Last checked October 30, 2026.
Land outside town often comes without city water, sewer, gas or plowed roads, and each one becomes your bill. A new well and septic system together run roughly $9,000 to $22,000 using the typical ranges below, and more for a deep well or an engineered septic system. Here’s what to budget for.
Water well
- Drilling and finishing a domestic well typically costs about $27 to $59 a foot in Montana, according to a commercial cost guide (HomeGuide, undated). Many wells run 100 to 300 feet deep nationally, so a 200-foot well could be roughly $5,400 to $11,800. Depth varies a lot by location; ask neighbors and local drillers.
- To secure the water right for a typical household well, you file a Notice of Completion of Groundwater Development (Form 602) with the Montana DNRC once the well is in use; your water right’s priority date is the date you file, so don’t wait. The fee is $250 (DNRC Form 602). It covers wells pumping 35 gallons a minute or less and 10 acre-feet a year or less, outside controlled groundwater areas.
- The Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology’s Ground Water Information Center (GWIC) has drilling logs for existing wells, including depth and yield, which is a good way to see what neighbors hit.
Septic system
Installing a septic system typically costs $3,600 to $10,000 nationally, and engineered or alternative systems can approach $20,000 (Forbes Home, 2025). We didn’t find a Montana-specific average. Your county or city-county health department issues the permit:
| County | Permit fees |
|---|---|
| Flathead | $300 to $475 depending on system class, plus $275 site evaluation (fee schedule effective 2021) |
| Missoula | $150 application, plus $215 (gravity), $290 (pressure) or $320 (alternative) and $300 per site evaluation (Missoula Public Health) |
| Lewis and Clark (Helena) | $160 standard gravity with a certified installer ($320 without), $320 pressure-dosed, $480 engineered (Lewis and Clark Public Health) |
Propane
Most rural homes without natural gas heat with propane. The average Montana residential price was $2.18 a gallon before taxes in the week of October 26, 2026 (EIA); delivered prices from your supplier will differ. Ask suppliers about tank rental versus buying your own tank, and about pre-buy or budget plans for winter. See utilities and heating for winter heating bills.
Power line extension
If the lot isn’t already served, extending power can be one of the biggest costs, and co-ops don’t publish per-foot prices. Flathead Electric Cooperative takes a non-refundable engineering deposit, gives a site-specific estimate good for 90 days, and requires payment before it installs the line (Flathead Electric). Park Electric also requires full payment up front and refunds the difference if the job costs less (Park Electric). Get the estimate before you buy.
Roads and snow
- Rural roads may be county-maintained, maintained by a road district that charges each parcel, or private. One example: a Lewis and Clark County rural improvement district charged $349 a year per parcel for road improvements and maintenance (county resolution, 2020).
- On a private road or long driveway, you or a road association pay for grading and snow plowing. We didn’t find reliable Montana prices; ask the seller and neighbors what they pay, and check whether there’s a recorded road maintenance agreement.
Internet
Don’t assume broadband. Check the exact address on the FCC map before you buy. See internet and phone costs.
Property tax on rural land
A home you live in uses the homestead rates, while agricultural and forest land have their own classifications. Ask the Department of Revenue’s county office how a parcel is classified before you buy. See Montana property tax.