Billings, MT

The affordability dashboard for Billings, MT aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 4 ZIP codes covering 128,125 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (58/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $75,957, median home value of $333,433, median rent of $1,177 per month, and 34.4% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. These four metrics alone explain most of the variance between city dashboards.

Cross-agency feeds widen the picture beyond Census demographics. HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in this county at $1,417 per month (studio $1,016, 1BR $1,109, 3BR $1,951, 4BR $2,216). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $11,788 per year, consuming 16% of the local median household income.

Reading the overall grade requires reading all seven dimensions together. The score weights Income 20%, Safety 20%, Housing 15%, Rent 15%, Education 10%, Commute 10%, and Childcare 10%, with each sub-score benchmarked against national percentiles rather than state averages — so the grade is genuinely comparable across any city in the country. Strengths visible in the raw data for Billings, MT include commute. Pressure points are housing. Unemployment currently reads 3.6% and poverty 9.9% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.