Top 3 Most Expensive Counties For Housing in Montana

Montana is known for its wide open space and breathtaking beauty, but calling it home can be ridiculously expensive. In some cities throughout the state, residents have to work a minimum of two jobs just to get by. Those that can't afford housing often resort to living on the street in a camp trailer or tent.

What's happening in Montana isn't pretty. If you ask almost any oldtimer, they'll tell you that Montana isn't the place that it once was. Instead, much of it has been sold off to the highest bidder.

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To put it simply, Montana is expensive and that doesn't like that's going to change anytime soon. In fact, it appears that someone was sleeping in the median on N. 7th Avenue in Bozeman. Well, at least there was a mattress there when I drove to work this morning. Nobody was actually sleeping on it.

Stacker just released a report on the most expensive counties in Montana, and before we get into it, we wanted to point out a few issues we have with it. Some of the data used isn't current, and the housing prices don't reflect how expensive it actually is to live in Montana.

The list of counties below is where people spend the highest percentage of income on rent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. We're only going to highlight the three most expensive counties for housing in Montana. To check out the full list, click here.

Top 3 Most Expensive Counties For Housing in Montana

#3: Missoula County

• The median percent of income spent on housing: 20.8%
• Percent of households spending <20% of income on housing: 40.4%
• Percent of households spending >30% of income on housing: 33.2%
• Total occupied households: 49,313
• Median household income: $54,062
• Median monthly housing cost: $939

#2: Lincoln County

• The median percent of income spent on housing: 21.0%
• Percent of households spending <20% of income on housing: 46.7%
• Percent of households spending >30% of income on housing: 31.5%
• Total occupied households: 8,122
• Median household income: $40,140
• Median monthly housing cost: $704

#1: Gallatin County

• The median percent of income spent on housing: 21.5%
• Percent of households spending <20% of income on housing: 43.5%
• Percent of households spending >30% of income on housing: 32.7%
• Total occupied households: 43,777
• Median household income: $66,397
• Median monthly housing cost: $1,192

As you can see, some of the numbers are a little off. $1,192/month rent in Bozeman would be a dream come true. You're lucky if you can find a place for less than $2,000.