What is the cost of living in Billings?

Billings has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 93.5, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 77.4, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,417/month.

What is the median salary in Billings?

The median salary in Billings is $64,222 annually (mean: $68,189). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses.

How safe is Billings?

The violent crime rate in the Billings area is 426 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1646 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Billings?

The state of MT has 826 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 11.3:1. About 84.7% are Title I schools.

How much does childcare cost in Billings?

Infant center-based childcare in the Billings area averages $11,466 per year. Preschool averages $10,243/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Billings a good place to relocate?

Billings has a Life Score of 44.1/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Billings sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Billings ranks #188 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Billings, MT

LiveAbility 51.7/100 places Billings #188 of 387 (middle third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

93.5
Cost index (US=100): $1,417
2BR rent / mo: $64,222
Median salary: 51.7
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Billings ranks #188 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (51.7/100), with its strongest marks in schools and air quality.

#188
of 387 US metros · Above median: 1,137,233
metro-area population: 426
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 826
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: climate (7/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Billings ranks #188 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 93.5 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,417/mo, median salary $64,222; LiveAbility Score 51.7/100, strongest in schools and air quality.

Signature: LiveAbility 51.7/100 places Billings #188 of 387 (middle third).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 93.5 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,417/mo.

LiveAbility 51.7/100 keeps Billings in the middle third (#188 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Billings area is 86,460.

Billings vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

52 Top 49% higher than 51% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

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 and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Billings housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Billings MSA; housing RPP 77.4 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,417/mo.

Studio

$1,016

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,109

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,417

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,951

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,216

/month

Billings wages and employment

Billings posts 86,460 total employment with median salary $64,222.

Median Salary

$64,222

Mean Salary

$68,189

Total Employment

86,460

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$29,130
Retail Salespersons	$35,760
Registered Nurses	$82,300
General and Operations Managers	$96,980
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	$60,850

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Billings area from NCES.

Schools

826

Enrollment

146,015

Student:Teacher

11.3:1

Title I %

84.7%

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Billings area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$11,466

per year

Toddler (Center)

$11,929

per year

Preschool (Center)

$10,243

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Billings's composite Life Score is 44.1/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

50/100

Average

Wages

56/100

Above average

Rent

36/100

Below average

Crime

25/100

Weak

Schools

8/100

Bottom decile

Childcare

36/100

Below average

Environment

94/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Billings ranks #188 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 51.7/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Schools (93/100)

Schools

93
Air quality

78
Low hazard

64
Job market

56
Cost of living

50
Housing

36
Safety

25
Climate

7

What this shows Billings's strongest dimensions are schools and air quality; its weakest among scored dims is climate at 7/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Billings to

Mansfield McAllen-Edinburg-Mission Medford Memphis Merced Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

Metros near Billings on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Billings on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Billings cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Billings wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Billings?

On the federal data, Billings shows a $64,222 median salary, a 93.5 cost index and a LiveAbility rank of #188 of 387.

Turn Billings's pay and cost figures into a number for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Billings head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Billings
Abilene is the nearest related metro in this corpus, and the two are easy to compare. Abilene profile
When cost and LiveAbility disagree, the guide shows how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Federal-data percentiles for cost, salary and score; they are not a recommendation to move.