The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Billings, MT
Billings is the largest city in Montana, with 136,700 residents in Yellowstone County · Updated November 2026
Is Billings, MT safe?
With an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+, Billings has moderate crime by national standards. Most US neighborhoods have less: 69% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime. Violent and property crime both grade B+ here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Billings run from A+ to F, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
B+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 706 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
31% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Billings as a whole, and 69% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Billings scores 706.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Billings, MT at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Billings, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Billings
Car thefts run high in Central Terry, North Elevation & Highland. In this part of central Billings, they run at more than triple the rate in the rest of Billings.
Aggravated assault stands out among B-graded cities. For the typical resident of a B-graded US city, the figure is 3.1 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents; Billings has 5.7.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Billings
Low crime is the norm across Billings: 79% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 7% in areas graded D or F. Grades across Billings run from A+ to F; 28% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
79%14%
A or B 79%C 14%D or F 7%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Cameron Park, northwestBurglaries run at less than half the rate in the rest of Billings.A892
2Heights, northeastBurglaries run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Billings.A-778
3West End, southwestCar thefts run at about half the rate in the rest of Billings.B+763
4Southwest Corridor, southBurglaries run about 70% higher here than in the rest of Billings.B-569
6North Park & South Side, eastAggravated assaults run at more than double the rate in the rest of Billings.C-373
Neighborhood areas of Billings, ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is crime going up in Billings?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Billings is up 17% and property crime is down 25%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 6.5 to 7.6 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 42 to 31 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 16% and property crime fell 15%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
BillingsUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Billings. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Billings
Violent, US
Property, Billings
Property, US
2016
-24%
+4%
+14%
+15%
2017
-23%
+4%
+33%
+12%
2018
-13%
+0%
+17%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+29%
+4%
+9%
-8%
2021
+59%
+6%
+8%
-10%
2022
+44%
+5%
+2%
-6%
2023
+40%
+2%
-13%
-7%
2024
+17%
-4%
-25%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Billings
CrimeGrade™ estimates Billings has about 58 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 57% more than the US as a whole and 66% more than Montana.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft is the most common crime in Billings, about 37% of everything reported, but assault costs more, because each one does more harm.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Billings
Billings has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Billings, 59% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 32% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (59%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Car theft
Homes (30%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (32%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (37%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (45%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (51%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Billings compares with nearby cities
Billings has the most crime of its 7 nearest cities.
One thing sets Billings apart: it has 5.0 parking-lot spaces per resident, against 2.0 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft, and it runs high here.
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.5.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 97% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.12.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 75% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft and assault. 80% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (17 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 51% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.59 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 75% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Billings: F (0 of 100).under 1 trip an hourUS: noneLower than for 68% of US city residents
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.88% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 64% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Billings
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Billings about $1,713 a year per household, 42% more than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $95 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $308 million a year, or $2,255 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$13 million
$97
Rape
$6.2 million
$45
Robbery
$3.3 million
$24
Assault
$32 million
$235
Burglary
$4.3 million
$31
Theft
$15 million
$111
Vehicle theft
$8.6 million
$63
Arson
$890,000
$7
Vandalism
$11 million
$81
Total
$95 million
$694
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Billings means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Billings, MT average a SchoolGrade of C: 35% of students test proficient, against 37% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Billings on SchoolGrade
