Best Places59061, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 59061, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
59061 ranks 13,812th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 59061
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
59061's strengths and weaknesses
Where 59061 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 59061 ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 59061
A household needs to earn about $113,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 59061 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $90,000, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 59061's effective rate of 0.47%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 59061
59061 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 59061.
Who works in 59061, and how
Work in 59061 centers on mining & oil & gas and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 59061
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 59061.
What the weather is like in 59061, month by month
59061 sees roughly 112 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 29° | 18° |
| April | 58° | 42° | 29° |
| July | 90° | 70° | 49° |
| October | 62° | 46° | 33° |
Flying in and out of 59061
The nearest airport, Billings Logan International, is about 64 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Salt Lake City International, about 341 miles away.
The best schools in and around 59061
Schools across 59061 average a B−, better than 56% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Fishtail SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Absarokee SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Powell Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Absarokee 6-8D · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Absarokee High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 59061 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
59061 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 59061 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 59061
Is 59061 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 59061 ranks 13,812th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, low taxes, and health care access, and lowest on cell coverage and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 59061 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $453,800. The overall cost of living runs about 7% above the national average. Set against a $90,000 median income, cost of living beats 71% of zip codes.
Is 59061 safe?
Yes, 59061 is safer than 65% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $352 per resident a year.
Compare 59061 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 59061. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 59061 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
59061 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 59061: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 59061: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 59061: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 59061: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
59061 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.