Billings, MT

Practical resilience for a relocator: food, water, energy, and defensibility

For someone serious about self-sufficiency, Billings offers a decent baseline but requires active preparation. The city’s water supply comes from the Yellowstone River, treated at the Billings Water Treatment Plant, which is a single point of failure—if that plant goes down, you’re looking at a boil-water order or worse. A well on private property outside city limits is a far better bet, and the water table in the area is generally good, though you’ll need to drill deep (200-400 feet) in some spots. Food security is better than most places: the surrounding agricultural region means local farmers’ markets and bulk grain suppliers are available, and the city has several large grocery chains that could serve as supply points in the early stages of a crisis. But don’t count on them lasting long—preppers should have at least a six-month supply of staples stored. Energy is a mixed bag. Billings gets its electricity from a mix of coal (the nearby Colstrip plant, though it’s winding down), natural gas, and hydro from the Yellowstone River. The grid is reasonably stable, but a major winter storm or cyberattack could knock it out for days. Solar is viable here—the region gets over 200 sunny days a year—but you’ll need battery storage to handle the long winter nights. Defensibility is where Billings falls short for urban preppers. The city is spread out, with multiple entry points along interstates and highways, making it hard to secure. The better play is to buy land in one of the surrounding counties (Stillwater, Carbon, or Yellowstone County itself) within a 30- to 45-minute drive of Billings, where you can have acreage, a well, and a defensible perimeter while still being close enough to the city for medical emergencies or supply runs. The Rims themselves offer some natural choke points, but they’re not a practical defensive line for a small group.

The overall strategic picture for Billings is one of cautious optimism for the prepared relocator. It’s not a bug-out paradise like the Idaho panhandle or the Montana wilderness, but it’s a functional hub that gives you options. You get the benefits of a regional economy—jobs, healthcare, infrastructure—without the existential risks of a coastal megacity or a target-rich environment like Denver or Seattle. The key is to treat Billings as a base of operations, not a final redoubt. Have a plan to bug in for the first 72 hours of a crisis, then bug out to a more remote property if the situation deteriorates. The city’s location on the Yellowstone River and its rail connections mean it will be a node for whatever recovery efforts come after a major event, which could be either a lifeline or a liability depending on how things shake out. For the conservative-minded individual or family looking to stack the odds in their favor, Billings is a solid B+ choice—good enough to work with, but only if you’re willing to put in the work to make it resilient.