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The same household basket, priced in both places. Everyday essentials only — groceries, fuel, electricity and rent — not taxes, childcare or healthcare premiums.
Family of 4 · per month
Family of 4 · per month
$118/mo · $1,417/yr
Monthly spend by category for the same basket in each place, largest gap first.
| Category | MT | US | Difference | Share of gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| housing | $1,846 | $1,923 | −$77 | 65% |
| energy | $354 | $374 | −$20 | 17% |
| utilities | $205 | $217 | −$12 | 10% |
| food | $157 | $166 | −$9 | 8% |
A positive difference means Montana costs more in that category.
It compares cost levels. Each place's level comes from state-specific federal data — the BEA Regional Price Parity plus item-level anchors — so “this basket costs $X here and $Y there” is a claim the data supports.
It deliberately does not compare inflation rates. A state's rate of change comes from its Census region's CPI, because BLS publishes no monthly CPI for individual states — so every state in a region moves at the same rate by construction. Ranking two states by how fast prices are rising would rank the model, not the states. Read the methodology
It is essentials only. Housing, food, fuel and utilities as tracked by this index. It is not a full cost-of-living figure and it is not a wage or salary benchmark.