Montana Crime Grades: A-F Safety Ratings for 44 Cities (2024)

Statewide grade C

44 cities graded A+ through F based on 2024 FBI crime data. State overall score: 43/100 (Average).

What is Montana’s crime safety grade?

Montana earned an overall safety grade of C (score: 43/100, Average) based on 2024 FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program data, with a statewide violent crime rate of 426.4 per 100,000 and property crime rate of 1645.6 per 100,000. PlainCrime graded 44 Montana cities with reportable crime data against national benchmarks, producing an A+ through F score for each jurisdiction. Grades weigh violent and property crime rates: cities more than 50% below the national average typically earn A or A+, while cities significantly above average receive D or F ratings.

Across the 44 graded Montana cities, 4 earned A+, 8 earned A, 5 received B, 13 landed at C, 4 received D, and 10 fell to F in the 2024 scoring. The highest-rated city is Bridger with a A+ grade (score: 99/100, violent rate 0/100K). The lowest-rated city is Cut Bank with a F grade (score: 0/100, violent rate 1032/100K).

Roughly 27% of graded cities in Montana achieved an A or A+ rating, while 32% received a D or F. Cities missing from this table either did not submit complete 2024 UCR data, fell below the minimum population threshold for reliable rate calculation, or report through consolidated agencies that aggregate into county or regional totals instead of individual city figures. Grade boundaries use the national violent and property crime rate averages for 2024 as the reference point, so grades are directly comparable between Montana and other states on the site.

A safety grade condenses several FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) measures into a single letter, ranking each state's violent and property crime rates against the national distribution rather than a fixed cutoff. A high grade therefore means a state compares well to its peers in a given year, not that it is free of crime. Grades move as the underlying rates move and as agency reporting completeness shifts from year to year. Two states with the same letter can have very different profiles: one may carry a higher violent-crime rate offset by low property crime, the other the reverse. Use the grade as a quick orientation, then read the component rates beneath it to see what is actually driving the number for this state.

A+

4 cities

8 cities

5 cities

13 cities

4 cities

10 cities

Bridger

0
Colstrip

0
Plains

0
Ennis

0
Stevensville

43.9
West Yellowstone

82.9
Whitefish

124.4
Libby

151.2

What this shows Bridger reports the lowest violent-crime rate in Montana. At 0 per 100K, it runs well below the Montana average of 426.4. These eight cities anchor the safe end of the state.

#	Grade	City	Score	Violent Rate	Property Rate	Population
1	A+	Bridger	99	0/100K	136.6/100K	732
2	A+	Colstrip	99	0/100K	97.8/100K	2,044
3	A+	Plains	97	0/100K	396.5/100K	1,261
4	A+	Ennis	96	0/100K	457.9/100K	1,092
5	A	Stevensville	89	43.9/100K	746.3/100K	2,278
6	A	West Yellowstone	86	82.9/100K	663.3/100K	1,206
7	A	Whitefish	78	124.4/100K	1088.3/100K	9,648
8	A	Libby	78	151.2/100K	756.2/100K	3,306
9	A	Red Lodge	78	182.7/100K	402/100K	2,736
10	A	Eureka	78	189.3/100K	378.5/100K	1,585
11	A	Baker	76	222/100K	166.5/100K	1,802
12	A	Hardin	75	190.4/100K	652.7/100K	3,677
13	B	Manhattan	74	189.1/100K	803.8/100K	2,115
14	B	East Helena	72	136/100K	1677.2/100K	2,206
15	B	Conrad	69	246.5/100K	739.5/100K	2,434
16	B	Miles City	63	307.2/100K	744.3/100K	8,464
17	B	Thompson Falls	63	329.2/100K	526.7/100K	1,519
18	C	Columbia Falls	59	274.1/100K	1593/100K	5,838
19	C	Columbus	57	260.6/100K	1928.1/100K	1,919
20	C	Belgrade	56	341.3/100K	1152.9/100K	13,184
21	C	Dillon	55	420.8/100K	350.6/100K	4,278
22	C	Kalispell	51	292.9/100K	2226.5/100K	31,754
23	C	Sidney	48	464.3/100K	696.4/100K	6,031
24	C	Hot Springs	48	471.7/100K	628.9/100K	636
25	C	Wolf Point	48	484.1/100K	484.1/100K	2,479
26	C	Hamilton	47	329.5/100K	2361.3/100K	5,463
27	C	Deer Lodge	47	461.7/100K	758.6/100K	3,032
28	C	Chinook	45	519.5/100K	432.9/100K	1,155
29	C	Bozeman	41	434.1/100K	1755.3/100K	58,509
30	C	Glasgow	40	503.9/100K	1102.4/100K	3,175
31	D	Livingston	29	596.2/100K	1324.9/100K	9,057
32	D	Helena	26	513.7/100K	2582.4/100K	35,238
33	D	Lewistown	25	644.1/100K	1207.7/100K	6,210
34	D	Glendive	25	670.3/100K	921.7/100K	4,774
35	F	Ronan City	23	535/100K	2719.6/100K	2,243
36	F	St. Ignatius	22	478.5/100K	9330.1/100K	836
37	F	Troy	21	641.7/100K	1711.2/100K	935
38	F	Laurel	16	542.8/100K	3604.7/100K	7,185
39	F	Havre	14	578.9/100K	3291.2/100K	9,328
40	F	Great Falls	13	574.4/100K	3426.4/100K	60,414
41	F	Missoula	11	596.9/100K	3629.4/100K	78,911
42	F	Billings	3	746.1/100K	3083.4/100K	122,105
43	F	Polson	3	987.9/100K	3119.6/100K	5,770
44	F	Cut Bank	0	1032/100K	4660.5/100K	3,004

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Montana's overall crime safety grade?

Montana has an overall safety grade of C (score: 43/100). This is based on the state's aggregate violent crime rate of 426.4 per 100K and property crime rate of 1645.6 per 100K compared to national averages.

How many cities in Montana have an A+ safety grade?

4 cities in Montana earned an A+ safety grade (2024), meaning their crime rates are well below the national average. 8 additional cities earned an A grade.

Which is the safest city in Montana?

Bridger is the highest-rated city in Montana with a A+ grade (score: 99/100). Its violent crime rate is 0 per 100K.

Nearby States, Crime Grades

Compare Montana's grade distribution with neighboring states, or use the compare tool to benchmark jurisdictions side-by-side.

Explore More

Montana Crime Overview → Safest Cities in Montana → All State Grades →

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Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, 2024. Safety scores based on violent and property crime rates vs. national averages published in FBI Crime in the United States (CIUS) Table 8. Population figures reference U.S. Census Bureau estimates where FBI-reported populations are unavailable. Verify with FBI.gov UCR and Census.gov QuickFacts.

Read our methodology , how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Every figure on PlainCrime is rendered directly from FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on FBI Uniform Crime Reporting source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.