Study Says Most College Grads Can’t Afford To Live in Missoula
Well, this puts it all into perspective. A recent study by Bloomberg showed the least affordable cities for college graduates in the United States. Some of these you might expect - for example, eight out of the top ten are located in California, with San Jose taking the top spot. And two cities from Montana ended up making the Top 20: Bozeman, coming in at number 16, and our very own Missoula, taking the number 19 spot.
The study factors in the required minimum income to afford Missoula ($42,822) vs. the actual minimum income for college graduates in the area ($32,452). That's about a $10,000 difference, which yeah, isn't great. It also notes that the average price for a home in Missoula is $295,200.
Are you surprised by this? I will say that, as someone who lived in New York for most of his life, Missoula seemed ridiculously affordable by comparison - but, talking to locals, consensus seems to be that it's more expensive than most places in Montana.