Idaho vs Montana vs Wyoming vs Utah: Which State is the Best to Live In?

If you're thinking about leaving your state for the Mountain West, you've probably narrowed your search down to a few places like Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah. And from the outside, these four states can look surprisingly similar. Mountains, outdoor recreation, smaller communities, and a lot more space. And typically a slower pace of life. But actually living in those four states can be very different. And choosing the wrong one could mean discovering that the lifestyle that you thought you were moving toward isn't actually the lifestyle you get. So today we're putting Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah head-to-head. As someone who lives and sells real estate in Eastern Idaho, obviously I know Idaho really well. But I'm also going to tell you where Idaho doesn't win. Because depending on what you're looking for, one of these other states might actually be a better fit. We're going to compare all four states based on the things I think actually matter when you're deciding where to live. And those things are housing, taxes, weather, jobs, amenities, outdoor recreation, and of course lifestyle. And where these states are headed over the next several years. And stick around because at the end I'm going to tell you which state I would choose depending on the kind of lifestyle that you're looking for. Because I don't think there's one winner here. There's just the right winner for you. Over the last several years, I've talked to a lot of people who want to move West. And usually they're looking for some combination of the same things. They want more space. They want more mountains. They want outdoor recreation. They want less congestion. That's a big one. And maybe they want a smaller community. And a lot of them are coming from much larger metro areas where they're just tired of traffic and crowds and costs. So they start researching. And Idaho comes up and then Montana and then Wyoming and then Utah. And suddenly they're looking at four states that seem pretty similar on paper. But they're actually really not. Because there's a big difference between visiting somewhere and actually living there. Now, if we're just meeting, I'm Annika Wilder with the Anderson Hicks Group. And I sell real estate here in Eastern Idaho. And a huge part of what I do is help people understand what it's actually like to live here before they make the move. So if Idaho is one of the places you're considering, give me a call. Now, let's compare these four states. Let's start with the one everybody wants to know. Housing. This is where you have to be really careful when comparing states. Because saying Montana is expensive or Wyoming is cheap, it doesn't really tell you anything. Bozeman is very different from Billings. Jaxman is very different from Casper. Park City is a very different city from the rest of Utah. And Boise is different from Idaho Falls. So I would actually start by deciding what kind of community you want. If you want acreage, a larger home, and a little more breathing room, there are still areas throughout all four states where you can find just that. But some of the famous Mountain West destinations have become incredibly expensive. Places like Jaxman and Bozeman can surprise people. And even Boise isn't that inexpensive alternative to the West Coast that it once was. That's one reason Eastern Idaho keeps showing up on people's radar. Your money can still go further here compared to most of those areas and those other famous mountain communities. You can potentially get more house, a larger lot, and maybe some acreage or newer construction and still be within some reach of pretty incredible outdoor recreation. All right, now let's talk about something that can completely change this comparison, and that's taxes. Wyoming has a huge advantage here because Wyoming just doesn't have any individual state income tax. And if you are a higher income household, that's going to probably get your attention. Idaho, Montana, and Utah, they do have individual income taxes. But I wouldn't choose where I live based solely on income tax because you also have to look at property taxes, sales taxes, housing costs, insurance, utilities, and your overall cost of living. Saving money on one tax doesn't necessarily mean your entire lifestyle costs less. So Wyoming absolutely deserves a look from a tax perspective, but I would compare the entire financial picture before making that decision. All right, let's talk about weather. This is a very important category because if you're moving to any of these states because you saw beautiful mountains on Instagram, you need to understand winter. All four states can give you snow, but the experience varies dramatically depending on where exactly you live. Montana can have long, cold winters. Wyoming is famous not only for the cold, but also wind in many areas. Utah's interesting because your experience can vary considerably depending on elevation and where you live. And then Eastern Idaho, we're cold, we get winter, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise, but we also get four distinct seasons. Our summers are absolutely beautiful and they're typically more drier than what you would experience in a humid state. And fall in Eastern Idaho is one of my favorite times of the year. If you absolutely hate winter though, I would think very carefully about moving to Eastern Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. You're not escaping winter by moving to any of those states. You'll just be embracing it. All right, let's talk about jobs. This is where Utah becomes really interesting. If you need access to a large and diverse employment market, the Salt Lake City area is hard to ignore. You have a much larger metro economy with technology and healthcare and finance and a variety of other industries. Idaho has several growing employment centers as well. Boise obviously has a large employment base and here in Eastern Idaho, one of our major economic anchors is the Idaho National Laboratory, but we also have healthcare and agriculture and education, construction, and a growing service economy. Montana and Wyoming have employment opportunities too, of course, but if you're moving to a very small community, your job options can become much more specialized and this matters a lot less if you work remotely. But if you don't, research the job market before you research houses because the perfect house doesn't do you much good if your career just doesn't work there. Now let's talk about amenities. This might be one of the most overlooked differences. People say, I want to live somewhere rural. Okay, but how rural? Because there's rural where you have some land, but Costco is still 15 minutes away and then there's rural where getting to a major airport becomes an event. Those are two very different lifestyles. Utah wins in this category pretty easily if amenities are important to you. The Salt Lake area gives you a major airport, professional sports, shopping, restaurants galore, healthcare, entertainment, concerts, and basically all the conveniences of a major metro area. Wyoming is almost the complete opposite. If you really want a low population and open space, that's part of the appeal, but depending on where you live, you may have significantly fewer options. Wyoming, I think is where the real cowboys are and Montana falls somewhere in between depending on the city. And that's actually one of the reasons I like Idaho Falls, Idaho, because it isn't a major city, but we have a regional airport, we have hospitals, Costco, shopping, restaurants, entertainment, and most of the things that my family needs on a normal basis. Then if you want the amenities of a much bigger city, Salt Lake is close enough for a weekend trip. It's only three hours away. For me, Idaho Falls hits an interesting middle ground. Category number six is outdoor lifestyle. And honestly, all four states win here, but they win in different ways. Utah has some of the most incredible landscapes in the country. If you like skiing and the mountains in Northern Utah, it'll take your breath away. Then there's completely different red rock landscapes and national parks as you travel south. Montana gives you huge mountains, lakes, rivers, forests, and that classic big sky feeling. Wyoming gives you some of the most dramatic scenery in the country. And then Idaho sometimes gets overlooked. But here in Eastern Idaho, we are sitting next to an incredible amount of recreation. Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole, Island Park, the Snake River, fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, snowmobiling, or snow machining, as we say here, skiing, and miles and miles of public land. That's one of the biggest reasons people choose Eastern Idaho. You don't necessarily have to live in one of those expensive resort towns to have access to that amazing lifestyle. Number seven, what does everyday life actually feel like? This one is harder to measure, but it may matter more than almost everything else. Utah, particularly along that Wasatch Front, can feel much more suburban and metropolitan. You have communities running along a large population corridor with lots of development. And then Montana can feel considerably more spread out and remote once you leave its population centers. Wyoming takes that even further. If you want wide open spaces and very low population, then Wyoming is difficult to beat. Idaho Falls is somewhere in the middle, and that's actually what attracts a lot of people here. Idaho Falls is big enough that you don't feel completely isolated, but small enough that getting across town doesn't have to consume your entire day. There's still a strong community feel. It's one of my favorite things. You're still close to agriculture and open land, and within a relatively short drive, you can feel very far away from the city. That balance is one of Eastern Idaho's biggest strengths. All right, now let's talk about growth. Where are these places headed? Because you're not just buying the community you're moving into today, you're buying into what the community might look like in five or 10 years from now. Utah has already experienced an enormous growth along that Wasatch Front. I don't know if you've driven to the Salt Lake Valley recently, but it is wild. And I'm almost always happy to come home to Idaho Falls after visiting there. Parts of Montana have also seen significant growth and national attention. Idaho has been one of those states people have increasingly discovered over the last several years as well. And Eastern Idaho continues to grow as well. We're seeing new houses, new businesses, new infrastructure, and continued investment. But that creates a trade-off. Growth brings more restaurants and more shopping and more jobs, more houses, and more services. But eventually it can also bring the things people were trying to escape. Traffic, higher housing costs, crowding, and development. So if you're moving somewhere because you love what it is today, you should also pay attention to what it's becoming. Okay, so which state should you choose? Which one wins? I don't think there's actually one winner. And I think it depends on what you want. If you want the Mountain West lifestyle, but you don't want to give up a big city, like the big city amenities, I'd look very seriously at Utah. You're getting mountains and outdoor recreation while still having access to a major metro area. If your priorities are low population, wide open spaces, and Wyoming's tax structure, I'd look at Wyoming. Just make sure you're comfortable with the distances and the wind and the weather and potentially fewer amenities, depending on where you choose. If your dream is the rugged big sky lifestyle, mountains, open land, and beautiful scenery, Montana deserves a serious look. But don't automatically assume the places you've heard the most about are affordable. And then there's Idaho. I think Idaho, and particularly, of course, Eastern Idaho, makes sense for someone who wants a little bit of everything you want. Amenities, you want mountains, you want outdoor recreation, you want space, you want a smaller community, but you don't necessarily want to be hours away from everyday amenities. That's where I think Idaho Falls becomes really interesting. It's not as big as Salt Lake. It's not as remote as many parts of Wyoming or Montana. And you're still incredibly close to some of the best outdoor recreation in the country. It's a middle ground. And for some people, that's exactly what they're looking for. But now I want to hear from you. If you had to choose today, is it going to be Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, or Utah? And more importantly, why? Why would you choose Utah? Was it for the amenities? Or are you choosing Wyoming for the tax advantages? Montana for the scenery and the big sky lifestyle? Or Idaho, the balance between small city living and access to the outdoors? Put your answer in the comments because I'm really curious to see which one wins. And if Idaho is the one you're considering, especially Eastern Idaho. My name is Annika Wilder. I'm with the Anderson Hicks Group and I help people make that move here. And I'd love to help you figure out whether Idaho Falls is actually the right fit for you. And if those other states are appealing, maybe Utah hits the mark, or maybe it's Wyoming or Montana. I actually have realtor partners all over the country. So if you're thinking about selling in your state to move here to Idaho, I can hook you up with one of my realtor partners in your area. And then I can help you move to any one of those states across the nation, whether it's me and my team, the Anderson Hicks Group, or one of my realtor partners as well. So give me a call or shoot me a text. I'd be happy to help. Well, that's it for this video. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time. Bye.