Metro area · Montana

Billings, MT metro area

Billings, MT is a metropolitan area of 3 counties in Montana, home to 193,603 residents. Billings, MT metro area has a quality-of-life score of 82 out of 100 (very high), ranking #164 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in Montana it ranks #4 of 7. It ranks best on distance to an airport (low), gyms and fitness centers (high) and high school diploma or higher (high). It ranks worst on distance to an Amtrak station (high), violent crime rate (high) and suicide rate (high).

82Very high
Quality-of-life score
#164 of 925 metro and micro areas
Montana
#4 of 7 in MT
Population
193,603 (2025)
Land area
6,478 mi²
Density
29.9 /mi²
CBSA code
13740

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map
Location of Billings, MT metro area

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

  • Safety13#802/924
  • Economy94#60/925
  • Housing40#556/925
  • Health58#388/925
  • Healthcare83#157/923
  • Environment77#216/917
  • Education87#125/925
  • Infrastructure94#59/925
  • Community77#214/925
  • Leisure & amenities86#133/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Billings, MT metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Weaknesses

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Metro and micro areas like Billings, MT metro area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Billings, MT metro area in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

Federal contract spending

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

Counties in Billings, MT

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

  1. Yellowstone CountyCentral county77172,692
  2. Carbon CountyOutlying county8411,466
  3. Stillwater CountyOutlying county739,445

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

  1. BillingsPrincipal city119,434

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

  1. Billings119,434
  2. Laurel7,215
  3. Lockwood7,181
  4. Red Lodge2,502
  5. Columbus2,003
  6. Absarokee926
  7. Bridger788
  8. Park City764
  9. Joliet613
  10. Huntley455
  11. Fromberg438
  12. Worden416
  13. Shepherd353
  14. Rockvale350
  15. Ballantine262
  16. Belfry231
  17. Custer199
  18. Roberts191
  19. Broadview175
  20. Reed Point147
  21. Montaqua145
  22. Fishtail89
  23. Bearcreek88
  24. Acton87

Other metro and micro areas in Montana

Areas based in Montana, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

JSON · /api/v1/places/M13740