Largest Cities in Montana: Ranked by Population

The largest city in Montana in our data is Billings, MT, with an estimated 120,728 people, followed by Missoula, MT (92,895) and Great Falls, MT (65,131). This list ranks the top 26 places among the 26 Montana communities with at least 5,000 residents.

What are the top 26 in Montana?

How big are the largest cities in Montana?

Of the 26 places with pages, 1 has more than 100,000 residents, 6 have between 25,000 and 100,000, and 19 have fewer than 25,000. The median place has about 8,487 people. The ten largest places account for about 81% of the combined population of all pages, which shows how concentrated the state's population is across communities. Flathead County contributes 4 of the top 26.

Which counties do the top 26 belong to?

The 26 places on this list are spread across 16 counties of Montana. Flathead County has 4 (Kalispell, Whitefish, Evergreen, Columbia Falls); Yellowstone County has 3 (Billings, Laurel, Lockwood); Gallatin County has 3 (Bozeman, Belgrade, Four Corners). Counties with several entries are usually centers of a metropolitan area, where one large city is surrounded by many suburbs that each pass the 5,000-resident threshold.

How does Montana compare with the rest of the country?

The median Montana place with a page has about 8,487 residents, compared with about 13,459 nationwide, so the state's typical community is smaller than the national typical place. Billings, MT ranks 368th among all US places by estimated population in our data. The state has 360 communities in total, of which 26 reach 5,000 residents. See the national ranking of the largest cities for comparison.

Quick answers about Montana cities

• Which is the largest city in Montana? Billings (120,728 people).
• How many Montana cities have more than 100,000 people? 1 in our data.
• How many have 25,000 to 100,000? 6.
• What is the typical size? About 8,487 residents for a place with a page.

How is this ranking made?

The data comes from the SimpleMaps US Cities Database, which gives each place an estimated population and a density in people per square kilometer. We convert density to people per square mile and rank the places with at least 5,000 residents. Boundaries matter: a city that includes large parks or farmland scores lower on density than a compact city of the same size, and population estimates can include areas that share a city's ZIP codes. Read why population figures differ and how density is calculated before you quote a number.

Where to go next

Rankings use dataset estimates, not official counts.