Billings Chamber of Commerce-Montana's Trailhead

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The Billings area has evolved into a center of commerce with a great small town feel. It’s large enough to experience the community at your own pace, but small enough to still run into friends at the grocery store. In Billings, business is booming, people are enjoying life and the scenery is as original as the people.

Billings is a regional hub of commerce for an area that stretches in excess of 125,000 square miles. The city is a destination for consumers because it provides goods and services to a vast region. Billings is energized. It embraces its history, but looks forward to the future.

Billings, the county seat of Yellowstone County, was named after Frederick Billings who was the President of the Northern Pacific Railroad from 1879 to 1881. The city was nicknamed, the “Magic City,” not long after it was founded in 1882, because of the immediate growth in population. More than a century later, Billings is a vibrant city with a population that nearly doubles every thirty years. As the city matures, transportation continues to play a major role in the economy. With the excellent rail, road and air transportation, industry thrives here.

Energy Development Hub
Southeastern Montana has seen a marked increase in energy resource development in recent years and Billings is in a position to become a national energy hub. Coal from the existing Cloud Peak Energy coal mines is being shipped in great quantity through Billings, with the bulk of it going to the west coast for shipment to China. The Bakken Formation brings a lateral drilling/fracking process to get more oil out of a previously developed oil field. Natural gas development, while slow to grow, is also being developed as a byproduct of coal. Colstrip units burn Montana coal and generate electricity that is consumed by many Montana companies and individuals as well as exported to other states. All of these industries rely on Billings’ vendors to supply a variety of products and services. The Chamber/CVB will work with local, state and federal partners, together with the membership, to develop strategies that will further position Billings as a destination of choice for energy companies, their suppliers and their employees. This priority will be accomplished in partnership with Big Sky Economic Development (BSED).