Best Places59462, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 59462, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
59462 ranks 22,979th 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 59462
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.
59462's strengths and weaknesses
Where 59462 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 59462 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 59462
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 59462 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,337, 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 59462's effective rate of 0.50%, 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 59462
59462 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 59462.
Who works in 59462, and how
Work in 59462 centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 59462
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 59462.
What the weather is like in 59462, month by month
59462 sees roughly 90 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 28° | 17° |
| April | 54° | 41° | 29° |
| July | 84° | 68° | 52° |
| October | 59° | 45° | 33° |
Flying in and out of 59462
The nearest airport, Great Falls International, is about 74 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 392 miles away.
The best schools in and around 59462
Schools across 59462 average a C+, better than 49% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Denton SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Stanford SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Hobson SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hobson 6-8B+ · 50% proficient
- Stanford 7-8C− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Hobson High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 59462 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
59462 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 59462 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 59462
Is 59462 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 59462 ranks 22,979th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, low taxes, and low property 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 59462 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $235,998. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $60,337 median income, cost of living beats 40% of zip codes.
Is 59462 safe?
59462 is safer than 14% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $695 per resident a year.
Compare 59462 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 59462. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 59462 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.
59462 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 59462: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 59462: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 59462: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 59462: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
59462 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.