Best Places59079, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 59079, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
59079 ranks 10,159th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Tree cover pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on low crime.
The best neighborhoods in 59079
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.
59079's strengths and weaknesses
Where 59079 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 87% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 132 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 59079 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,072 a month, better than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 59079
A household needs to earn about $93,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 59079 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $80,847, 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 59079's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 59079
59079's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 59079.
Who works in 59079, and how
Work in 59079 centers on retail trade and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 59079
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 59079.
What the weather is like in 59079, month by month
59079 sees roughly 132 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 27° | 17° |
| April | 60° | 45° | 33° |
| July | 92° | 75° | 59° |
| October | 63° | 48° | 36° |
Flying in and out of 59079
The nearest airport, Billings Logan International, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Salt Lake City International, about 400 miles away.
The best schools in and around 59079
Schools across 59079 average a C, better than 34% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Broadview SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Rocky Mountain ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Huntley Project Elem K-6B− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Broadview 7-8A · 60% proficient
- Rocky Mountain Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Shepherd Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Rocky Mountain High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- Broadview High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Skyview High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 59079 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
59079 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 59079 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 59079
Is 59079 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 59079 ranks 10,159th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, low taxes, and quiet, and lowest on tree cover and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 59079 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $367,180. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $80,847 median income, cost of living beats 46% of zip codes.
Is 59079 safe?
Yes, 59079 is safer than 87% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $278 per resident a year.
Compare 59079 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 59079. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 59079 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.
59079 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 59079: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 59079: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 59079: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 59079: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
59079 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.