Cost of Living in Bozeman, MT (2026): Rent, Home Prices, Utilities & Taxes

Last updated: October 2026

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The short answer: Of Montana’s larger cities, Bozeman is the most expensive place to live, and housing is the reason. Zillow’s typical home value in Bozeman was about $722,000 in September 2026. That compares with about $467,000 for Montana and $366,000 for the U.S. (Zillow Research). Typical asking rent was about $2,199 a month (Zillow ZORI). Incomes are higher than the state average, but not by as much as housing costs are. On the other side of the ledger, Montana has no general sales tax, electricity costs less than the U.S. average, and unemployment in the Bozeman area is low (2.3% in August 2026, preliminary) (BLS LAUS).

Below are the numbers by category, each with its source, so you can build your own budget.

This article is general information, not tax, legal, or financial advice. Prices, rates and tax rules change. Check the linked sources or a qualified professional for your own situation.

Bozeman cost of living at a glance

“—” means no comparable figure was published for that area or we didn’t use one.

Housing: the biggest line in a Bozeman budget

Buying

Zillow’s Home Value Index (ZHVI) estimates the typical home value in an area, meaning homes in roughly the middle third of values. It is not a median sale price.

Source: Zillow Research, ZHVI city and state files, values for Sept. 30 of each year. Percent changes are our arithmetic from those values.

Two takeaways. First, Bozeman’s values have been close to flat over the past year (+0.8%), after a much bigger run-up earlier in the decade. Second, nearby Belgrade has a typical value about $173,000 lower than Bozeman’s, which is why many households look there.

The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) gives a slower-moving but useful picture. It reports owner-estimated values averaged over 2020–2024, so it runs behind Zillow.

Sources: Census QuickFacts, Bozeman; Census QuickFacts, Gallatin County.

The “with a mortgage” owner costs include mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, utilities and fees. Because they average loans taken out over many years, they’re likely to understate what a buyer at today’s prices would pay.

Homeowners insurance is part of the monthly owner cost, so get a quote for the specific address before you make an offer.

Renting

Fewer than half of Bozeman homes are owner-occupied (44.7%, per the ACS), so a lot of people rent. Here are three ways to measure rent. They measure different things, so they don’t match.

HUD Fair Market Rents, FY2027 (Bozeman metro area / Gallatin County)

Source: HUD USER, FY2027 Fair Market Rents (FY27_FMRs.xlsx). HUD’s FMR is set at the 40th percentile of rents paid by recent movers. It includes tenant-paid utilities and leaves out units built in the last two years (HUD USER). HUD can revise FMRs during the year; check the HUD page for the current figure.

The FY2027 2-bedroom FMR ($2,109) is slightly lower than the FY2026 figure ($2,154). Zillow’s asking-rent index rose about 4% over the same period. Treat both as rough guides. The real test is current listings at your budget.

Income and jobs

The Bozeman metro area is Gallatin County.

A quick reality check: the Bozeman metro’s median wage ($54,830) is above Montana’s ($48,740). Even so, the FY2027 2-bedroom FMR of $2,109 a month comes to $25,308 a year, which is about 46% of that median wage. (That’s our arithmetic. It compares one worker’s wage with one rent, not household income.) Households with two earners or remote income from elsewhere have an easier time.

Utilities

Electricity and natural gas

NorthWestern Energy provides both electricity and natural gas in Bozeman (NorthWestern Energy, Montana at a Glance). Outside the city, check the address with the utility before you sign a lease or make an offer.

How we got the EIA figures: EIA Form 861M reports each utility’s monthly residential revenue, sales (kWh) and customer count. We divided revenue by customers for each month and averaged January through July 2026. These are preliminary, utility-wide averages for all of NorthWestern’s Montana customers, not a Bozeman-specific bill. They also don’t include the winter months from November to December, when heating households use more.

Natural gas is the bigger winter variable. We didn’t find an official published average for a Bozeman winter gas bill. NorthWestern’s facts page gives only the change for a 65-therm month.

Water, sewer and stormwater (City of Bozeman)

The City of Bozeman bills water, wastewater, stormwater and garbage service on one monthly utility bill. Water use is billed per HCF (hundred cubic feet, about 750 gallons), with tiered rates for single-family homes. The current rate schedule is on the city’s Utilities Services page.

Rates are rising. In August 2026 the city moved ahead with new utility rates and assessments for fiscal year 2027, which starts with bills due September 15, 2026. City officials estimated the combined effect of the new utility rates and assessments on the average homeowner at $14.89 a month in FY2027, with the utility part of the increase at about 11.4%. They projected a further $19.89 a month combined impact for FY2028 (NBC Montana, Aug. 20, 2026).

Taxes

No sales tax, but Big Sky is different

Bozeman has no general sales tax or resort tax. Big Sky, a resort area about an hour south, charges a 4% resort tax on lodging, restaurants, bars and luxury items (Big Sky Resort Area District). More on Montana’s point-of-sale taxes: Does Montana Have Sales Tax?.

Income tax

For 2026, Montana taxes income at 4.7% up to $47,500 (single) or $95,000 (married filing jointly), and at 5.65% above that. For 2027, the 4.7% bracket widens to $65,000 / $130,000 and the top rate falls to 5.4% (MT DOR, HB 337).

Property tax: rates × local mills

Montana property tax is a two-step calculation. You first multiply market value by the tax rate to get taxable value. Then you multiply taxable value by the local mill levy (1 mill = $1 per $1,000 of taxable value).

Source: MT DOR, 2026 Tax Information for Property Owners. The primary-residence rates require living in the home at least 7 months a year.

Worked example (taxable value only). Take a Bozeman primary residence with a market value of $720,000. Its taxable value is $378,000 × 0.76% + $342,000 × 0.90% = $5,950.80. Every 100 mills of levy adds about $595 a year to the bill. That’s our arithmetic, and the market value used by the DOR may differ from Zillow’s estimate. If the same home were a second home, its taxable value would be $720,000 × 1.90% = $13,680, more than double.

What mills apply? Mills are set by each taxing jurisdiction (state, county, school district, city and special districts) and add up differently for each levy district. For tax year 2024, the most recent the DOR has published in one place, the City of Bozeman’s own levy was 158.17 mills (MT DOR Biennial Report 2022–2024, Property Taxes, Table 6.14). That’s only one piece of a city property’s total. Mills were also reset when the 2025–2026 rate changes took effect, so don’t combine 2024 mills with 2026 rates. For a specific property, the county tax bill or the DOR’s Montana Cadastral record is the reliable source.

Prices in general: inflation context

The BLS doesn’t publish a consumer price index (CPI) for any Montana city. The closest measure is the Mountain division, which covers Montana and seven other states. Its CPI rose 3.3% from September 2025 to September 2026, compared with 3.4% for the West region and 3.7% for the U.S. (BLS CPI, series CUUR0480SA0, CUUR0400SA0, CUUR0000SA0; our percent calculation). Those figures don’t tell you whether groceries or services cost more in Bozeman than elsewhere.

A sample monthly budget framework

We don’t publish a single “it costs $X to live in Bozeman” number, because it depends too much on household size and housing. Use the sourced figures above as starting points:

Related reading: Moving to Montana in 2027: Costs, Best Towns & Timeline · How Much Does It Cost to Move to Montana? · Cost of Living in Missoula, MT · Cost of Living in Kalispell & the Flathead Valley

The bottom line

Bozeman’s costs come down to housing. Home values are about 55% above the Montana typical value, asking rents run around $2,200, and a 2-bedroom FMR is above $2,100. Taxes and electricity help offset some of that: there’s no sales tax, top income tax rates are falling, and electricity prices are below the U.S. average. City utility bills, though, are going up again in FY2027. If the numbers are tight, compare Belgrade and other Gallatin Valley towns before you decide.

Visiting before you decide? See Bozeman hotels, and our guide to visiting Yellowstone from Montana.

Sources

1. Zillow Research, Housing Data (ZHVI city/state files and ZORI city file, Sept. 30, 2026 values): https://www.zillow.com/research/data/
2. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Montana, Bozeman and other cities: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MT,bozemancitymontana,missoulacitymontana,kalispellcitymontana,billingscitymontana,helenacitymontana/PST045225
3. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Gallatin, Flathead and Missoula counties and Columbia Falls: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/gallatincountymontana,flatheadcountymontana,missoulacountymontana,columbiafallscitymontana/PST045225
4. HUD USER, Fair Market Rents (FY2027 file FY27_FMRs.xlsx): https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html
5. HUD USER, About Fair Market Rents: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/ongoing/Fair-Market-Rents.html
6. BLS, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025): https://www.bls.gov/oes/
7. BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2025 annual averages): https://www.bls.gov/cew/
8. BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/lau/
9. BLS, Consumer Price Index: https://www.bls.gov/cpi/
10. U.S. EIA, Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a
11. U.S. EIA, Form EIA-861M monthly utility data (sales_ult_cust_2026.xlsx): https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia861m/
12. NorthWestern Energy, Montana Rate Review Facts: https://www.northwesternenergy.com/billing-payment/rates-tariffs/rates-tariffs-montana/montana-rate-review/facts
13. City of Bozeman, Utilities Services (rates): https://www.bozemanmt.gov/departments/finance/utilities-services
14. NBC Montana, “Bozeman utility rates rise as city tackles major infrastructure costs” (Aug. 20, 2026): https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/bozeman-utility-rates-rise-as-city-tackles-major-infrastructure-costs
15. Montana DOR, Sales Tax Guidance: https://revenue.mt.gov/taxes/general-sales-tax
16. Montana DOR, HB 337 income tax changes: https://revenue.mt.gov/news/recent-news/HB-337
17. Montana DOR, 2026 Tax Information for Property Owners: https://revenue.mt.gov/property/property-tax-changes/2026-property-tax-information
18. Montana DOR, Biennial Report July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2024, Property Taxes chapter: https://revenue.mt.gov/files/DOR-Publications/Biennial-Reports/July-1-2022-June-30-2024-Biennial-Report/Biennial-Report-7-1-2022-6-30-2024-Property-Taxes.pdf
19. Big Sky Resort Area District, FAQ: https://resorttax.org/frequently-asked-questions/
20. NorthWestern Energy, Montana at a Glance: https://www.northwesternenergy.com/docs/default-source/default-document-library/in-your-community/economic-development/3667_ataglance_mt_1021.pdf

Cole Bennett edits MontanaHelp, a research-driven guide to moving to and living in Montana. Articles cite official and public sources and are updated as rules and data change. AI tools help research and draft them; a person runs the editorial process and spot-checks one article from each batch before it’s published.

AI tools helped research and draft this article. A person runs MontanaHelp’s editorial process and spot-checks one article from each batch before it’s published.