Studies show how homeless numbers ebb and flow in Billings and Montana

“I think everyone knows housing costs have rocketed, and not just in the country, but in Montana and Yellowstone County, making it harder for people to buy and rent homes,” United Way of Yellowstone County CEO Andrew Konkel told the Gazette.

Average house prices sold on the market have doubled in Billings from 2007 to 2025, according to Federal Reserve data. Median rent in Montana increased faster than renter income in 2022 and 2023, according to the most recent data available from the Montana Department of Commerce.

The homeless number in the assessment includes sheltered and unsheltered people. It doesn’t necessarily include every homeless person who, for instance, might be sleeping on a friend’s couch or outside of large urban areas, meaning it could be an undercount. Rather, the homeless number represents one night in January when social workers and volunteers count a local, visible population.

Downtown Billings Community Resource Director Kody Christensen noted that while a 2026 count of Yellowstone County identified 294 individuals experiencing homelessness, local data information sources showed 422 people accessing homeless services during that same period.

Konkel said with United Way’s partners they have helped put 50 families into sustainable housing since August. Dozens more are working with community navigators to get into housing. Montana saw the fifth highest increase in the number of homeless families in the data from 2024 to 2025.

“It just shows that there's not only a huge demand for the services, but there are many people that are really ready and willing to work towards that sustainable housing that just need assistance and resources and access to be able to help overcome those challenges, and we just know we have to work together and be collaborative,” Konkel said.

Data from this January, while not part of the latest assessment released by the federal government, show improvements in the homeless numbers in Montana. While data recorded by Montana groups showed 2,263 homeless people counted in the state for 2025, that decreased to 1,974 in 2026.

Billings went down from 356 homeless to 294 in the more recent year of data. The city had the third highest number of recorded homeless people in the state behind Bozeman and Missoula.

“While that movement sounds encouraging, our focus remains on strengthening the overall system rather than relying on one year of data,” Christensen said.

Homeless management information systems continue to see increased demand statewide despite that lower number, Montana Continuum of Care director David O’Leary told the Gazette.

The federal government stated in its recently released 2025 report that although data showed a slight decrease in homelessness nationwide, the module of providing housing first to people hasn’t worked, and that further wrap-around services are needed. Millions in short-term housing funds were previously threatened in Montana and other states last year. The housing department announced $4.04 billion for Continuum of Care services nationwide on June 1 shortly after the report came out.