Best Places82701, WY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 82701, 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.
82701 ranks 11,636th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 82701
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.
82701's strengths and weaknesses
Where 82701 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 86% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$690 a month, better than 76% of zip codes
Where 82701 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 31% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 31% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 82701
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 82701 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $91,259, 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 82701'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 82701
82701 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 82701.
Who works in 82701, and how
Work in 82701 centers on mining & oil & gas and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in 82701
82701 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 82701 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 82701, month by month
82701 sees roughly 120 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 26° | 14° |
| April | 54° | 39° | 26° |
| July | 83° | 68° | 53° |
| October | 58° | 44° | 31° |
Flying in and out of 82701
The nearest airport, Rapid City Regional, is about 59 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 277 miles away.
The best schools in and around 82701
Schools across 82701 average a B, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hill City Elementary - 02B · 50% proficient
- Cottonwood ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Newcastle Elementary 3-5B · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Newcastle Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Hill City Middle School - 04B+ · 50% proficient
- Upton Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Upton High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Niobrara County High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Custer High School - 01B− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 82701 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
82701 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 82701 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 82701
Is 82701 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 82701 ranks 11,636th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, heat safety, and what local pay buys, and lowest on distance from a big city and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 82701 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $255,458. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $91,259 median income, cost of living beats 86% of zip codes.
Is 82701 safe?
Yes, 82701 is safer than 55% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $297 per resident a year.
Compare 82701 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 82701. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 82701 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.
82701 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 82701: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 82701: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 82701: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 82701: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
82701 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.