Last checked October 30, 2026.
The median home in the Montana towns we track sold for anywhere from about $337,000 in Laurel to about $1.9 million in Big Sky in mid-2026. With 10% down at late-October 2026 mortgage rates, that’s a principal-and-interest payment of about $2,070 to $11,600 a month, before property tax and insurance.
Home prices and sample payments
| Town | Median sale price | 10% down | Monthly principal and interest | Income at which that payment is 28% of gross pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Sky | $1,895,745 | $189,575 | $11,628 | $498,322 |
| Whitefish | $894,408 | $89,441 | $5,486 | $235,107 |
| Bozeman | $649,570 | $64,957 | $3,984 | $170,748 |
| Belgrade | $569,523 | $56,952 | $3,493 | $149,707 |
| Red Lodge | $554,944 | $55,494 | $3,404 | $145,875 |
| Missoula | $525,000 | $52,500 | $3,220 | $138,003 |
| Kalispell | $502,495 | $50,250 | $3,082 | $132,088 |
| Livingston | $471,688 | $47,169 | $2,893 | $123,990 |
| Helena | $441,476 | $44,148 | $2,708 | $116,048 |
| Hamilton | $415,302 | $41,530 | $2,547 | $109,168 |
| Billings | $389,900 | $38,990 | $2,391 | $102,491 |
| Butte | $349,769 | $34,977 | $2,145 | $91,942 |
| Great Falls | $339,715 | $33,972 | $2,084 | $89,299 |
| Dillon | $339,000 | $33,900 | $2,079 | $89,111 |
| Laurel | $336,790 | $33,679 | $2,066 | $88,530 |
Prices: Redfin median sale price for the latest three-month period on each town page (June to September 2026). Payments: our calculation for a 30-year fixed loan at 7.24%, Freddie Mac’s U.S. average as of October 29, 2026 (Freddie Mac PMMS); your rate will vary. The 28% figure is a common lender rule of thumb for housing costs; since it should also cover property tax and insurance, the income you’d actually need is higher. Towns without a reliable recent sale price are left out; their pages show Census or Zillow values.
Property tax
Since 2026, a home you live in at least seven months a year is taxed at a much lower rate than a second home: 0.76% of the first $378,000 of value and 0.90% from there up to $756,000, versus a flat 1.9% for a second home, before local mill levies are applied. On Bozeman’s median home that works out to about $2,977 a year as a primary residence and $6,910 as a second home, using the 559.86-mill total levy on 2025 Gallatin County tax bills for city parcels. See Montana property tax and the homestead rate.
No transfer tax
Montana’s constitution bars state and local governments from taxing the sale or transfer of real property (Montana Constitution, Article VIII, Section 17, added by voters in 2010). Buyers still pay ordinary closing costs such as lender fees, title insurance and recording fees.