Best Places59243, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 59243, 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.
59243 ranks 14,117th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 59243
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.
59243's strengths and weaknesses
Where 59243 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 131 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of zip codes
Where 59243 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 59243
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 59243 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $83,822, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 59243's effective rate of 0.49%, 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 59243
59243 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 59243.
Who works in 59243, and how
Work in 59243 centers on agriculture & forestry and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 19%
Life in 59243
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 59243.
What the weather is like in 59243, month by month
59243 sees roughly 131 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 8. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 17° | 8° |
| April | 58° | 42° | 29° |
| July | 89° | 73° | 57° |
| October | 60° | 44° | 31° |
Flying in and out of 59243
The nearest airport, Sidney-Richland Regional, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 543 miles away.
The best schools in and around 59243
Schools across 59243 average a C, better than 35% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Little Powder ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Richey SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Fairview SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Richey 7-8A+ · 75% proficient
- Fairview 7-8D+ · 26% proficient
- Lambert 7-8D− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Lambert High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Fairview High SchoolD · 21% proficient
- Sidney High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 59243 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
59243 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 59243 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 59243
Is 59243 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 59243 ranks 14,117th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, low taxes, and low property taxes, and lowest on distance from a big city and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 59243 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $289,950. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $83,822 median income, cost of living beats 65% of zip codes.
Is 59243 safe?
59243 is safer than 49% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $415 per resident a year.
Compare 59243 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 59243. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 59243 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.
59243 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 59243: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 59243: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 59243: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 59243: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
59243 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.