The 10 Safest Cities In Montana For 2025

The safest cities in Montana are Colstrip and Red Lodge for 2025 using Saturday Night Science.

If you want the safest neighborhoods, schools, parks, and overall communities, look no further than the safest places to live in Montana. Big Sky Country has some of the safest places to live in America.

And, folks, it's your lucky day. HomeSnacks is here to give you the ultimate guide. We've broken down the safest places in Montana for 2025, and the top ten list is below.

How did we determine Montana's safest places? We consulted the most recent FBI data on places in Montana with more than 2,000 residents. We looked at two critical factors in violent and property crime per capita. We ended up with 32 places you could call home in Montana. This is our tenth time ranking Montana's safest cities, so trust us when we say we know what we're talking about.

Whether you're looking for that "how the West was won" vibe that Billings offers, or that middle of nowhere Montana scene like Great Falls, or just a great ski town like Bozeman, Montana has something great and safe for everyone.

Continue to see a list of Montana's safest places. You won't be disappointed.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Table

Here are the 10 safest cities to live in Montana for 2025:

  1. Colstrip (Homes For Sale)
  2. Red Lodge (Homes For Sale)
  3. Stevensville (Homes For Sale)
  4. Hardin (Homes For Sale)
  5. Libby (Homes For Sale)
  6. Conrad (Homes For Sale)
  7. Whitefish (Homes For Sale)
  8. Dillon (Homes For Sale)
  9. Manhattan (Homes For Sale)
  10. Miles City (Homes For Sale)
Safest Cities In Montana Map

So, what is the number one safest place in Montana? The safest place in Montana is Colstrip.

If you want to see how Montana's other amazing, safe places faired, take a look at the list below. And if you don't see your favorite there, head to the bottom.

For more reading on safe places to live in and around Montana, check out:

The 10 Safest Cities In Montana For 2025

1. Colstrip
Colstrip, MT
Source: Public domain

Population: 2,044
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 0 (safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 97 (safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Colstrip: Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility
8.5
/10

Colstrip is no stranger to the Homesnacks spotlight; we've already named it the second best and fourth most affordable place to live in Montana for 2019. Being #1 in safety is just one more reason Colstrip is a superstar city.

Colstrip averaged just one property crime per month and one violent crime every three months, so your chances of getting into trouble with criminals is basically nil. In fact, the 1 in 1,022 chance residents face of being the victim of a property crime is nearly five times lower than the national average. Colstrip also has a ton of great parks, making it a great city for families.

2. Red Lodge
Red Lodge, MT
Source: Public domain

Population: 2,736
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 182 (sixth safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 402 (third safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Red Lodge: Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility
8.5
/10

Red Lodge ranks as the second safest place to live in Montana for 2025.

Crime can be an issue for places that are tucked away but not for Red Lodge. This mountain town seems to strictly attract the best types of people, which probably explains why it only had 5 violent crimes reported in 2024.

The citizens and visitors of Red Lodge obviously have a deep respect for the boundaries of others, their property included. After a day of cross-country skiing along the Silver Run National Recreation Trail, you can hit the hay here with confidence. Since only 1 burglaries were reported in 2024, it is safe to assume you will wake up to find everything right where you left it.

3. Stevensville
Stevensville, MT
Source: Wikipedia User Sam Beebe/Ecotrust | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 2,278
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 43 (second safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 746 (ninth safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Stevensville: Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Stevensville is a community with a rich history dating back to Montana's beginnings. And while it may not have been one of the safest areas to reside in back then, it certainly is today.

The town of 2,278 only had 1 violent crimes and 17 property crimes reported in 2024. What is even better is that car theft was not a major contributor to those numbers. That data is good news all around but especially so if you were planning on driving over to the Stevensville Historical Museum to learn more about the community's story throughout time. Nothing cancels plans faster than a missing ride.

4. Hardin
Hardin, MT
Source: Wikipedia User Coemgenus at English Wikipedia | GFDL

Population: 3,677
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 190 (eighth safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 652 (fifth safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Hardin: Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Hardin ranks as the fourth safest city in Montana with just 7 violent crimes. The city also reports a mere 24 property crimes.

Established in 1911 and acting as the county seat of Big Horn County, Hardin achieved local significance because of agricultural landmarks such as Thomas D. Campbell's wheat farming and economic diversification seen with the establishment of the Holly Sugar Company. This blend of history and economic stability, alongside a steady population of 3,677, plays a crucial role in Hardin's consistent crime management, keeping it among the top safe havens in Montana.

5. Libby
Libby, MT
Source: Public domain

Population: 3,306
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 151 (fifth safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 756 (tenth safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Libby: Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

The city of Libby is located in the middle of the Kootenai Valley, along a river, in the heart of the Kootenai National Forest so you'd better believe you'll have an endless supply of photo-ops when you move here.

Apparently, the natural beauty does a lot to lower residents' violent impulses, because Libby is the least violent city per capita in Montana. To give you an idea, Libby had more seasons than violent crimes in the last year of available data. Now if Libby can just bring its property crime rate down a bit, the city could easily feature higher on this list next year.

6. Conrad
Conrad, MT
Source: Wikipedia User 5of7 | CC BY-SA 2.0

Population: 2,434
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 246 (ninth safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 739 (seventh safest)
Murders: 1
Murders Per 100k: 41
More on Conrad: Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility
8
/10
Whitefish, MT
Source: Wikipedia User Elkman | GFDL

Population: 9,648
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 124 (third safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 1,088 (14th safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Whitefish: Data | Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility
8.5
/10

As long as you don't break a wrist skiing or snowboarding The Big Mountain, you're going to be pretty safe in Whitefish. The town had the third safest rate of violent crime in the state, with about three times less violence than the national average. Whitefish's property crime ranking was also in the top ten statewide.

There is a catch to living in a super-safe mountain resort town in one of the nation's most spectacular national parks. It's the second most expensive place in Montana. But we think living in Whitefish is worth every penny.

8. Dillon
Dillon, MT
Source: Public domain

Population: 4,278
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 420 (15th safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 350 (second safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Dillon: Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Dillon is the eighth safest place to live in Montana, but it does have a sort of spooky aspect to it. Why?

Well, Bannack State Park is a historical ghost down, with over 60 original structures built as early as the 1860's during the gold rush. Luckily, any ghostly gold-diggers that might be hanging around evidently found enough nuggets that they don't need to steal these days; Dillon had the second safest rate of property crime in Montana.

9. Manhattan
Manhattan, MT
Source: Flickr User Tim Evanson | CC BY-SA 2.0

Population: 2,115
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 189 (seventh safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 803 (12th safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Manhattan: Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Manhattan, situated in Gallatin County, Montana, with a modest population of 2,115, is distinguished for its exceptional safety record. The town had 0 murders and only 4 violent crime incidents, leading it to be the seventh safest lowest for violent crime. Property crime is relatively infrequent, positioning Manhattan as the 12th safest community regarding property incidents, having reported only 17 occurrences.

Manhattan renamed itself to honor its thriving barley industry. Despite its limited size of less than 2 square miles, Manhattan upholds a tight-knit community and a very low crime per capita rate of 992/100k people.

Miles City, MT
Source: Wikipedia User Larry D. Moore | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 8,464
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 307 (12th safest)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 744 (eighth safest)
Murders: 0
Murders Per 100k: 0
More on Miles City: Data | Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility
8
/10

Located in the southeastern part of the state in Custer County, Miles City is the tenth safest city in Montana. Miles City residents had about a 1 in 325 chance of being the victim of a violent crime, which is about half as much as the national average. The property crime rate in Miles City is also the eighth safest in Montana. Miles City is home to Pirogue Island State Park, an island on the Yellowstone River that'll make fishers and bird-watchers alike happy for hours.

Methodology: How we calculated the safest cities in Montana for 2025

Safest Cities in Montana Graph

While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in Montana are the safest, we wanted to rely on something other than speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from the FBI's most recent crime report in Montana.

Specifically, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, which summarizes the number of property and violent crimes in each city annually. We used two criteria:

  • Violent crimes per capita (murders, assaults, rapes, armed robberies)
  • Property crimes per capita (thefts, burglaries, motor vehicle thefts)

For example, there were 2 crimes committed in Colstrip, with a reported population of 2,044. That means the number of crimes per capita is 0.001, which translates into a 1 in 1,022 chance of being the victim of a crime.

We only looked at Montana cities that have populations of more than 2,000. This filter left us with 32 of the biggest cities in Montana to rank.

We ranked each city for each criterion from 1 to 32 where 1 in any particular category is the safest.

Next, we averaged each place's two criteria to create a Safety Index. We crowned the place with the lowest overall Safety Score, "The Safest Place In Montana," with any ties going to the bigger city.

The safest city in Montana, based on our criteria, is Colstrip. The most dangerous city in Montana? Cut Bank, where residents had a 1 in 17 chance of being the victim of a crime.

This article has been update for 2025. This report marks our tenth time ranking the safest places to live in Montana. All the data comes from the FBI's Crime In The USA 2024 report.

Worst Places To Live In Montana

Summary: The Safest Cities In The Treasure State

Looking at the data, you can tell that Colstrip is as safe as they come in Montana, according to science and data.

But as most Montana residents would agree, almost every place here has its safe and not safe parts. So just make sure you're informed ahead of time.

The safest places in Montana are .

Here's a look at the most dangerous cities in Montana according to the data:

  1. Cut Bank
  2. Polson
  3. Missoula
For more reading, check out:

Where Are The 10 Safest Cities In Montana For 2025?

Rank City Population Violent Crimes Per 100k Property Crimes Per 100k Murders Per 100k Murders
1 Colstrip, MT 2,044 0 97 0 0
2 Red Lodge, MT 2,736 182 402 0 0
3 Stevensville, MT 2,278 43 746 0 0
4 Hardin, MT 3,677 190 652 0 0
5 Libby, MT 3,306 151 756 0 0
6 Conrad, MT 2,434 246 739 41 1
7 Whitefish, MT 9,648 124 1,088 0 0
8 Dillon, MT 4,278 420 350 0 0
9 Manhattan, MT 2,115 189 803 0 0
10 Miles City, MT 8,464 307 744 0 0
11 Wolf Point, MT 2,479 484 484 0 0
12 Sidney, MT 6,031 464 696 0 0
13 East Helena, MT 2,206 135 1,677 0 0
14 Deer Lodge, MT 3,032 461 758 0 0
15 Columbia Falls, MT 5,838 274 1,593 0 0
16 Belgrade, MT 13,184 341 1,152 7 1
17 Kalispell, MT 31,754 292 2,226 0 0
18 Glasgow, MT 3,175 503 1,102 0 0
19 Hamilton, MT 5,463 329 2,361 0 0
20 Bozeman, MT 58,509 434 1,755 0 0
21 Glendive, MT 4,774 670 921 0 0
22 Livingston, MT 9,057 596 1,324 0 0
23 Helena, MT 35,238 513 2,582 2 1
24 Lewistown, MT 6,210 644 1,207 0 0
25 Ronan City, MT 2,243 534 2,719 0 0
26 Great Falls, MT 60,414 574 3,426 0 0
27 Havre, MT 9,328 578 3,291 0 0
28 Laurel, MT 7,185 542 3,604 0 0
29 Billings, MT 122,105 746 3,083 7 9
30 Missoula, MT 78,911 596 3,629 2 2
31 Polson, MT 5,770 987 3,119 17 1
32 Cut Bank, MT 3,004 1,031 4,660 33 1

Breaking Down Crime In The Safest And Most Dangerous Cities In Montana

Safest Cities in Montana Breakdown

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn.

Safest Cities By State

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