Best Places59440, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 59440, 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.
59440 ranks 10,805th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 59440
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.
59440's strengths and weaknesses
Where 59440 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Short commute21.0 minutes each way, better than 81% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 59440 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 59440
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 59440 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $85,398, 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 59440's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 59440
59440 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 59440.
Who works in 59440, and how
Work in 59440 centers on agriculture & forestry and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 59440
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 59440.
What the weather is like in 59440, month by month
59440 sees roughly 108 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 26° | 16° |
| April | 57° | 43° | 29° |
| July | 88° | 71° | 53° |
| October | 60° | 45° | 33° |
Flying in and out of 59440
The nearest airport, Great Falls International, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 376 miles away.
The best schools in and around 59440
Schools across 59440 average a B, better than 68% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Highwood SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Benton Lake SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Belt SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Belt 7-8A+ · 70% proficient
- North Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Highwood Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Fort Benton High SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- C M Russell High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 59440 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
59440 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 59440 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 59440
Is 59440 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 59440 ranks 10,805th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, heat safety, and low taxes, and lowest on tree cover and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 59440 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $229,648. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $85,398 median income, cost of living beats 76% of zip codes.
Is 59440 safe?
59440 is safer than 51% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $404 per resident a year.
Compare 59440 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 59440. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 59440 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.
59440 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 59440: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 59440: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 59440: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 59440: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
59440 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.