Best Places59859, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 59859, 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.
59859 ranks 21,244th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 59859
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.
59859's strengths and weaknesses
Where 59859 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Short commute17.9 minutes each way, better than 92% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 70% of zip codes
Where 59859 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Household income$60,559 median, better than only 25% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 59859
A household needs to earn about $109,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 59859 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $60,559, 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 59859's effective rate of 0.40%, 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 59859
59859 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 59859.
Who works in 59859, and how
Work in 59859 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in 59859
59859 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 59859 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 59859, month by month
59859 sees roughly 97 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 74 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs July and August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 23° | 18° |
| April | 43° | 33° | 26° |
| July | 74° | 62° | 53° |
| October | 47° | 38° | 31° |
Flying in and out of 59859
The nearest airport, Missoula Montana, is about 54 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 278 miles away.
The best schools in and around 59859
Schools across 59859 average a C−, better than 28% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Silver Hills Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Plains Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Thompson Falls Elem SchlB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Plains 7-8C+ · 38% proficient
- Thompson Falls 7-8C · 35% proficient
- Hot Springs 7-8C− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Thompson Falls High SchlC− · 30% proficient
- Hot Springs High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Plains High SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 59859 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
59859 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 59859 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 59859
Is 59859 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 59859 ranks 21,244th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, short commutes, and low property taxes, and lowest on an overheated housing market and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 59859 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $439,607. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $60,559 median income, cost of living beats 17% of zip codes.
Is 59859 safe?
Yes, 59859 is safer than 59% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $383 per resident a year.
Compare 59859 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 59859. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 59859 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.
59859 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 59859: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 59859: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 59859: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 59859: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
59859 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.