
Relocating: A Newbie Guide to Billings Neighborhoods
A new co-worker recently moved to Billings, MT from rural Pennsylvania. They've been here for a few months now, and have made multiple comments on how welcomed they've felt in our community.
She also commented that they knew very little about our various neighborhood names and what part of town they're located in before moving to the Magic City. For example, their Realtor would mention certain areas of town, and they were like, "Great! We have no idea what you mean when you say North Side, the Heights, or West End."
She mentioned that Google wasn't much help and suggested this article for anyone moving to Billings, long-term visitors, out-of-town students or their parents, travel nurses, etc.
What are the various neighborhoods in Billings, MT?
Some are somewhat self-explanatory, but if you're not from here it can be confusing. None of the neighborhood boundaries are precise... where exactly does the West End begin, and how far does it go? That said, listed below are seven Billings areas you'll hear mentioned the most, along with their approximate locations.
Downtown Billings
Downtown is generally considered the area north of Montana Ave to the Rimrocks. Downtown's western edge is Division Street, or - if you want to push it, 8th St West - and the eastern edge of downtown is MetraPark.
Downtown Billings is filled with shops, restaurants, offices, venues, and the medical corridor, with two of the largest hospitals in the state.
Northside Billings
A subset of the downtown area, the Northside is a relatively small, triangle-shaped neighborhood, north of 6th Ave N and east of 27th St N. You'll find aptly named North Park here, as is Dehler Park stadium, home to the Billings Mustangs Pioneer League baseball team. The area around North Park can get a little shady after dark.

Southside Billings
When people mention the Southside, they're usually referring to anything south of Montana Avenue, all the way to I-90. The eastern edge is roughly around the Phillips 66 refinery and the western edge of the Southside reaches King Ave East. The Southside area near downtown is one of Billings' oldest neighborhoods; houses here are typically on smaller lots, and home prices are more affordable.
Parts of the Southside have a reputation for criminal activity, but nowadays, crime in Billings is hardly contained to one part of town. The southern edge of the Southside is home to Sam's Club, Bass Pro Shop, and other shopping, bars, and restaurants.
Midtown Billings
As explosive growth continues westward, a large chunk of Billings' residential area has begun to be referred to as Midtown. For our purposes, we'll define Midtown as everything from Virginia Lane/8th St West to 24th St W.
Rimrock Drive, Grand Ave, Broadwater Ave, Central Ave, Lewis Ave, and Moore Lane are the major east-west streets in Midtown. You'll find plenty of trees in most of this area, as most of the original homes were built from the 1940s to the 1980s.
The West End
Longtime Billings residents will talk about how they remember when 24th St West was the edge of town, with nothing but gravel roads leading into farm country towards Laurel to the west. Nowadays, this part of town is the fastest-growing neighborhood in Billings.
24th St West is lined with retail, including grocery stores, Rimrock Mall, multiple shopping centers, and restaurants. Keep going west and you'll hit Shiloh Road, which is also filled with new retail, townhomes, and apartments. It's the new hotspot for Billings, much like 24th St West was in the early 1990s.
Where does the West End end? Who knows! As subdivisions continue to sprawl, homes are filling up former fields to 80th St W and beyond. Sometimes I'll joke with people that I live in the Far West End (I live in Laurel), but the blur between the two continues to grow.
Billings Heights
It's been said that if Billings Heights was a separate town, it would be the 2nd largest community in Montana. Split down the middle by Highway 87/Main Street, real estate agents narrow down the descriptions of the Heights as "east of Bench" or "west of Bench", referring to Bench Blvd. Alkalia Creek is a lovely neighborhood in the southwest corner of the Heights.
Locals occasionally grumble about the lack of dining options and specialized shopping in the Heights, but you'll find everything you need for day-to-day life, including grocery stores, a Target, a Walmart, Shipton's Big R, etc. There's also a small lake in the middle of town at Lake Elmo State Park.
Josephine Crossing/Annafeld
This new-ish neighborhood - and its sister development named Annafeld - is located south of the I-90 King Avenue West exit and is home to thousands of Billings residents. Josephine Crossing has the nickname Whoville because almost every resident participates in Dr Suess-themed Christmas decorations.
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Gallery Credit: Isabel Sepulveda