Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Montana?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
So we wanted to get the facts straight and dug into the FBI crime data in order to identify the places with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita in Montana.
The result is the Murder Capitals of the Treasure State for 2023:
What city has the highest murder rate in Montana? The city with the highest murder rate in Montana is Cut Bank with 33.0 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Montana with highest number of murders? The city in Montana with the highest number of murders is Billings with 6 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Montana ranked. There were ‘only’ 8 cities in Montana where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 23 places had no murder.
For more reading on the Treasure State check out:
Article Table Of Contents
The 10 Murder Capitals Of Montana For 2023
/10
Population: 110,274
Rank Last Year: 1
Murders: 6 (Most)
Murders Per 100k: 5.4 (5th Most)
More on Billings: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 25,926
Rank Last Year: 11
Murders: 2 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 7.7 (4th Most)
More on Kalispell: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 3,028
Rank Last Year: 22
Murders: 1 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 33.0 (Most)
More on Cut Bank: Data | Crime Report
/10
Population: 4,318
Rank Last Year: 4
Murders: 1 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 23.2 (2nd Most)
More on Dillon: Data | Crime Report
/10
Population: 58,265
Rank Last Year: 8
Murders: 2 (2nd Most)
Murders Per 100k: 3.4 (6th Most)
More on Great Falls: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 7,991
Rank Last Year: 14
Murders: 1 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 12.5 (3rd Most)
More on Livingston: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 52,586
Rank Last Year: 9
Murders: 1 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 1.9 (7th Most)
More on Bozeman: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
/10
Population: 77,852
Rank Last Year: 5
Murders: 1 (6th Most)
Murders Per 100k: 1.3 (8th Most)
More on Missoula: Data | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Montana
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we didn’t want to rely on speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report which summarizes the number of murders that may happen in each city per year.
We only looked every single city in Montana for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 8 cities to rank.
Finally, we averaged the two scores into an index:
- The raw number of murders in each city
- The murders per person
We felt as if a small place with 2,500 people and two murders makes it a lot more dangerous than a city of 25,000 people with three murders. Any ties went to the larger city.
This article is an opinion based on facts. It is our tenth time ranking the most places with the most murders per capita in Montana and is updated for 2023.
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Montana For 2023
If you’re looking at the places in Montana with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
For more Montana reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Montana
- Fastest Growing Cities In Montana
- Safest Places In Montana
- Best Cities For Singles In Montana
- Worst Places To Live In Montana
Detailed List Of The Places With The Most Murder In Montana For 2023
| Rank | City | Murders |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billings, MT | 6 |
| 2 | Kalispell, MT | 2 |
| 3 | Cut Bank, MT | 1 |
| 4 | Dillon, MT | 1 |
| 5 | Great Falls, MT | 2 |
| 6 | Livingston, MT | 1 |
| 7 | Bozeman, MT | 1 |
| 8 | Missoula, MT | 1 |
