PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Billings, MT

35.6
Life Score / 100
D
Grade (curved)
#368
of 387 metros
5%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Billings ranks #368 of 387 US metros, ahead of 5% - carried by its wages (56/100) and held back most by schools (8/100).

56
strongest: Wages
50
then: Cost of Living
8
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Billings sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

36 5th percentile higher than 5% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). This entry sits in this band. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Billings Life Score

Billings's composite score of 35.6 out of 100, a grade of D, places the metro at rank #368 of 387, ahead of 5% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (56/100) and Cost of Living (50/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (8/100) and Environment (9/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 93.5 (rent-RPP 77.4). BLS median salary $64,222, 86,460 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,417/mo (studio $1,016).

FBI UCR (MT): 426 violent, 1646 property/100K. NCES: 11.8:1 ratio, 0.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,466/yr. EPA: 19 Superfund sites (MT). Ranks #365-#371 below.

Dimension detail

How Billings scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 50/100 (20%)
Wages 56/100 (20%)
Rent 36/100 (15%)
Safety 25/100 (15%)
Schools 8/100 (10%)
Childcare 36/100 (10%)
Environment 9/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

93.5
Cost Index (RPP)
$64,222
Avg Median Salary
$1,417
2BR Fair Market Rent
426
Violent Crime/100K (MT)
11.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$11,466
Infant Childcare/yr (MT)
19
Superfund Sites (MT)
86,460
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Billings With...

Billings vs Missoula Compare → Billings vs Helena Compare → Billings vs Great Falls Compare → Billings vs Wildwood Compare → Billings vs Waterloo Compare → Billings vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Billings outranks 5% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#365 Santa Fe, NM 35.7 D
#366 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR 35.7 D
#367 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO 36.3 D
#368 Billings, MT 35.6 D
#369 Missoula, MT 35.2 D
#370 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ 35.1 D
#371 Colorado Springs, CO 34.8 D

MT Metro Scores

Missoula, MT D 35.2 Helena, MT D 34.0 Great Falls, MT F 30.6 Bozeman, MT F 26.0

Using Billings's Life Score

Billings is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is wages (56/100) and its weakest is schools (8/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Billings head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Billings lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Billings's biggest strengths? ▼
Billings's strongest dimensions are Wages (56/100), Cost of Living (50/100), Childcare (36/100).
What are Billings's weakest areas? ▼
Billings's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (8/100), Environment (9/100), Safety (25/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Billings compared to the national average? ▼
Billings's Regional Price Parity is 93.5 (6.5% less than national); rent RPP 77.4.
What is the average salary in Billings? ▼
Billings median salary: $64,222, 86,460 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Billings's 35.6/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.