How Billings, Montana, became the top place to buy a home in the U.S.

Montana mountains near Billings.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

Billings, Montana, has become the place to buy a home in the United States — at least according to The Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Markets Index.

The rise to the top of the index isn't completely out of the blue for the city, which has a population of 184,000, since it was previously in the fourth spot. But Billings got a boost thanks to its low unemployment (in May, the rate was 3 percent, which is about half of the U.S. rate), affordability, outdoor activities, and booming housing market, the Journal writes.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.