Billings, Montana is the largest city in the state of Montana. It is the county seat of Yellowstone County. Billings was founded in 1877 near the already established town of Coulson, and named after Frederick H. Billings, president of the Northern Pacific Railroad. It is nicknamed The Magic City because of its rapid growth after being established. The climate of Billings is that of the steppe, with cold winters and warm summers. The average temperature can be extreme, and range from below zero degrees to above a hundred. However, snow is very rare because of the warm Chinook winds that blow through the area in the winter months.
The demographic of the city of Billings is that of the Caucasian, married couple: racially, the makeup of the city is 91.87 percent white, and 47.2 percent are married couples. The populations age is relatively evenly spread out between all the age groups. The median income for a family in Billings is $45,032, and the per capita income is $19,207. Only 12 percent of the population lives under the poverty line. Billings is considered to vote conservative.The relatively large per capita income is due to the fact that Billings has one of the largest trade areas in the United States. Some companies with either headquarters or branch operations in Billings include Stillwater Mining Company, Waggoners Trucking, JGA Architects, Wal Mart, GM, Ford, GE, Target, and Morgan Stanley. There are also two level 2 trauma hospitals in the area that employ over 5,000 people. If you wish to find out what other businesses are in this city, it might be best to consult the Billings, Montana yellow pages or the Billings, Montana business directory. Billings is governed by the mayor council system. The educational system has several districts, in addition to several private schools run by the Catholic Church. Billings is also home to Montana State University Billings and Rocky Mountain College, the oldest college in Montana.
Billings is home to several notable attractions and festivals. For example, there is the Strawberry Festival in June and the reenactment of the Battle of Little Big Horn near Crow Agency. The Yellowstone Art Museum and the Moss Mansion Historic House are also worth seeing. The downtown Western Heritage center is affiliated with the Smithsonian Museum. ZooMontana is a 70 acre wildlife park located within Billings city limits. Large sports events and concerts are likely to be held in the Rimrock Auto Arena, a 8-12,000 seat stadium in downtown Billings.
Written by Lyndsey Morgan
