Cost Of Rent In Montana And Innovative Housing Alternatives
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Here’s an interesting item recently sent to me by a friend – according to ‘Business Insider’, a Montana household needs to earn $49,360 per year in order to comfortably afford rent.
The estimate is based on a study done by GoBankingRates which “…revealed how big your annual salary needs to be to afford rent in every US state, including Washington, DC. To determine the list, they used the budgeting rule of thumb that one should spend no more than 30% of their annual income on housing.”
Here are the numbers for Big Sky Country, which comes in at #32:
Annual income needed: $49,360
Monthly income needed: $4,113
Median rent: $1,234
#1 Washington D.C., has the highest cost:
Annual income needed: $108,440
Monthly income needed: $9,037
Median rent: $2,711
Looking at these numbers made me think that if there’s a study measuring the frequency and severity of windy, blustery days in every state, Great Falls and Cut Bank would push Montana’s average up considerably. I’ll bet Bozeman does the same when it comes to housing costs averaged statewide.
Nevertheless, the struggle is real for renters here and nationwide. Hopefully we will continue to see more rising incomes to offset the housing costs.
Or perhaps even more promising is the trend towards innovative housing alternatives like tiny homes or small, cost effective domiciles made from shipping containers.
Stay tuned for more on the innovative affordable housing front.
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