Billings

Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area. The city is experiencing rapid growth and a strong economy; it has had and is continuing to have the largest growth of any city in Montana. With more hotel accommodations than any area within a five-state region, the city hosts a variety of conventions, concerts, sporting events, and other rallies.Attractions in and around Billings include ZooMontana, Pompey's Pillar, Pictograph Cave, Chief Plenty Coups State Park, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, and Red Lodge Mountain Resort. The northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park is a little over 100 miles (160 km) from Billings. The downtown core and much of the rest of Billings is in the Yellowstone Valley, a canyon carved out by the Yellowstone River. Around 80 million years ago, Billings area was on the shore of the Western Interior Seaway. As the sea retreated, it left a deep layer of sand. Over millions of years, this sand was compressed into stone known as Eagle Sandstone. Over the last million years the river has carved its way down through this stone to form the canyon walls known as Billings Rimrocks or the Rims. The Pictograph Caves are about five miles south of downtown. These caves contain over 100 pictographs (rock paintings), the oldest of which is over 2,000 years old.

History

The city is named for Frederick H. Billings, a former president of the Northern Pacific Railroad from Woodstock, Vermont. The Crow people call the city Ammalapáshkuua. It means 'where they cut wood', and is named as such because of a sawmill built in the area by early white settlers. The downtown core and much of the rest of Billings is in the Yellowstone Valley, a canyon carved out by the Yellowstone River. Around 80 million years ago, the Billings area was on the shore of the Western Interior Seaway. In 1965, Pompey's Pillar was designated as a national historic landmark, and was proclaimed a national monument in January 2001. The Pictograph Caves are about five miles south of downtown. These caves contain over 100 pictographs (rock paintings), the oldest of which is over 2,000 years old. Approximately 30,000 artifacts (including stone tools and weapons) have been excavated from the site. These excavations have proved the area has been occupied since at least 2600 BC until after 1800 AD. In 1877 settlers from the Gallatin Valley area of the Montana Territory formed Coulson the first town of the Yellowstone valley. It is believed it was decided to name the new town Coulson in an attempt to attract the Coulson Packet Company that ran riverboats between St Louis and many points in theMontana Territory. In spite of their efforts the river was traversed only once by paddle riverboat to the point of the new city.

Geography

Two-thirds of the city is in the Yellowstone Valley and the South Hills area and one-third in the Heights-Lockwood area. The city is divided by the Rims, long cliffs, also called the Rimrocks. The elevation of Billings is 3,126 feet (953 m) above sea level. In the summer, the temperature can rise to over 100 °F (37.8 °C) on an average of 1 to 3 days per year. The snowfall averages 57.4 inches (146 cm) a year, but because of warm chinook winds that pass through the region during the winter, snow does not usually accumulate heavily or remain on the ground for long. On June 20, 2010, a tornado touched down in the Billings Heights and Downtown sections. The tornado was accompanied by hail up to golf ball size, dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning, dangerous lightning, and heavy winds. The first freeze of the season on average arrives by May 6 and the last is October 5. Winds are considered light and at times, are compared with the rest of Montana the Rocky Mountain Front. Billings has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfa) depending on the isotherm used, with dry, hot summers, and cold, dry winters. For example, a 500-foot (150 m) cliff, often defined by Billings' unique physical characteristics, is 800 feet (240 m) tall in downtown Billings.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 104,170 people, 43,945 households, and 26,194 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 89.6% White, 4.4% Native American, 0.8% Black,0.7% Asian, 1.1% Pacific Islander, and 2.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.2% of the population. The city's median income was $35,147, and the median income for a family was $45,032. The per capita income for the city is $19,207. About 9.2%. of families and 12.0%. of the residents were below the poverty line, including 16.5%. of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over. The median age in theCity was 37.5 years, with 22.6%. of residents under the age of 18; 9.8%. between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.3% from 25 to 44; and 15% who were 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was2.90. The gender makeup ofThe city was 48.3%. male and 51.7%. female. The population density was 2,399.7 inhabitants per square mile (926.5/km²). There were 46,317 housing units at an average density of 1,067.0 per squaremile (412.0/ km²).

Economy

Billings has a diverse economy including a large and rapidly growing medical corridor that includes inpatient and outpatient health care. With Montana having no sales tax, Billings is a retail destination for much of Wyoming, North and South Dakota as well as much of Montana east of the Continental Divide. In 2009, Fortune Small Business magazine named Billings the best small city in which to start a business. Billings sits amidst the largest coal reserves in the U.S. and large oil and natural gas fields. The city is home to 3 oil refineries, a sugar beet refining plant, commercial and residential construction, building materials manufacturing and distribution, professional services, financial services, banking, trucking, higher education (4 campuses, 19 others have a physical presence/classes) and many others providing a diverse and robust economy. The Strawberry Festival is held every year here. The Billings trade area serves over a half million people. It is also home to many regional headquarters and corporate headquarters including Stillwater Mining Company, Kampgrounds of America, First Interstate Bank, and others. It also has a large service sector including retail, hospitality and entertainment. It was named the best place in the United States to open a business in 2009 by Fortune Smallbusiness magazine. It has been named the number one city in the world for business start-ups in the last three years. It's also the top city in Montana for wholesale business, with more than a quarter of the state's wholesale business done in Billings.

Arts and culture

The city of Billings, Montana is home to a number of cultural institutions. The city is also home to the Yellowstone Zoo and the Yellowstone Art Museum. The Montana Pavilion is a 28,800-square-foot (2,680 m2) multi-purpose arena. The Alberta Bair Theater is a 1,400-seat performing arts venue noted for its 20-ton capacity hydraulic lift that raises and lowers the stage apron. Dehler Park is the new multi-use stadium that replaced Cobb Field and Athletic Park swimming pool in the summer of 2008. Billings also has a public library and a public park that is used by local high school and middle school students as well as the Billings Symphony Orchestra and the Rocky Mountain College Performing Arts Center. The Billings Depot is the city's main tourist attraction and hosts a variety of museums and historic sites. The Yellowstone Art Gallery is the largest museum in Montana, with a collection of more than 2,000 works of art. The National Museum of American History is the state's largest museum, with more than 1,000 pieces of art on display. The Museum of Western Art is the only museum in the state that is not open to the public, and is located in the historic district of Yellowstone Park, which was built in 1872. The museum is also the home of the Montana Museum of History, which is a state-funded museum that was founded in 1876. The zoo is the second-largest zoo in Montana.

Sports

The NILE (Northern International Livestock Exposition) Rodeo at MetraPark Arena is billed as "The Oldest, Richest and Biggest Motorcycle Hill Climb in the United States" The CIF indoor football team that played at First Interstate Arena is called the Billings Outlaws. The Billings Mustangs are an independent Pioneer League baseball team that was formerly (up through 2020) affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds. The NILE Rodeos are billed as the "Oldest and Richest" and "Biggest" of their kind in the world. They are held at the Metra Park Arena in Billings, Montana. The team is known as the NILE Rams and is part of the CIF-Northern California Football League. The Outlaws are a CIF outdoor football team. They play at the First Interstate Arena and were formerly affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds. They were also known as the Cincinnati Reds Outlaws and played at the First InterstateArena. The Mustangs play in the Pioneer League and have a contract through 2020. They also have a season-long affiliation with the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. They played in the NFL World Series in 2007 and 2008, and in the World Series from 2010 to 2012. They have also played in other major pro leagues, including the NFL, NBA, and the NHL. They will play in a World Series that will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2015.

Parks and recreation

The Rims (also known as "The Rimrocks"), a set of rock and boulder formations that parallel Hwy MT-3 / East Airport Road which includes the following parks/trails.Yellowstone Kelly Interpretive Site is an interpretive site. Lake Elmo State Park is a state park that includes several hiking and biking trails. Skypoint State Park includes the Skypoint Trail and Skypoint Bridge. The Rims State Park also includes the Rims River State Park and The Rimro Rocks State Park. The park is located in the northern part of Yellowstone National Park, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is part of the National Park Service's Rocky Mountain National Park system, which also includes Mount Rushmore National Park and Mount Rainier National Park. In the north, the park is known as the "Rim Rim" area and is known for its rock formations. The state park's name is derived from the name of a nearby river, the Rim River, which flows through the park. It also means "river of the Rim" or "river" in the local language, "rim" means "rock" and "rocks" in English. The rims are a group of rock formations parallel to HwyMT-3, which runs through the north side of the park and the south side of HwyMM-3. They are also called "the Rims" by some locals. The area is home to several interpretive sites, including the Yellowstone Kelly interpretive Site and the Rim Rim Trail.

Government

Billings is governed via the mayor council system. There are ten members of the city council who are elected from one of five wards with each ward electing two members. The mayor is elected in a citywide vote. Both the mayor and council members are officially nonpartisan. Billings' city ordinances do not contain provisions that forbid discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. An effort to pass a non-discrimination ordinance in Billings failed in 2014, after then-mayor Tom Hanel cast a tie-breaking vote against it at the conclusion of a meeting that lasted 8.5 hours. An attempt to introduce an NDO measure to the City Council was briefly floated in September 2019 by a city council member, but was abandoned approximately a month later. The city charter, also called the Billings, Montana City Code (BMCC) was established 1977. It is also the location of the James F. Battin Federal Courthouse, one offive federal courthouses for the District of Montana. The Billings City Council is made up of seven members, with the mayor being the only non-incumbent member. The City of Billings is located in Yellowstone County, which is the most populous county in Montana and the home of the University of Montana, which has a population of more than 1,000,000. The Mayor is elected for a four-year term, starting in January 2015. The current mayor is Tom Hanels, who was elected in November 2013.

Education

Billings has five school districts: Billings Public Schools, District 3, Elder Grove School District, Independent School District and Canyon Creek School District. Montana State University Billings (MSU Billings) is part of the state university system. Rocky Mountain College and Yellowstone Baptist College are private. Billings Catholic Schools operates Billings Central Catholic High School (grades 912), St. Francis Catholic School (grades K-8) and St Francis Daycare. The Billings Christian Schools serves grades Pre-12 and Adelphi Christian Academy servedgrades K-12 (Closed at the end of the 2009 School Year) Billings Educational Academy serves grades K -12. Grace Montessori Academy serves Pre-8 and 3 years to 5th grade.Sunrise MontessorI serves 3-5 years and Blue Creek Elementary, ElderGrove Elementary, and Independent Elementary, respectively. The Yellowstone Bible Institute plans to open a nondenominational branch in early 2013. The YBC is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and has close ties with Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma. The college offers 50 majors offered in 24 different fields including art, education, music, psychology, and theater. It offers one degree: Bachelor of Arts in Christian Studies/Leadership. During the 2013 fall semester, there were 1,068 students attending Rocky Mountain college. The campus that became RMC was known as the Billings Polytechnic Institute until 1947, when it joined the Montana Collegiate Institute in Deer Lodge (Montana's first institution of higher learning).

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Billings, Yellowstone County, Montana = 45.8. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 36. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 79. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Billings = 3.8 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 117,116 individuals with a median age of 38.4 age the population grows by 12.84% in Billings, Yellowstone County, Montana population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,586.08 residents per square mile of area (998.50/km²). There are average 2.33 people per household in the 42,247 households with an average household income of $46,162 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 4.40% of the available work force and has dropped -4.59% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 26.42%. The number of physicians in Billings per 100,000 population = 342.4.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Billings = 14.3 inches and the annual snowfall = 56.9 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 97. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 205. 86 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 13.9 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 61, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Billings, Yellowstone County, Montana which are owned by the occupant = 62.45%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 35 years with median home cost = $166,820 and home appreciation of -0.53%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $13.16 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $6,593 per student. There are 12.4 students for each teacher in the school, 427 students for each Librarian and 347 students for each Counselor. 5.18% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 20.86% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 8.45% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).