Best Places59701, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 59701, 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.
59701 ranks 15,641st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 59701
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.
59701's strengths and weaknesses
Where 59701 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Short commute16.8 minutes each way, better than 94% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 90% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 59701 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 31% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 59701
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 59701 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $65,127, 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 59701's effective rate of 0.94%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 59701
59701's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 59701.
Who works in 59701, and how
Work in 59701 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 59701
59701 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 97% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 59701 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 59701, month by month
59701 sees roughly 128 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 6. The comfortable stretch runs June through August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 19° | 6° |
| April | 54° | 38° | 24° |
| July | 85° | 66° | 45° |
| October | 58° | 41° | 27° |
Flying in and out of 59701
The nearest airport, Bert Mooney, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 247 miles away.
The best schools in and around 59701
Schools across 59701 average a C+, better than 41% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Elk City SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Hillcrest SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Whitehall ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- East Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Whitehall 6-8C− · 28% proficient
- Boulder 7-8D+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Whitehall High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Butte High SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Jefferson High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 59701 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
59701 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 59701 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 59701 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 59701
Is 59701 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 59701 ranks 15,641st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, short commutes, and heat safety, and lowest on distance from a big city and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 59701 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $274,664. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $65,127 median income, cost of living beats 40% of zip codes.
Is 59701 safe?
59701 is safer than 24% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $615 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 59701?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 6. That works out to about 128 pleasant days a year, more than 80% of zip codes.
Is 59701 good for families?
Schools beat 41% of zip codes, crime safety beats 24%, and childcare runs $1,019 a month.
Compare 59701 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 59701. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 59701 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.
59701 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 59701: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 59701: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 59701: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 59701: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
59701 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.