Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Billings is a city of 121,239, and it grades C overall, ranked 29th of 41 in Montana. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 78% of U.S. towns. The trade-off: it reports more crime per resident than 94% of U.S. towns, including 931 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. 74% of working residents work locally in Billings, above both the Montana town median (37%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Billings Chamber of Commerce Building and Parmly Billings Memorial Library. Only 4 of Montana’s 54 towns score lower on civic life.
Where Billings beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Billings Chamber of Commerce Building
Bud Luckey
Census counts: 145 in 1870, 117,116 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1893 and 2 maps from 1954 on.
39 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Montana), ordered by how far Billings is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Billings, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Billings.
Billings has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more and has a shorter frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Montana.
Reported crimes fell from 5,446 to 3,978 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Billings’ violent crime rate is 7.6 per 1,000 residents. Billings reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 94% report less. Billings’ property crime rate is 24.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Billings | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.6 per 1,000 residents | 4.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 24.9 per 1,000 residents | 14.1 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Billings Elementary District. Three of its 48 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis & Clark Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 741 | C+ |
| Billings West High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,115 | B |
| Arrowhead SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 434 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MT on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 83% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 56 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Billings.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
39 miles of trail in 77 parks and preserves. Phipps Park, at 339 acres with 8.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. The trail density in Billings is 0.8 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Phipps Park | 8.3 mi | 339 |
| 2. Swords Park | 1.8 mi | 250 |
| 3. Lake Elmo State Park | 1.6 mi | 60 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Billings Wfo weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 149 days: shorter than most of the country, but longer than 98% of Montana places with climate records.
Billings has cold, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. Among 42 Montana towns, just 2 have a higher July high than Billings.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Billings beats the Montana average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 28% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Billings.
| Billings | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 72% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 20% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 10% | 12% |
| What stands out | Billings | MT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.9% | 6.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based in Billings grew to 69,783 in 2023, 7,122 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Lockwood (2%), Missoula (2%) and Bozeman (1%). Half commute less than 4 miles.
| Billings | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 8.5% | 7.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $74,000 | $66,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Billings home is worth about $401,000, up 2.5% in a year, 14% below the Montana typical home.
| Billings | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 49% | 42% | 48% |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,138 a month | $994 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Montana average. Billings has grown 3.5% since 2020, to 121,239 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Billings | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 38.8 years | 39 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 22% | 21% | 22% |
50.2% women, 49.8% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±0.5 points. Across Montana, 49.3% of residents are women. Median age: women 40.5, men 37.7.
| Billings | MT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.8% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.2% | 10% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.7% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.5% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.9% | 12.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.5% | 11.1% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.6% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.7% | 12.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.2% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.5% | 5.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.5% | 27.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.2% | 22.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9% | 9.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.2% | 23.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.6% | 12% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Billings. Close and well known come first.
30 mi Park & preserveLewis and Clark National Historic Trail
in town Zoo & aquariumZooMontana
30 mi Park & preservePompeys Pillar National Monument
in town MuseumYellowstone Art Museum
39 mi National Recreation AreaBighorn Canyon National Recreation Area228K visitors a year
in town MuseumWestern Heritage CenterLewis and Clark National Historic Trail: United States Army Center of Military History, Public domain · ZooMontana: Montanabw, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pompeys Pillar National Monument: BLM photo, Public domain · Yellowstone Art Museum: Clyde Charles Brown, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area: National Park Service, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Public domain · Western Heritage Center: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain
3 within 15 miles of the center of Billings
About 4 of every 100 Billings residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Montana.
3 colleges in town.
39 places in Billings on the National Register of Historic Places.
65 notable people were born in Billings.
Largest city in Montana, U.S.
Billings is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana, and the 253rd most populous city in the United States. The population was 117,116 at the 2020 census, while the Billings metropolitan area has an estimated 193,000 people. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the county seat of Yellowstone County. Billings is the trade and distribution center for much of Montana east of the Continental Divide and has one of the largest trade areas in the United States. It is also the largest retail destination for much of the same area. The Billings Chamber of Commerce claims the area of commerce covers more than 125,000 square miles (320,000 km2). Billings was nicknamed th…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Billings.
Lockwood reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Billings with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Billings grades C overall, better than 26% of U.S. towns and #29 of 41 in Montana. It grades B+ for health, D for safety and C+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 5.2 years of the area's median household income ($77,194 across the Billings, MT metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
65 notable people were born here, including Bud Luckey and Stanley Anderson.
