Best Places59846, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 59846, 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.
59846 ranks 20,505th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Walkability pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on low taxes.
The best neighborhoods in 59846
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.
59846's strengths and weaknesses
Where 59846 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 120 pleasant days a year, better than 75% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 59846 ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 59846
A household needs to earn about $118,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 59846 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $72,262, 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 59846's effective rate of 0.88%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 59846
59846 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 59846.
Who works in 59846, and how
Work in 59846 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 59846
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 59846.
What the weather is like in 59846, month by month
59846 sees roughly 120 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 24° | 16° |
| April | 60° | 45° | 31° |
| July | 91° | 71° | 51° |
| October | 60° | 44° | 32° |
Flying in and out of 59846
The nearest airport, Missoula Montana, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 258 miles away.
The best schools in and around 59846
Schools across 59846 average a C+, better than 51% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Target Range SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Frenchtown Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Silver Hills Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Target Range 7-8B · 45% proficient
- Frenchtown 6-8B− · 40% proficient
- Alberton 7-8D− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Alberton High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Frenchtown High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Big Sky High SchoolC− · 26% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 59846 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
59846 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 59846 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 59846
Is 59846 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 59846 ranks 20,505th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, civic engagement, and an educated workforce, and lowest on walkability and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 59846 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $446,176. The overall cost of living runs about 8% above the national average. Set against a $72,262 median income, cost of living beats 29% of zip codes.
Is 59846 safe?
Yes, 59846 is safer than 65% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $353 per resident a year.
Compare 59846 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 59846. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 59846 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.
59846 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 59846: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 59846: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 59846: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 59846: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
59846 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.