Bozeman, Montana

Area Profile

56,114 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Bozeman, in Gallatin County.

71out of 100
Area Score
Top 13% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 3% of 4,199 cities measured85
GrowthTop 8% of 4,224 cities measured76
Housing affordability3,530th of 4,218 cities measured46
Climate4,153rd of 4,225 cities measured52
Physical resilienceTop 32% of 4,226 cities measured73
AccessTop 21% of 4,226 cities measured98
Economic stabilityTop 21% of 4,226 cities measured71
The quick read

Bozeman ranks in the top 3% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 2.2% and median household income of $85,747.

872 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 3% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Housing costs more relative to local incomes than in most cities measured: rent takes 31% of renter income and the median home is 5.6 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
56,114
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$85,747
Top 28% nationally
Density
2,621/sq mi
21.4 sq mi of land
Median age
28.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Montana
Metro area
Nearest major airport
BZN
8 mi · Bozeman Yellowstone Intl
Median home value
$687,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 2.2%, lower than in 99% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 0.3% over the past year, to 38,072 employed residents.

65% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 95% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsGallatin County, MT’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$80,34662nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftGallatin County, MT’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$74,17555th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,6042024 ACS 5-Year$85,747Top 28%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,4292024 ACS 5-Year$52,507Top 15%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year6.7%Top 32%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year17.3 minTop 10%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year65.1%Top 5%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year63.2%16th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202638,072Bottom 40%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+4.4%Top 7%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.3%Top 39%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202638,91640th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year87.8%Top 15%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageBozeman, MT Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$65,670Bottom 34%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageBozeman, MT Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$54,830Top 34%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%82nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.3%Top 38%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20262.2%Top 1%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year16.1%79th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/072.81.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 2.2% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. 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.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202486k67k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $85,747 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

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

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

63% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 71% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.2 students for every full-time teacher across 11 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
11
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.2
across all schools here
Math proficiency
62.5%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
71.1%
2018-19 school year
All 11 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Bozeman High SchoolBozeman H S1,27916.253%66%
Sacajawea Middle SchoolBozeman Elem80716.555%71%
Emily Dickinson SchoolBozeman Elem53116.668%72%
Morning Star SchoolBozeman Elem48216.184%86%
Hawthorne SchoolBozeman Elem34819.382%77%
Longfellow SchoolBozeman Elem28918.172%72%
Whittier SchoolBozeman Elem26213.152%67%
Irving SchoolBozeman Elem17414.552%57%
LaMotte SchoolLaMotte Elem3311.065%75%
LaMotte 6-8LaMotte Elem2211.0——
Malmborg SchoolMalmborg Elem88.0——

19.2% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Montana’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 1% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 99.0, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Bozeman, MT Metro Area is up 42% over five years, and up 4.1% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $4,183 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.61% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,154, some 25% above the $1,717 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,154 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $86,200 a year, about 101% of the median household income here of $85,747.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,717 a month.

A median home at $687,900 costs 5.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $123,805, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Cost of living
99.0

Prices here run about 1% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Bozeman, MT Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
30.6%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,154
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,717
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$687,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Bozeman’s median household income of $85,747, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Bozeman, MT Metro Area’s figure202399.0Top 41%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Bozeman, MT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.1%67th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Bozeman, MT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+42.3%48th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Bozeman, MT Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+144.4%99th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year5.6Bottom 6%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year44.7%6th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5262024 ACS 5-Year25,90898th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,642Bottom 36%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,996Bottom 19%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,154Bottom 27%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$702024 ACS 5-Year$1,717Bottom 14%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$23,7582024 ACS 5-Year$687,90094th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1952024 ACS 5-Year$4,18384th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$8,9982024 ACS 5-Year$123,805Top 14%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.61%20th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year30.6%Bottom 38%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2232024 ACS 5-Year48897th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.9%68th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.6%42nd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3212024 ACS 5-Year1,93897th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

76/ 100
Top 8% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 7% since 2020, reaching 57,894 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 908 units authorized in 2025, up 5% on the prior year.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 57,894 residents in 2024, up 1.4% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Gallatin County, which contains Bozeman, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $80,346, above the $74,175 of households that moved out.

At 15.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
872
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
15.5
Top 5% nationally
Year over year
+3%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
59.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202458k54k
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. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
76%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$80,346
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$74,175
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Yellowstone County, MT 301 people · 4.0% of arrivals
  2. Park County, MT 236 people · 3.2% of arrivals
  3. Missoula County, MT 175 people · 2.3% of arrivals
  4. King County, WA 158 people · 2.1% of arrivals
  5. Lewis and Clark County, MT 145 people · 1.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Yellowstone County, MT 350 people · 4.8% of departures
  2. Park County, MT 270 people · 3.7% of departures
  3. Broadwater County, MT 218 people · 3.0% of departures
  4. Missoula County, MT 205 people · 2.8% of departures
  5. Lewis and Clark County, MT 198 people · 2.7% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Gallatin County, MT. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420251k867
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was close to 2020 (−4%).

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.

Air quality measures a median index of 18, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

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, 8.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year502024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals13.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals10°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year182024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals47°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
18
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
50
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

73 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and cold wave, with earthquake alone responsible for 25% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

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, tsunami, hurricane, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
397
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,622
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Bozeman's police department reported 397 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,622.

Gallatin County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.3 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 19.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 9.0 per 100,000 residents in Gallatin County.

Homicide
2.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
19.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
9.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
23.7
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Bozeman’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Bozeman (Gallatin County) rather than Bozeman itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Bozeman Yellowstone Intl at 8 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year92.0%Top 40%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle8 miTop 19%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year2.2%Top 20%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Bozeman Yellowstone IntlBZN8 mi8,994 ft
YellowstoneWYS69 mi8,400 ft
Bert MooneyBTM72 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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Area Score
71
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Other cities in Bozeman, MT

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
BelgradeGallatin County11,87270Belgrade vs Bozeman

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Bozeman side by side with a similar place.

Bozeman vs BelgradeBozeman vs Meridian

Moving to Bozeman from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Bozeman

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Bozeman with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
5971539,643$88,407$848,40069