Montana’s Safest Cities of 2024

See crime rates for the safest cities.

Montana has above-average crime rates for both violent and property crime—but the good news is that per capita crime rates fell across the board this year.

Still, our State of Safety Survey found that reported experiences with crime rose significantly year over year, despite a 20% drop in respondents who told us they're concerned about crime and safety on a daily basis.

Montana saw violent crime dip from 4.7 to 4.5 incidents per 1,000 people. That rate is still 14% higher than the nationwide rate of 4.0, and it's the seventeenth-highest in the country.

Property crime in Big Sky Country fell from 21.5 to 21.0 incidents per 1,000 people—putting the state within 2% of the national rate of 20.7. Overall, Montana reports the sixteenth-highest property crime rate in the US.

Montana's property crime rate is higher than the national average, and more residents told us they personally experienced property crime this reporting year. Maybe not surprisingly, Montanans are more concerned about property crime happening to them than violent crime. But Montana is less concerned about property crime than the nation as a whole.

• More Montana residents (34%) reported personal experiences with property crime this reporting year compared the year before (24%)—an increase of 42%.
• 32% of participants reported experiencing package theft in the 12 months prior to the survey, putting Montana below the US average of 35%. This makes Montana seventeenth-lowest for package theft experience.
• More than 7 in 10 of survey respondents (77%) use some form of property protection. This is above the 75% national average.
• Montana's top form of property protection this year was a tie between guard dogs and firearms, with 38% of survey respondents using them.
• 32% of Montanans say they increased their security measures in the 12 months prior to our survey (US 35%).

Despite the high violent crime, 54% of Montana residents feel safe in their state (US 45%). Those living in Big Sky Country also appear to have considerably lower concern for violent crime.

• 38% of Montanans reported being concerned about violent crime compared to 50% of Americans.
• 37% of Montanans reported being concerned about safety in general, compared to 47% of Americans.
• 21% of people in Montana reported having a personal experience with violent crime in the last 12 months prior to the survey—a shocking 110% increase from the previous year.
• 4 out of 10 of survey respondents (42%) report using some form of personal protection—outpacing the US average of 36%.
• 45% of those who carry personal protection use concealed firearms, followed by 40% who carry a pocket knife.

• 35% of those surveyed named gun violence as a safety concern (US 47%)—that's a 5% drop in concern year over year.
• 14% of Montana residents reported having experience with gun violence (US 12%)—a 56% rise year over year.
• Montana has had 0 mass shootings in the past five years, which is incredibly rare. It leads the nation in the fewest mass shootings.
• 45% said they use a concealed weapon for personal protection (US 41%). 
• 38% use a firearm to help protect their property (US 28%).

For the purposes of this report, the terms “dangerous” and “safest” refer explicitly to crime rates as calculated from FBI crime data—no other characterization of any community is implied or intended.

• 20 cities qualified for ranking in Montana this year. 
• Lewistown is the state's new safest city, jumping two spots to number one.
• Dillon and Hamilton are new to Montana's safest cities this year.
• There were zero reports of murder among the safest cities.
• All of the top four safest cities reported zero robberies.
• Miles City reported zero murders and zero rapes.
• All the safest cities have property crime rates well below the state and US rates.
• Each safest city reported fewer than 10 burglaries.

• 100 Safest Cities in the U.S.
• 10 Safest Big Cities in the U.S.
• Best Home Security Systems
• Best Home Security Cameras
• Best Video Doorbell Cameras
• Burglary Stats & Facts
• Over 50% Of All Burglaries Are Residential—How To Protect Your Family
• The Best Personal Safety Devices for Every Situation

Find all endnotes and sources in our full methodology.

FBI Crime Data Explorer, "Documents & Downloads." Accessed March 18, 2024.

• 2022 and 2021 Crime in the United States Annual Reports
  • Offenses Known to Law Enforcement
• 2022 NIBRS Estimation Tables

Bureau of Justice Statistics, "National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)." Accessed March 18, 2024.

Gun Violence Archive, "Mass Shootings." Accessed March 18, 2023.