Bozeman Jobs (Billings, Missoula, Helena: sales, real estate, apartments)

[1234kylie9801E11]

My fiancee and I are hoping/planning to move to Bozeman next year and I've been hearing very different things about job availabilty. Some people tell me its high demand and some people say theres little to no job out there. I really want to move there but I don't want find us struggling to get by. Any advise or info is welcome and appreciated.

[NDak15]

I'm not sure what is available but cost of living is very high. Look at housing prices and see if the job you want will pay the bills.

[NW Crow]

I see 2 bedroom apartments from a few at $850 - $1000 per month to a lot between $1200 - $1600 to some at $2,000 per month, depending on age / quality / size / neighborhood / popularity. There is some availability but probably also lots of compdtition, especially for better units or better values.

Jobs? Can vary so much by person and skills. Talk to some possibilities and see what level of interest you get. Will need to be short / polite. Folks may not want to spend much time on something in advance that they probably get asked a lot about. But try.

The unemployment rate was very low before pandemic. I do not know current conditions. Some to a lot of people may be under-employed in their minds. The best / higher paying jobs will obviously have the most competition.

If you really want it, you may be able to get started but know what you want long-term and make judgment at some point if that job, that house is attainable. A fair number of folks will move away deciding the houses are too expensive and maybe the goal job just isn't coming.

It is one of the hottest markets in rocky mountain west. Some take advantage of that. More find it tough or beyond tough. Are you a top 10-20%er on economic competition or closer to average?

Median house sales price is $440k in Bozeman. Could be $500k next year. Could crash or keep going higher for awhile. Only $300k on average in Belgrade, for now. But some people don't want Belgrade and what that $300k buys. Look around and see how you feel about housing if you'd want to buy fairly soon. Could find homes below median, but how much below and are you willing to accept (possibly improve)?

How much more is Bozeman worth to you than Missoula, Billings, Helena, etc.? $5k / yr? $10k? More? Less? It is most expensive real city in MT. (Some resort areas are more.)

[MikeyMike11]

Originally Posted by 1234kylie9801E11

My fiancee and I are hoping/planning to move to Bozeman next year and I've been hearing very different things about job availabilty. Some people tell me its high demand and some people say theres little to no job out there. I really want to move there but I don't want find us struggling to get by. Any advise or info is welcome and appreciated.

Lots of jobs, but winter is coming. Can you withstand -30 degrees up on the mountain shoveling snow, or hammering nails? We don't stop building out here because of winter, or winds, or anything like that. Contractors will melt the ground with a glycol octopus, and then send you in to do the foundation (which will crack in the spring because it hasn't cured properly). It's not play time out here. Construction is one of the few jobs which can pay bills right now.

Do you have a trade? If not then good luck paying your bills! This is a town for rich folks, and anywhere else within 30 miles. Even Livingston is getting stupidly expensive. If you are a family with kids, I don't even know how you'll find affordable housing that isn't in a tiny townhome or condo. Then you'll be forking over half your wages in rent.

But yea, there's jobs... Average wage is $23/hour and the median home price hit $600k in the past month. Obviously there's a disconnect there, and you end up with locals being forced to move away or into the next county over because of high real estate tax, you've got people living in campers on the street and moving around each night so the they "obey the laws", and then you have people STRUGGLING to survive.

How do I survive? I've been here for almost 2 decades, and invested in real estate when it was cheap. I own my own business, and I work all the time. Lately my body isn't cooperating, and I've been looking at moving to a warmer location, at least for winters... I honestly have no idea how other people make it here.

[nowhereman427]

It would seem that the cost to live in Montana is higher than neighboring states around it like Idaho and Wyoming.

[NW Crow]

At state level, average cost of living in Montana is 94 compared to national average of 100. Median MT house price is $232k. Bozeman happens to double that. Most in migrants to MT are choosing to live near the 5 biggest, most expensive cities.

Cost of living index is actually higher on average in WY at 98. This is just an average. Bigger house, more medical issues, more entertainment / recreation spending, higher cost of living.

Average home price $229k, only 1% higher than Montana. National average is $231k so both are averave housing cost on average, though not everywhere. Some higher / much higher, some lower / much lower. But in WY most in migrants prefer the small cities / bigger towns and therefore do not pressure the housing prices of the biggest 5 places as much as seen in MT.

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by nowhereman427

It would seem that the cost to live in Montana is higher than neighboring states around it like Idaho and Wyoming.

I haven't lived in Idaho but Wyoming and Montana are both rather expensive. The difference is that in Wyoming (except for Jackson), the salaries do a bit of a better job keeping up with the cost of living.

Bozeman is horrifically expensive for both places. The only place worse is Jackson, Wyoming.

[MikeyMike11]

Originally Posted by NW Crow

At state level, average cost of living in Montana is 94 compared to national average of 100. Median MT house price is $232k. Bozeman happens to double that. Most in migrants to MT are choosing to live near the 5 biggest, most expensive cities.

Cost of living index is actually higher on average in WY at 98. This is just an average. Bigger house, more medical issues, more entertainment / recreation spending, higher cost of living.

Average home price $229k, only 1% higher than Montana. National average is $231k so both are averave housing cost on average, though not everywhere. Some higher / much higher, some lower / much lower. But in WY most in migrants prefer the small cities / bigger towns and therefore do not pressure the housing prices of the biggest 5 places as much as seen in MT.

Bozeman's median home price is approaching $600k https://www.bozemandailychronicle.co...20%24584%2C500.

[MikeyMike11]

Originally Posted by NDak15

I haven't lived in Idaho but Wyoming and Montana are both rather expensive. The difference is that in Wyoming (except for Jackson), the salaries do a bit of a better job keeping up with the cost of living.

Bozeman is horrifically expensive for both places. The only place worse is Jackson, Wyoming.

Big Sky may be worse than both, but seeing as most people who live there don't even work, it is hard to calculate the median wage... It used to be a ghost town for 1/2 the year when I first moved to Montana, now it has grown a lot. So maybe people are moving in to start businesses, and creating jobs, but from what I've seen, most of the work force is from Bozeman/Belgrade, and I've had workers poached from my job site in Paradise Valley. They are making crazy money in the winters, about $50/hr. I can't really compete with that.

[nowhereman427]

Kalispell is also expensive.