Everyone wants a bit of a blissful breeze or a scoop of sunny sanctuary when looking for a place to live in Montana.
The more sun, the more you can go outside. The more you go outside, the more you’ll feel at peace. The more you’ll feel at peace, the more you’ll enjoy where you live.
So it makes sense to try and find the places with the best weather in Montana. We used Saturday Night Science to compare the number of sunny days, total precipitation, and the deviation from the ideal 70-degree weather for 6 places in Montana over 21,000 people.
Grab your shades and put away your raincoat as we look at the cities with the best weather in Montana.
326.2 sunny days · 61.5 degree average high
Located in
Yellowstone County, MontanaBillings is the largest city in the state of Montana, and the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area with a population of 166,855. It has a trade area of over half a million people.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
332.2 sunny days · 56.9 degree average high
Located in
Lewis and Clark County, MontanaHelena is the state capital of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County.
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325.5 sunny days · 58.1 degree average high
Located in
Cascade County, MontanaGreat Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The 2015 census estimate put the population at 59,638. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County and has a population of 82,278. Great Falls was the largest city in Montana from 1950 to 1970, when Billings surpassed it. Great Falls remained the second largest city in Montana until 2000, when it was passed by Missoula. Since then Great Falls has been the third largest city in the state.
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314.3 sunny days · 57.0 degree average high
Located in
Missoula County, MontanaMissoula is a city in the U.S. state of Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluences with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot Rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five mountain ranges, thus is often described as the “hub of five valleys”. In 2016, the United States Census Bureau estimated the city’s population at 72,364 and the population of the Missoula Metropolitan Area at 116,130. In the 1990s, Missoula overtook GreatFalls as Montana-s secondlargest city, behind Billings. Missoula is home to the University of Montana, a public research university.
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310.9 sunny days · 55.4 degree average high
Located in
Flathead County, MontanaKalispell is a city in, and the county seat of Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2015 Census estimates put Kalispell’s population at 22,052. The Kalispell Micropolitan Statistical Area has a population of 93,068 and it is the largest city and commercial center of northwest Montana. The name Kalispell is a Salish word meaning “flat land above the lake”. Kalispell is also the gateway to Glacier National Park.
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312.7 sunny days · 57.1 degree average high
Located in
Gallatin County, MontanaBozeman is a city in and the seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2010 census put Bozeman’s population at 37,280 and by 2016 the population rose to 45,250, making it the fourth largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of the Bozeman, MT Micropolitan Statistical Area, consisting of all of Gallatin County with a population of 97,304. It is the largest Micropolitan Statistical Area in Montana and is the third largest of all of Montana-s statistical areas.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Montana’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Montana’s best weather is
Saturday Night Science
How We Determined The Cities In Montana With The Best Weather
To rank the most fair weather cities in Montana, we used Saturday Night Science and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) database, to see which cities in the Treasure State get the best weather.
We used the following criteria to find the best weather:
- Number of sunny days
- Highest average low
- Average high deviation from 70 degrees
- Least amount of rain
- Least amount of snow
We ranked each city of over 21,000 people in Montana from best to worst on each criterion. We then averaged each ranking into a weather quality index. The city with the best index, Billings, was anointed the city with the best weather in Montana.
Before we get too far, here are the annual precipitation rates for major cities: Billings (13.8 inches), Missoula (15.6 inches), and Great Falls (14.2 inches).
The cities with the best weather in Montana are Billings, Helena, Great Falls, Missoula, Kalispell, Bozeman.
There’s a complete chart at the bottom.
The full plate
Detailed List Of Places With The Best Weather In Montana
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
Source: NOAA climate data. 6 Montana cities with more than 21,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: The Cities With The Best Weather In Montana For 2026
If you’re looking for the Montana cities with the most sunny days, the least rain and snow, and highs closest to a perfect 70 degrees, this is an accurate list.
The cities with the best weather in Montana are Billings, Helena, Great Falls, Missoula, Kalispell, Bozeman.
