Montana Ranks 15th For Affordability But Is It Misleading?

I often wonder how folks come up with their information.

For instance, US News and World Report came out with their annual report of states ranked according to affordability and you would think Montana would be ranked near the bottom, right? I mean, housing is out of control, the cost of living is high, groceries are expensive, gas costs more than it used to...when you add it all up, many would say Montana isn't a great deal.

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However, according to US News and World Report, it might be a much better deal than we think it is.

There are different factors that go into the equation, but according to the data, Montana is 15th overall in affordability. Yeah, I thought that was odd myself, but that's not all, check out these numbers below:

• 11th Cost of Living
• 13th in Opportunity
• 18th in Housing Affordability

I mean, this is great news, right? Not so fast. These numbers are on a average of areas all around the state. And while real estate might be a deal in the eastern part of Montana, most folks want to live in the western part where I assure you we aren't 18th in housing affordability or 11th in cost of living.

Is Montana an affordable place to live?

Now I'm in no way trying to discredit US News and World Report. They are a fine publication, I'm just saying that the data is a little misleading because it includes parts of the state where 1.) things are cheaper and 2.) no one wants to live.

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