Butte is a community of 32,100 in Silver Bow County, about 50 miles southwest of downtown Helena · Updated November 2026
Is Butte, MT safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A- means crime in Butte is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Butte sits near the middle: 49% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 51% in neighborhoods with less. Violent crime grades A and property crime A-. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Butte run from A+ to B-, so check the map or the safest and least safe neighborhoods below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 830 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
49% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Butte as a whole, and 51% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Butte scores 830.
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 Butte, MT at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Butte, 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 Butte
Aggravated assaults run high for an A-graded city. Butte has 4.7 aggravated assaults a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 1.2.
The safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Butte
Every part of Butte where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Butte run from A+ to B-; 30% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Silver Bow Park & Floral Park, eastCar thefts run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Butte.A-802
2Centerville, northwestCar thefts run about 60% higher here than in the rest of Butte.A-790
3Pioneer, northAggravated assaults run about 60% higher here than in the rest of Butte.B+768
Neighborhood areas of Butte, 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.
Crime rates and types in Butte
CrimeGrade™ estimates Butte has about 46 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 24% more than the US as a whole and 31% 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 Butte, about 45% of everything reported, but assault costs more, because each one does far 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.
Two things set Butte apart: it has 10.2% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 14.9 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places like that tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary and vandalism run high here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.10.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 87% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.14.9 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 87% 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. 60% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (28 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 78% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.8 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 81% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.9% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 64% 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.92% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 59% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Butte on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
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 Butte
Crime costs Butte about $1,044 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 13% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $40 million a year, or $1,238 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$550,000
$17
Rape
$520,000
$16
Robbery
$140,000
$4
Assault
$5.9 million
$185
Burglary
$800,000
$25
Theft
$3.4 million
$107
Vehicle theft
$1.4 million
$43
Arson
$120,000
$4
Vandalism
$1.7 million
$52
Total
$15 million
$453
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 Butte 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 Butte, MT average a SchoolGrade of C+: 36% of students test proficient, against 37% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Butte on SchoolGrade
