FBI quarterly crime data · 12 months ending March 2026
Montana Crime Trends
Violent crime in Montana is down 6.5% and property crime is down 10.1% in the 12 months ending March 2026 compared with the year before — summed from preliminary reports by 110 agencies covering 1,143,800 people.
Montana crime by offense
Offenses reported by Montana agencies in the 12 months ending March 2025 and the 12 months ending March 2026. Percent changes are derived from our summed common-month counts, not FBI-published.
| Offense | To March 2025 | To March 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 4,884 | 4,565 | -6.5% |
| Murder & nonnegligent manslaughter | 27 | 34 | +25.9% |
| Rape | 730 | 659 | -9.7% |
| Robbery | 206 | 201 | -2.4% |
| Aggravated assault | 3,921 | 3,671 | -6.4% |
| Property crime | 17,973 | 16,163 | -10.1% |
| Burglary | 1,808 | 1,395 | -22.8% |
| Larceny-theft | 14,321 | 13,294 | -7.2% |
| Motor vehicle theft | 1,844 | 1,474 | -20.1% |
| Arson* | 167 | 143 | -14.4% |
*Arson is reported separately and not included in the property crime index.
Montana, month by month
Each month of the 12 months ending March 2026 against the same calendar month a year earlier — sums of Montana agency reports, with percent changes derived from those sums. Months are never chained into one continuous series, because the set of reporting agencies differs month to month.
Violent crime
| Month | Year earlier | Latest | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2025 | 383 | 397 | +3.7% |
| May 2025 | 442 | 459 | +3.8% |
| June 2025 | 406 | 448 | +10.3% |
| July 2025 | 498 | 467 | -6.2% |
| August 2025 | 396 | 425 | +7.3% |
| September 2025 | 447 | 388 | -13.2% |
| October 2025 | 426 | 349 | -18.1% |
| November 2025 | 377 | 387 | +2.7% |
| December 2025 | 394 | 315 | -20.1% |
| January 2026 | 332 | 299 | -9.9% |
| February 2026 | 349 | 360 | +3.2% |
| March 2026 | 434 | 271 | -37.6% |
Property crime
| Month | Year earlier | Latest | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2025 | 1,413 | 1,331 | -5.8% |
| May 2025 | 1,553 | 1,543 | -0.6% |
| June 2025 | 1,603 | 1,466 | -8.5% |
| July 2025 | 1,765 | 1,508 | -14.6% |
| August 2025 | 1,775 | 1,555 | -12.4% |
| September 2025 | 1,642 | 1,497 | -8.8% |
| October 2025 | 1,769 | 1,437 | -18.8% |
| November 2025 | 1,341 | 1,289 | -3.9% |
| December 2025 | 1,432 | 1,236 | -13.7% |
| January 2026 | 1,316 | 1,131 | -14.1% |
| February 2026 | 1,087 | 1,058 | -2.7% |
| March 2026 | 1,277 | 1,112 | -12.9% |
Largest Montana agencies by reported offenses
Counts for the 12 months ending March 2026; each agency's comparison covers the months it reported in both windows.
| Agency | Population | Months | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billings | 122,571 | 12 | 872 | 3,021 |
| Missoula | 79,184 | 12 | 450 | 2,130 |
| Great Falls | 59,904 | 12 | 330 | 2,238 |
| Helena | 35,377 | 12 | 209 | 1,081 |
| Bozeman | 58,949 | 12 | 243 | 941 |
| Butte-Silver Bow | 36,189 | 12 | 150 | 707 |
| Kalispell | 33,020 | 12 | 139 | 549 |
| Yellowstone | 42,529 | 12 | 196 | 428 |
| Flathead | 68,046 | 11† | 178 | 409 |
| Gallatin | 52,755 | 12 | 166 | 383 |
| Missoula | 43,822 | 12 | 117 | 242 |
| Havre | 9,174 | 12 | 67 | 263 |
| Lewis and Clark | 38,078 | 12 | 94 | 233 |
| Laurel | 7,258 | 12 | 24 | 234 |
| Ravalli | 40,187 | 12 | 68 | 178 |
| Cascade | 24,229 | 12 | 98 | 137 |
| Polson | 5,756 | 12 | 73 | 148 |
| Lake | 24,963 | 12 | 79 | 140 |
| Belgrade | 13,314 | 12 | 37 | 167 |
| Jefferson | 13,545 | 12 | 54 | 112 |
| Cut Bank | 2,972 | 12 | 20 | 143 |
| Big Horn | 8,964 | 12 | 58 | 97 |
| Hamilton | 5,562 | 12 | 24 | 128 |
| Miles City | 8,422 | 12 | 29 | 117 |
| Livingston | 9,161 | 12 | 25 | 109 |
†Reported fewer than 12 common months; totals cover those months, identically in both windows.
About this data
- These are preliminary quarterly submissions, not the FBI's annual crime publication. Nothing is estimated for agencies that did not report, so totals here run lower than the FBI's annual estimated national figures and are not comparable to them.
- Every comparison is over “common months.” Each agency's two 12-month windows are restricted to the calendar months it reported in both years — 12,072 of the 15,767 agencies reported all 12. A partial reporter's “12-month” figure covers fewer months, but identically in both windows, which keeps its percent change honest.
- Blank and zero mean different things. A zero is a month an agency reported with no offenses; a blank month was not reported (or not common to both windows) and contributes nothing to any total. Missing is never counted as zero.
- National figures are FBI-published verbatim; state figures are our sums. The U.S. row comes straight from the FBI's national line, including its published percent changes. State totals are derived by summing agency common-month counts, so state percent changes are computed, not published.
- Agencies are assigned to states by ORI prefix — the agency's headquarters state. A multi-jurisdiction agency's offenses all land in its HQ state.
- No per-capita rates. Reporting coverage varies by state and agency, so covered populations do not line up with counts; comparing raw counts across states reflects coverage as much as crime.
- Arson is reported separately and excluded from the property crime index. It is also measured differently from our annual Arson dataset — the two use different collection windows — so do not compare figures across them.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, quarterly “Crime in the United States by Volume and Percent Change” table, 12 months ending March 2026. pumsdata is independent and not affiliated with the FBI. How our data works.
Montana crime trends — FAQ
Is crime up or down in Montana?+
Across the 110 Montana agencies reporting comparable months in both windows, violent crime is down 6.5% and property crime is down 10.1% in the 12 months ending March 2026 compared with the year before. These are our sums of preliminary agency reports, not FBI-published state totals.
How many murders were reported in Montana?+
Montana agencies reported 34 murders and nonnegligent manslaughters in the 12 months ending March 2026, up 25.9% from 27 a year earlier — counting only months reported in both windows.
Which agency reports the most crime in Montana?+
Billings reported the most offenses in the 12 months ending March 2026: 872 violent and 3,021 property crimes. Reported volume tracks agency size and coverage, not just crime.
Where does this data come from?+
The FBI Crime Data Explorer's quarterly "Crime in the United States by Volume and Percent Change" table — preliminary offense counts, not the FBI's annual estimates. State totals are derived by summing agency common-month reports; agencies are assigned to Montana by ORI prefix (headquarters state). pumsdata is independent and not affiliated with the FBI.