Elevation of Billings
3,122ft
above sea level · 952 m
Billings is a city in Montana with 121,239 people, the most populous in the state. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, it’s the 20th highest.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 45.78° N · 108.50° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 45° 47′ 0″ N · 108° 30′ 2″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 12T · 694,280 E · 5,073,007 N
- Zone 12 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Mountain Time
- UTC−7 · UTC−6 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 121,239 people
- 46.3 sq mi of land · 2,621 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from August 2022: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Billings had 121,239 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 3.5% more than in April 2020, when it had 117,147. Its 46.3 sq mi of land work out to 2,621 people/sq mi; the state average is 7.9 people/sq mi.
It’s the most populous of the 496 places the Census counts in Montana (cities, towns and CDPs), and holds 11% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Yellowstone County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 2.5 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with US cities of 100,000 to 250,000
Billings sits at 3,122 ft (952 m) above sea level. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, the highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft). The average is 862 ft: Billings is 2,260 ft above it.
The state capital, Helena, is 178 mi away in a straight line and 926 ft higher than Billings.
The nearest city with more than 250,000 people is Denver (Colorado), 454 mi away in a straight line and 2,154 ft higher.
The highest point in Montana is Granite Peak, at 12,799 ft according to the USGS: 9,677 ft above Billings, 76 mi away in a straight line.
- 20 Billings 3,122 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
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Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Billings.
What is the elevation of Billings?
Billings is 3,122 feet (952 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Billings?
Latitude 45.78329 and longitude -108.50069, in decimal degrees (45° 47′ 0″ N · 108° 30′ 2″ W). In UTM, zone 12: 694,280 E and 5,073,007 N, on NAD83.
How does Billings rank among the highest US cities of its size?
It’s the 20th highest of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people. The highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft).
What county is Billings in?
Yellowstone County, Montana.
Which is higher, Billings or Helena?
Helena. Billings sits at 3,122 ft and Helena at 4,048 ft: a difference of 926 ft, 178 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know