Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Billings's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Billings?
Your $100,000 in Billings has the same purchasing power as $113,856 in the average US city. You'd need $13,856 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Billings's cost index of 88, sorted by closest match.
If you're weighing a move to Billings, the short answer is that the city has a few genuine arguments going for it — most obviously cheaper than the national average, with no fine print and jobs are easy to find right now, plus 3 more things worth knowing. Here's the longer version.
Billings sits at 88 on the composite cost-of-living index — about 12% under the national average. Not the cheapest place in the country, but enough of a discount to notice on rent and groceries every month. Median rent in town runs about $1,064/mo against a typical household income of $69,692, which is the kind of ratio that leaves room to save.
Unemployment in Billings is running about 3.6% — below the typical US baseline of around 4%. That usually translates to a job market where employers compete for workers more than the other way around, which is the better side of that equation to be on if you're the one moving.
Billings earns a Walk Score of 71/100 — above the US median, with denser neighborhoods scoring higher than the citywide aggregate suggests. A car is still useful for longer trips, but everyday life works on foot for a lot of residents.
Billings's air quality index averages about 38 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in Billings is about 17 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from Billings's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Yes, several times a winter. Billings's winter average of about 26°F sits right around freezing, so storms typically drop real snow that lingers a few days before slush sets in.
Cold but workable. Winter in Billings averages about 26°F — colder than the national norm, mild compared to the upper Midwest. A solid coat handles most days; the genuine cold snaps are short.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Billings runs about 90°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Approximately USDA Hardiness Zone 8. That's the band gardeners use to pick plants — anything rated for Zone 8 or colder should survive a typical winter in Billings. (The estimate is derived from our winter-temperature data; the official USDA map uses station-level annual minimums and may differ by half a zone.)
Billings sits at about 3,222 feet (982 m) — meaningfully higher than coastal cities, but not high enough to noticeably affect breathing or cooking.
Higher than average. Billings reports about 5,303 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the US average of around 3,500. Citywide numbers are often dragged up by a few hotspots; specific neighborhoods can be very safe in cities that don't look great on paper, and vice versa.
No — your dollar actually goes further here. Billings's composite cost-of-living index is 88, roughly 12% under the US average. Housing is usually the biggest driver of the discount.
Yes — Billings is one of the more walkable US cities. A Walk Score of 71/100 means most daily errands can be done on foot in most neighborhoods. Many residents go car-free comfortably.
Roughly $61,481 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Billings runs about $1,064/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.