Montana’s Safest Cities of 2026

See crime rates for the safest cities.

In last year's State of Safety report, we saw a decrease in the percentage of Montana residents who told us they'd experienced a violent crime, property crime, or package theft over the previous 12 months. Gun violence experiences rose slightly year over year. 

Official crime data reported to the FBI paints a different picture, one where all types of crime are up across the state. Meanwhile, most of Montana's safest cities report lower-than-average crime rates.

The violent crime rate in Montana is 5.54 incidents per 1,000 people, which is higher than the national average of 4.43. We weren't able to report a statewide violent crime rate last year due to insufficient data, but in our 2024 report, Missouri reported a lower violent crime rate of 4.5.

Property crime in The Treasure State also increased in recent years, rising from 21.0 incidents per 1,000 people in 2024 to 27.51 incidents in this year's report. That's higher than the national property crime rate of 22.89. 

Montanans who took our State of Safety survey report a higher confidence level than the year before. About 63% say they feel safe in the state, up from 56%. That puts Montana above the national average of 48%, but there are still 10 states with residents who feel even safer. In fact, all of Montana's neighbors reported a higher confidence level.

Fewer Montanans experienced property crime and package theft in the year prior to our survey. As such, perhaps it's no surprise that Montanans are feeling less worried about these crimes.

• 25% of Montana residents said they experienced property crime in the 12 months prior to our survey, down from 26% the previous year (US 21%).
• Concern about property crime decreased from 47% to 43% (US 46%).
• 33% of participants reported experiencing package theft in the 12 months prior to the survey, down from 36% the previous year (US 31%).
• The percentage of Montana residents concerned about package theft fell from 46% to 42% (US 44%).
• 31% told us they increased security and safety measures in the 12 months prior to our survey (US 32%).
• Montanans prefer to protect their property with firearms (51%), security cameras (45%), and guard dogs (40%).

First-hand experiences with violent crime are down across Montana, as are daily concerns about violent crime. 

• 12% of people in Montana reported having a personal experience with violent crime in the last 12 months prior to the survey, down from 19% the year before (US 12%).
• The percentage of Montanans who worry about violent crime on a daily basis decreased from 52% to 41% year over year (US 55%). 
• 39% of Montanans report using some form of personal protection.
• Montana residents prefer to protect themselves with firearms (67%), pocket knives (36%), and pepper spray (36%).

• 38% of those surveyed named gun violence as a safety concern, which is the same percentage as the year before (US 55%).
• Residents of just three other states worry less about gun violence than Montanans: South Dakota (30%),  Alaska (32%), and Wyoming (32%). 
• Gun violence is the crime that Montanans are the least concerned about.
• 11% of Montana residents reported having experience with gun violence, up from 9% the previous year (US 9%).
• After a six-year streak with no mass shootings, Montana experienced two in 2025.

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.

• 22 cities met the criteria for ranking this year.
• Libby is the state's new safest city, jumping from second to first.
• After decreasing its violent crime by 66% and its property crime by 62% year over year, Hardin rose 11 places in our rankings to land at #2 this year.
• Both property crime and violent crime decreased year over year in five cities: Hardin, Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Glasgow, and Kalispell. 
• Property crime rates tend to be higher than violent crime rates in US cities, but Dillon sees the opposite trend. Its property crime rate is lower than its violent crime rate. 
• Montana's 10 safest cities are spread throughout the state. Only one, Belgrade, is located near a major city.
• Whitefish was the only city to report zero rapes.
• 1 murder was reported throughout Montana's 10 safest cities. It happened in Belgrade. 
• Dillon reported no motor vehicle thefts.
• 60% of the safest cities reported zero robberies. 

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