This piece is part of MTFP’s 2026 poll week, where we’re exploring data on how Montana voters feel about their elected officials, environmental concerns, immigration enforcement and other issues. The costs of health care and food top the list of affordability challenges facing Montanans, acc ording to a Montana Free Press-Eagleton poll conducted this winter. According to the poll, younger Montanans also have affordability challenges around housing and education. More than half of respondents 36 and younger, for example, said rent and mortgage costs pose at least some difficulty for them — compared to only 9% of respondents 65 and older. A majority of all respondents, 52%, cited health care as an expense that poses at least some difficulty. Nearly a quarter, 23%, called it a “very difficult” thing for them to afford. Food costs ranked second, with 48% reporting at least some difficulty affording groceries and other food-related expenses. While housing costs have been a major point of public discussion around Montana’s cost of living in recent years, respondents rated them as a lower concern compared to other areas. That’s likely, in part, because many older respondents reported not having rent and mortgage payments. A majority of retirement-aged respondents, 57%, reported that rent or mortgage payments aren’t applicable to them. Another 29% reported that those costs are “not at all” or “not very” difficult for them. In contrast, only 10% of respondents 36 and younger reported that rent or mortgage payments aren’t a factor in their budgets. A majority of those younger residents, 53%, said those costs were at least somewhat difficult for them to afford, with 20% calling them “very difficult.” A similar dynamic played out with food affordability, with 60% of younger adults reporting that paying for groceries and other food is at least somewhat difficult for them. That compares to 48% of adults aged 50-64 and 39% of adults 65 or older. Health care costs appear to fall hardest on those over 50 but yet to qualify for Medicare. While a majority of under-50 respondents reported at least some difficulty with health care costs, that fraction rose to nearly two-thirds for respondents in the 50 to 64 age range, with 34% saying health care costs are “very difficult” for them. In contrast, respondents in the 65-plus age bracket, who are old enough to qualify for federal health coverage through Medicare, reported a much lower rate of difficulty in affording health care. The burden of education costs such as college tuition and student loan payments were also heavily age-dependent. About two-thirds of under-36 respondents reported that those costs apply to them, with 38% saying they pose at least some difficulty. In contrast, 65% of respondents 50-64 and 84% of respondents 65-plus said those costs aren’t applicable to them.  The MTFP-Eagleton poll surveyed 801 registered voters through telephone interviews and text-to-web questionnaires. Data was collected from Dec. 23, 2025 to Jan. 3, 2026. The poll, which was weighted to reflect the demographics of the state’s voters, has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points. This piece is part of the Montana Insights project, which is commissioning rounds of polling to help MTFP readers understand public sentiment on key Montana policy issues. Further findings from the Dec. 2025-Jan. 2026 poll are available here. The post Which affordability challenges worry Montana voters most? appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less