Cost Of Living in Whitefish, 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	Whitefish	Montana	National
Cost of living	131	101	100
Goods & Services	100	104	100
Groceries	111	103	100
Health care	112	98	100
Housing	194	99	100
Transportation	118	109	100
Utilities	97	93	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Whitefish is 30% higher than the Montana average
The cost of living in Whitefish is 31% higher than the national average
Whitefish housing is 94% 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	$71,031	$5,919	$1,657	$2,131
Renters	$45,683	$3,807	$1,066	$1,371

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in Whitefish, MT, is the percentage of monthly income that should be spent on housing expenses, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Generally speaking, no more than 28 percent of your total gross income should be spent on your housing expenses and not more than 36 percent of your gross income on total expenses, including debts. In Whitefish, the median monthly income is $71,031 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $1,657 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $45,683, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $1,066 on monthly rental expenses.

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	Whitefish	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$27.83	$24.26	14.7%
Beauty Salon	$51.82	$45.56	13.7%
Toothpaste	$3.72	$3.70	0.4%
Shampoo	$1.29	$1.28	0.6%
Movie	$14.89	$12.13	22.7%
Bowling	$23.19	$18.00	28.8%

Groceries

Item	Whitefish	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$6.17	$5.84	5.7%
Fried Chicken	$2.22	$1.57	41.0%
Milk	$4.92	$4.67	5.3%
Potatoes	$4.89	$4.93	0.9%
Pizza	$11.23	$12.09	7.1%
Beer	$11.57	$10.41	11.1%

Health Care

Item	Whitefish	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$165.73	$125.68	31.9%
Doctor	$168.55	$135.78	24.1%
Dentist	$118.01	$113.29	4.2%
Ibuprofen	$11.49	$10.65	7.9%
Lipitor	$477.18	$468.60	1.8%

Housing

Item	Whitefish	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$425,000.00	$184,700.00	130.1%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,282.29	$2,346.69	2.7%
Apartment Rent	$1,034.00	$949.00	9.0%

Transportation

Item	Whitefish	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$4.30	$3.46	24.2%
Tire Balancing	$60.58	$59.92	1.1%

Utilities

Item	Whitefish	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$178.20	$193.99	8.1%
Phone	$201.25	$192.25	4.7%

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.
Olney, MT	113	105	4.7%
Hungry Horse, MT	650	82	18.4%
Martin City, MT	369	84	16.0%
Coram, MT	302	97	3.1%
Columbia Falls, MT	5,651	98	1.9%
Whitefish, MT	8,032	131	31.4%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
The Blue Mountains, ON	8,029	n/a
Skiatook, OK	8,036	87	12.7%
Lac-Beauport, QC	8,037	n/a
Cherry Valley, CA	8,026	121	20.8%
Rolling Hills Estates, CA	8,025	269	169.1%
Whitefish, MT	8,032	131	31.4%

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 Whitefish, MT