Best Places59901, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 59901, 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.
59901 ranks 6,986th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 59901
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.
59901's strengths and weaknesses
Where 59901 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Short commute18.6 minutes each way, better than 90% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 59901 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,050 a month, better than only 29% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 31% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 59901
A household needs to earn about $124,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 59901 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $76,277, 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 59901's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 59901
59901's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 59901.
Who works in 59901, and how
Work in 59901 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 59901
59901 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 91% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 59901 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 59901, month by month
59901 sees roughly 94 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 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° | 25° | 16° |
| April | 58° | 43° | 28° |
| July | 87° | 68° | 47° |
| October | 58° | 42° | 29° |
Flying in and out of 59901
The nearest airport, Glacier Park International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 334 miles away.
The best schools in and around 59901
Schools across 59901 average a B−, better than 62% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Deer Park SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Edgerton SchoolA · 64% proficient
- L A Muldown SchoolA− · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Deer Park 6-8A · 60% proficient
- Kalispell Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- West Valley Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Whitefish High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Glacier High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Flathead High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 59901 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
59901 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 59901 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 59901 suits
Common questions about living in 59901
Is 59901 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 59901 ranks 6,986th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, low crime, and short commutes, 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 59901 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $484,534. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $76,277 median income, cost of living beats 51% of zip codes.
Is 59901 safe?
Yes, 59901 is safer than 93% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $245 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 59901?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 16. That works out to about 94 pleasant days a year, more than 59% of zip codes.
Is 59901 good for families?
Schools beat 62% of zip codes, crime safety beats 93%, and childcare runs $1,050 a month.
Compare 59901 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 59901. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 59901 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.
59901 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 59901: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 59901: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 59901: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 59901: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
59901 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.