Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Bozeman's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Bozeman?
Your $100,000 in Bozeman has the same purchasing power as $88,590 in the average US city. You'd need $11,410 more 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 Bozeman's cost index of 113, sorted by closest match.
If you're weighing a move to Bozeman, the short answer is that the city has a few genuine arguments going for it — most obviously jobs are easy to find right now and lower-than-average crime numbers, plus 4 more things worth knowing. Here's the longer version.
Unemployment in Bozeman is running about 2.8% — 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.
Bozeman reports about 2,138 crime incidents per 100,000 residents — a step below the US average of around 3,500. The citywide number averages over neighborhoods that can vary a lot, but the headline number is friendlier than most American cities of comparable size.
Bozeman's Walk Score is 80/100 — top-tier walkability by US standards. Groceries, coffee, work, social life: most of it lands within reasonable foot range of wherever you live. A lot of residents skip car ownership entirely, which is its own form of savings on top of the lifestyle change.
Bozeman's Bike Score is 74/100 — the kind of number you only get when a city has built real bike infrastructure (protected lanes, connected routes, drivers who expect cyclists). For commuting or just for getting around, the bike is a serious option here, not a hobby.
The average one-way commute in Bozeman is about 15 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.
64% of adults 25 and over in Bozeman hold a bachelor's degree or higher — meaningfully above the US average of around 36%. That correlates with the things you'd expect: stronger schools, more white-collar employers, more bookstores than the population alone would predict.
Reasons are pulled from Bozeman'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. Bozeman's winter average of about 27°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 Bozeman averages about 27°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 Bozeman runs about 88°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 Bozeman. (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.)
Bozeman is at about 4,797 feet (1,462 m) — high enough that newcomers from sea level sometimes feel a touch winded the first few days, dehydrate faster than expected, and notice that water boils a little quicker. Acclimation is usually a week or so.
Average for an American city. Bozeman's reported crime rate of about 2,138 per 100,000 residents sits roughly in line with the US baseline of ~3,500. Like anywhere else, the citywide number masks real differences between neighborhoods — worth looking at specific areas before deciding.
Yes, noticeably. Bozeman's cost-of-living index runs 113, about 13% above the US baseline. Housing usually accounts for most of the markup; groceries and services run higher too but with less drama.
Yes — Bozeman is one of the more walkable US cities. A Walk Score of 80/100 means most daily errands can be done on foot in most neighborhoods. Transit Score is 29 out of 100. Many residents go car-free comfortably.
Roughly $79,016 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 Bozeman runs about $1,447/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.