City: Billings
State: Montana
Best Cities Overall Rank: 16
About Billings: Thousands of visitors stop by on their way to Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Grand Teton National Park, and the Little Bighorn National Monument.
Billings had a 6% unemployment rate in 2010 and is ranked 99 for Best Jobs amongst our city picks.
County: Yellowstone
Population: 103,994
Official website for city visitors' bureau/city: Visitor's bureau website
Newspaper with the largest circulation: Visitor's bureau website The Billings Gazette
Billings blogs:
Billings's Facebook page: Follow Billings on Facebook
Billings's Twitter page: Follow Billings on Twitter
Education rank: 65
High School graduation rate 2008: 85%
Blue Ribbon Schools, 2003-2009: 0
Blue Ribbon Schools per 100,000 people: 0
NEAYC-accredited preschools: 1
NAEYC schools per 100,000 people: 0.96
NAEP State proficiency reading, grade 8: 270
Pupil/Teacher Ratio: 15.6
Total Expenditures Per Student: $8, 548.5
Health rank: 41
Quality children's hospitals: 0
Hospitals per 100,000 people: 0
Quality Pediatricians: 1
Quality Pediatricians per 100,000: 0.96
Average number of Unhealthy Air Quality days between 2006-2008, by county: 0
Safety rank: 59
Violent Crimes, 2008: 272
Violent Crime Rate per 100,000: 261.55
Sex Offenders: 852
Sex Offenders per 100,000: 819.28
Economy rank: 2
Travel time to work, 2006-2008, in minutes: 15.69
Percent of labor force unemployed, January 2010: 6
Best Performing Cities Job Index: 314.46
Median Home List Price: $200,000
Recreation Rank: 17
Parkland acreage, 2008 (includes pools and playgrounds): 2,596
Parkland per 100,000: 2,496.29
