The megapopular TV franchise “Yellowstone” has put Montana nationally, but some locals have mixed feelings about the attention.
“Yellowstone” and “Marshals” star Luke Grimes he recently told a podcaster Joe Rogan that he got the cold shoulder after moving to the Big Sky State with his family.
“Well, your show got a lot of people moving there,” Rogan said.
“That’s true. Yes. And they’re not happy about it,” Grimes replied.
He shared a recent experience with Rogan.
“The village I live in, we’ve had people visit us,” said Grimes. “Our friends from California drove out, and we walked, and we were in their car. And they had, you know, Cali plates. We went down the driveway, and somebody had written ‘go back’ in the dirt on their car. Like, people are really weird about it, so I don’t tell anybody where I am because they’re going to get really mad at me.”
Grimes said this influenced where he chose to go.
“I can’t go to bars anymore because whatever that idiot is at the bar … he can’t wait to start a fight with me,” Grimes said. “Just like he can’t wait to do it because it’s like a win-win for him, you know? He gets to sue me or something. I don’t know, but it’s my loss.”
Without backing down, Grimes — who told Rogan he moved his Airstream to Montana during the COVID-19 lockdown and “didn’t leave” — said he and his wife, a Brazilian model. Bianca Rodrigues Grimeslove to live there.
“We love you man. It’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” he exclaimed.
Grimes, who lived in Los Angeles for 16 years before making the trip, says Montana is the opposite of LA.
“I don’t have FOMO about anything anymore,” he said. “I can only imagine sleeping and reading and watching movies, and they are the best.”
Montana meets California
Chase Heilanda Bozeman real estate agent with Keller Williams, moved to Montana from California about ten years ago.
“I get more clients in Los Angeles because I’m from there—for me, it’s a niche,” he told Realtor.com®. “California is still the No. 1 state for people to move here from.”
“Yellowstone” has attracted more buyers in Montana, especially in 2022 and 2023, Heiland explained. He says: “I remember getting calls from people who said, ‘I saw Yellowstone, I want to move there,’ and when I asked them if they had been here before, they said no,” he says.
Locals even call Bozeman—where the median price is $937,450—the “Boz Angeles,” he says. He adds that while people like to catch Californians, it’s usually all good fun.
“In the Bozeman area, are you going to get ribbed and made fun of because you’re from LA? Yes. But do I think people really care after getting that rib? No,” he said.
Prices have risen sharply in Montana
Rising home prices and high growth have characterized Montana’s housing market since the pandemic began, he said. Hannah Jonessenior economic research analyst at Realtor.com.
“Homebuyers are looking for value and views along with a great location, fueled by a job shift that is cutting high-paying jobs out of coastal suburbs.” he says.
In February 2020, the median listing price in Montana was $349,000. Six years later, the average home is worth $612,000, an increase of about 75%.
“Price appreciation in Montana is more than double the national growth over the same period,” Jones added.
Over the past six years, Montana has seen the most extreme list price growth of any state in America, he says. Only Vermont saw faster price-per-square-foot growth than Montana from 2020—84.6% versus 82.7%.
Since 2020, Jones says median listing prices have increased significantly in Deer Lodge (+303%), Columbia Falls (+224.2%), Roundup (+177.4%), and Big Sky (+131.9%).
Heiland admits that some local people have been forced to leave the province because they can no longer pay for themselves. However, he says he is very optimistic about how that is changing.
“Most of my clients are now first-time homebuyers, and that’s the first time that’s happened in seven years,” Heiland said. “They’ve saved up, they want to be here, and they’re ready to pull the trigger.”
