Safety First! These are the safest towns to live in Montana

I feel generally safe living in Montana.  However, some cities are safer than others, and that matters when you're thinking of putting down roots.  I did some digging, and it looks like these are the safest towns to live in Montana according to New Home Source and Travel Safe Abroad.

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One thing that is unsettling in Montana as I dig into this, we have a lot of rapes.  (Alaska is the rapiest state in the union, BY FAR) For such a low population in general, around 1.1 million people in the state, Montana had just around 600 reported rapes in 2022.  As a woman, I'm betting it's actually around double that number.  I got these statistics from World Population Review and Statista.  Keep this rape statistic in mind as we talk about the safest towns in our state.

Another thing to keep in mind, these are generally pretty secluded towns with low population.  Yes, Kalispell and Bozeman make the list, but they're gigantic in terms of the population of the rest of the recommended towns.  To get a high level of safety, it looks like a low level of population is the key.

The Safest Towns in Montana

Laurel, just outside of Billings.  The population is right around 7,000.  The crime rate is 32% below Montana average.

Columbia Falls, just outside of Kalispell.  The population is right around 6,000. The crime rate is 34% below state average.   Keep in mind, there were 3 rapes here last year.

Kalispell, in the heart of Glacier country.  The population is right around 25,000 and the crime rate is 20% below the national average.  Property crime is 20% above national average.

Bozeman, in Eastern Montana.  The population is around 55,000.  The crime rate is 36% lower than the state average However there were 33 rapes in Bozeman last year. That number is incredibly high for the population.

Lewistown, at the center of Montana.  The population is at about 6,000.  The crime rate is at 67% lower than the national average.

Dillon in Southwest Montana, just outside of Butte.  The population is around 4,000 and the crime rate is 69% lower than national average.

Miles City, 20 miles south of Glendive, in a very isolated area of the state .  The population is just over 8,000.  They don't give an actual figure, but the crime rate is below national average.

Whitefish, in northern Montana near Glacier Park.  The population is around 7,000.  Last year there were 16 violent crimes, 2 of which were rapes.  The crime rate is 50% below the national average.

Glendive, in eastern Montana near the North Dakota border.  The population is about 5,000 and their crime rate is 70% below the national average.

On the opposite side of the coin: