Montana Nears Top for Least Affordable Homes in U.S.

One topic that has gotten a lot of attention in Montana over the past few years is the cost of living, specifically the cost of purchasing a home.  

As costs continue to rise, the purchasing of homes has started to decline. According to Bankrate.com, across the U.S. home sales fell 2.7 percent in June while median existing-home prices rose 2% from June 2024.  

There was a recent report saying that Montana will top the list of states with the most unaffordable housing in the entire country. We are well on our way of that becoming a reality.  

READ MORE: Montana Tops List for Unaffordable Housing By 2030

Property Shark has compiled a list of how much it costs to purchase a home in each state. They compiled the list using median home sale prices for 2025, and you may not be surprised that Montana is one of the most expensive places to purchase a home. 

According to their numbers, the median home price for a home in Montana is $495,000, making it one of the top 10 most expensive states. That is more than all of our neighboring states.  

• Idaho’s median sale price is $471,000
• Wyoming’s median sale price is $467,000
• North Dakota’s median sale price is $277,000
• South Dakota’s median sale price is $303,000

The cheapest state to purchase a home is Alabama with median home prices at $220,000. Iowa, Oklahoma, Ohio, and West Virginia round out the states with the lowest price homes.  

On the other end of the spectrum, California is the most expensive state, with a median home price of $825,000, followed by Hawaii, the District of Columbia, Washington, and Massachusetts.  

As long as Montana continues to be a cheaper alternative to places like California or Washington, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that we will continue to see people from those states moving here.