Best PlacesBroadwater County, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Broadwater County, 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.
Broadwater County ranks 1,228th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Broadwater County
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.
Broadwater County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Broadwater County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 146 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of counties
Where Broadwater County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 12% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,042 a month, better than only 15% of counties
- Short commute29.3 minutes each way, better than only 19% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Broadwater County
A household needs to earn about $115,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Broadwater County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $71,162, 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 Broadwater County's effective rate of 0.54%, 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 Broadwater County
Broadwater County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Broadwater County.
Who works in Broadwater County, and how
Work in Broadwater County centers on construction and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Broadwater County
Broadwater County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Broadwater County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Broadwater County growing, and who is moving in?
Broadwater County has grown about 47% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Bozeman, MT.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Broadwater County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Broadwater County, month by month
Broadwater County sees roughly 146 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 23° | 12° |
| April | 60° | 44° | 31° |
| July | 91° | 73° | 55° |
| October | 61° | 46° | 33° |
Flying in and out of Broadwater County
The nearest airport, Helena Regional, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 296 miles away.
The best schools in and around Broadwater County
Schools across Broadwater County average a B−, better than 61% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Salmon Pioneer Primary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Three Forks Elem SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Cecelia Hazelton SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Powell Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Townsend 7-8B− · 43% proficient
- Three Forks 7-8C · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Broadwater High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Three Forks High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Salmon Jr/sr High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Broadwater County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Broadwater County 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 Broadwater County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Broadwater County
Is Broadwater County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Broadwater County ranks 1,228th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, civic engagement, and low crime, and lowest on an overheated housing market and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Broadwater County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $456,458. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $71,162 median income, cost of living beats 34% of counties.
Is Broadwater County safe?
Yes, Broadwater County is safer than 92% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $305 per resident a year.
Compare Broadwater County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Broadwater County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Broadwater County 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.
Broadwater County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Broadwater County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Broadwater County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Broadwater County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Broadwater County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Broadwater County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.