Bozeman, MT

Metro Area Profile

124,074 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Bozeman, MT metropolitan area.

74out of 100
Area Score
Top 12% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 1% of 379 published metros90
GrowthTop 7% of 821 published metros78
Housing affordability787th of 822 published metros57
Climate779th of 822 published metros52
Physical resilienceTop 22% of 822 published metros75
AccessTop 19% of 822 published metros93
Economic stabilityTop 11% of 822 published metros82
The quick read

Bozeman ranks in the top 1% of published metro profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 2.7% and median household income of $93,528.

Buying strains local incomes far more than renting does — the median home is 7.1 times median household income, against a historic benchmark near three — while rent takes 22% of it.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published metro profiles, placing Bozeman in the top 22% for physical resilience.

At a glance

Population
124,074
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$93,528
Top 6% nationally
Density
48/sq mi
2605.4 sq mi of land
Median age
34.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Bozeman, MT
Nearest major airport
BZN
18 mi · Bozeman Yellowstone Intl
Median home value
$667,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 2.7% is lower than 98% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment fell 0.1% over the past year, to 76,951 employed residents.

54% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 99% of measured US metros.

Household income is higher than at least 94% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$3,326$93,528Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,929$54,482Top 3%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate9.5%Bottom 13%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute20.1 minBottom 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher54.3%Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment76,951Bottom 33%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)3.3%Top 13%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.1%Top 32%June 2026
Labor force79,071Bottom 31%June 2026
Labor force participation71.2%Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$65,670Top 25%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$54,830Top 13%2025 OEWS
Metro employment72,210Bottom 34%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.1%Top 44%June 2026
Unemployment rate2.7%Bottom 2%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/062.91.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 2.7% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Bozeman, MT
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons2,270$38,350
General and Operations Managers1,990$103,210
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,870$31,840
Cashiers1,460$38,130
Office Clerks, General1,390$50,800
Cooks, Restaurant1,370$42,430

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,694 takes 22% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 7.1 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
21.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
7.1×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,694
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$667,600
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income7.14Top 3%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate61.1%Bottom 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6257,568Top 36%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$60$1,694Top 5%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$15,234$667,600Top 2%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income21.7%Top 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate11.0%Bottom 47%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
78/ 100
Top 7% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 6% since 2020, reaching 126,984 in 2024.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

At 11.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
1,375
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
11.1
Top 4% nationally
Year over year
−10%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
39.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024127k120k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 10°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 13.4 inches.

0°20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BOZEMAN GALLATIN FLD, 18.7 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND2.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation13.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low10°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing47°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

75 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, wildfire and hail.

EarthquakeHigh
WildfireElevated
HailModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, avalanche, landslide, cold wave, lightning, inland flooding, strong wind, drought, heat wave, ice storm, volcanic activity, tornado.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 18 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Bozeman Yellowstone IntlBZN18 mi8,994 ft
YellowstoneWYS57 mi8,400 ft
Bert MooneyBTM71 mi9,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Put Bozeman side by side with a similar place.

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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.