Montana and North Dakota at a glance
Montana and North Dakota share a border, but a paycheck does not travel across it unchanged. A $60,000 salary leaves $26,630 a year after taxes and the four basics in Montana and $32,872 in North Dakota.
North Dakota comes out ahead by $6,241 a year ($520 a month). The calculation starts from the same gross pay in both states, subtracts federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, then each state's own income tax, and then the population-weighted cost of a one-bedroom rental, groceries, home energy and gasoline across 1,116,875 people in 56 counties in Montana and 784,841 people in 53 counties in North Dakota.
Taxes: what each paycheck loses
Federal income tax ($5,072) and FICA ($4,590) on $60,000 are the same on both sides of the border. State income tax takes $2,402 in Montana and $0 in North Dakota, which leaves take-home pay of $47,937 and $50,339.
At $100,000
At $100,000 take-home pay is $74,139 in Montana and $78,189 in North Dakota, a difference of $4,050. The gap widens with income because graduated state brackets take a growing share.
Living costs
One-bedroom rent averages $1,223 a month in Montana and $911 in North Dakota, so North Dakota is $311 a month cheaper for housing. Food costs $3,436 a year in both, because the USDA Thrifty Food Plan is a national figure; home energy $1,655 and $1,560, and gasoline $1,542 and $1,534. Together the basics cost $21,306 a year in Montana and $17,467 in North Dakota.
What the Census adds
Median household income is $72,509 in Montana and $76,657 in North Dakota. Homeowners pay a median of $2,693 a year in property tax in Montana and $2,468 in North Dakota. Commuters travel 19.1 minutes each way on average in Montana and 17.9 in North Dakota.
Method
Taxes use the 2025 rules for a single filer with wage income only and the standard deduction. Housing and living costs are county figures from HUD (one-bedroom Fair Market Rent), the USDA Thrifty Food Plan and state energy prices from the Energy Information Administration, averaged across each state's counties and weighted by population, so large counties count more. Local income taxes are not included. Counties differ widely inside every state, so use the county pages for a specific place.