Conshohocken, PA	8,039	127	27.2%
Helena Valley West Central, MT	8,042	107	7.3%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.

Cost of Living in Helena Valley West Central, MT