Best Places59487, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 59487, 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.
59487 ranks 18,037th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 59487
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.
59487's strengths and weaknesses
Where 59487 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 75% of zip codes
Where 59487 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 59487
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 59487 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $59,359, 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 59487's effective rate of 0.61%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 59487
59487 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 59487.
Who works in 59487, and how
Work in 59487 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 59487
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 59487.
What the weather is like in 59487, month by month
59487 sees roughly 116 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 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° | 27° | 16° |
| April | 58° | 42° | 29° |
| July | 89° | 71° | 51° |
| October | 60° | 45° | 32° |
Flying in and out of 59487
The nearest airport, Great Falls International, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 355 miles away.
The best schools in and around 59487
Schools across 59487 average a C−, better than 20% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Power SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Fort Shaw Elem SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Valley View SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Power 7-8B+ · 50% proficient
- North Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Sun River Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Power High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- C M Russell High SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Simms High SchoolF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 59487 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
59487 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 59487 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 59487
Is 59487 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 59487 ranks 18,037th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, quiet, and low 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 59487 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $212,926. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $59,359 median income, cost of living beats 17% of zip codes.
Is 59487 safe?
Yes, 59487 is safer than 72% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $324 per resident a year.
Compare 59487 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 59487. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 59487 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.
59487 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 59487: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 59487: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 59487: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 59487: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
59487 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.