Montana’s Safest Cities of 2024

Alina Bradford
Mar 18, 2024
bullet3 min read
SafeWise is pleased to release the 10th annual Safest Cities report.

Here are the 5 Safest Cities in Montana for 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.

In this report

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NOTE: If your city is missing from our full report, it means that it was below the population threshold or didn’t submit a complete crime report to the FBI in 2022.

2024 Montana crime rates

Image: SafeWise

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.

Property crime in Montana: Fear vs. reality

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%).

What security measures do Montanans use most?

Security measures used most in Montana: firearms, guard dogs, security cameras.

Image: SafeWise


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What crimes are Montana residents concerned about most?

Image: SafeWise

Violent crime in Montana: Fear vs. reality

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.

Attitudes about gun violence in Montana

  • 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%).

A closer look at the safest cities in Montana

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.

The 5 safest cities in Montana

Image: SafeWise

#1
Lewistown
(
+2
bullet
)
  • bullet
    Population
    6,135
  • bullet
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    3.7, 4.9, 3.6
  • bullet
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    0.7, 1.7, 7.4
  • bullet
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
Dillon, Montana, map image
#2
Dillon
(
New
)
  • bullet
    Population
    4,075
  • bullet
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    2.5, N/A, 3.0
  • bullet
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    7.6, N/A, 2.3
  • bullet
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
#3
Hamilton
(
New
)
  • bullet
    Population
    5,138
  • bullet
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    1.4, N/A, 3.4
  • bullet
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    13.4, N/A, 29.6
  • bullet
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
Glendive, Montana, map image
#4
Glendive
(
+3
bullet
)
  • bullet
    Population
    4,860
  • bullet
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    3.5, 4.5, 1.2
  • bullet
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    6.8, 15.6, 5.9
  • bullet
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime
#5
Miles City
(
+5
bullet
)
  • bullet
    Population
    8,437
  • bullet
    VC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    3.7, 6.4, 2.3
  • bullet
    PC Rate 2024, 2023, 2022
    6.6, 14.1, 13.0
  • bullet
    VC=Violent crime, PC=Property crime

How we determined the safest cities

Learn how we identified the safest cities on our methodology page.

How to make a safe home anywhere

Over 6 in 10 Americans surveyed don't have a home security system, despite over 50% of all burglaries being residential. Unfortunately, a majority of people who have a security system added it after they had a break-in. One of the best ways to stop a burglary before it happens—and get immediate help if a break-in is detected—is to add a monitored home security system.

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Get a home security system

Find out which companies we recommend for every budget and lifestyle in our roundup of the Best Home Security Systems—and learn the basics with our guide on Everything You Need to Know About Home Security

Find security and safety resources in your area

Find the safest cities in each state

Click on the state image or dropdown menu below to check out the safest cities for each state.

Related articles on SafeWise


Endnotes and sources

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.

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Alina Bradford
Written by
Alina Bradford
Alina is a safety and security expert that has contributed her insights to CNET, CBS, Digital Trends, MTV, Top Ten Reviews, and many others. Her goal is to make safety and security gadgets less mystifying one article at a time. In the early 2000s, Alina worked as a volunteer firefighter, earning her first responder certification and paving the way to her current career. Her activities aren’t nearly as dangerous today. Her hobbies include fixing up her 100-year-old house, doing artsy stuff, and going to the lake with her family.

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