A brief history of Miles City includes the following: it was founded by George Miles, a nephew of the General Miles, who served as quartermaster and purchased a herd of sheep in the early 1870s. Later, livestock speculation drove thousands of cattle to the open ranges near Miles City. In the late 1880s, the railroad reached the area and cattle were loaded on trains bound for Chicago slaughterhouses.
Today, the population of Miles City is a little over 2,000. The population grew rapidly from the late 1800s until the 1920s, when it was overshadowed by the larger city of Billings, which is now the state capital. The city also has its own municipal airport, located less than two miles from downtown. This airport was the site of an early scheduled airline crash, in 1939. The city has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8 km2) and experiences a semi-arid climate with long, cold winters and hotter summers.
The 2010 census reported that there were 4,616 people living in the city, with 29.7% being under the age of eighteen. Another 10.8% were female householders without a husband present. Seventy-two percent of households consisted of individuals, and thirty-two percent of households were non-families. One-third of households were made up of individuals, and thirteen percent had someone aged 65 or older living alone.