How to Meet People From Billings, Montana if You Don't Live There
Billings, Montana has about 121,000 people and is the largest city in Montana. If your own town is much smaller, the people you'd like to meet from Billings are probably not the ones a distance-sorted dating app shows you first.
Billings in numbers
| Population (2025 estimate) | 121,239 |
|---|---|
| County | Yellowstone County |
| Change since 2020 | +3.5% |
| Size rank in Montana | 1 of 127 cities and towns |
| Larger than | 99% of Montana's cities and towns |
| Smaller places within 60 miles | 12 (20,000 people combined) |
| Nearest other city of 25,000 or more (OR, ID, WA, MT) | Bozeman, MT: 121 miles |
Population estimates by year:
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 117,218 | 117,751 | 119,885 | 120,671 | 121,445 | 121,239 |
Why small-town members lose out in Billings on the big apps
A city of about 121,000 can fill a dating deck without looking past its own limits, and a distance-ranked app does exactly that: Tinuiti's analysis of Tinder's algorithm says proximity is a key factor in who it shows you. People in the smaller places around Billings, such as Laurel (13 miles away) or Columbus (35 miles away), tend to be shown late in the deck, if at all. That's why small-town members so often feel invisible in the nearest city.
Smaller places within reach of Billings
People in these nearby places are the ones most likely to be shown their own neighbors before anyone from Billings.
- Laurel, MT: 7,205 people, 13 miles away
- Columbus, MT: 1,964 people, 35 miles away
- Roundup, MT: 2,075 people, 46 miles away
- Hardin, MT: 3,696 people, 46 miles away
- Red Lodge, MT: 2,723 people, 53 miles away
Browse every city and town in Montana.
Other places in Yellowstone County
Yellowstone County has 3 incorporated places with 128,580 people between them. Nearby places in the county include:
- Laurel: 7,205 people, 13 miles away
How region-based dating changes it
If you live in Laurel, 13 miles from Billings, Amarbis doesn't rank people by how close they live. You choose your region, so choosing Montana puts Billings in your pool, and your place in line isn't set by how far you live from the person you want to meet.
Meeting someone from Billings when you live elsewhere
- Start with a question about Billings, not "hey". People like talking about where they live.
- Plan the first meeting around the distance. From Columbus to Billings is about 35 straight-line miles, and the road is longer, so make the trip worth it with a lunch or an afternoon rather than a quick coffee.
- Keep the first meeting short and public, plan to meet partway if you can, and read the guide to meeting safely.
Every profile on Amarbis is reviewed by a real person, and joining is free: 25 likes a day, unlimited messaging with matches, no credit card. Create your profile.
More from Amarbis
- Why Amarbis is the best dating app for small towns
- Singles in the United States
- International dating guide
- Overcoming language barriers in love
- Meeting someone safely for the first time
- Plans and pricing
Population figures are U.S. Census Bureau estimates for July 1, 2025. Distances are straight-line miles between place center points, so road distances are longer. Counts of nearby places include incorporated cities and towns in Oregon, Idaho, Washington and Montana only.