Best PlacesCascade County, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Cascade County, 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.
Cascade County ranks 547th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Cascade 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.
Cascade County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Cascade County ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of counties
- Short commute16.5 minutes each way, better than 92% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of counties
Where Cascade County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 13% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,039 a month, better than only 15% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 16% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 19% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Cascade County
A household needs to earn about $72,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Cascade County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,713, 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 Cascade County's effective rate of 0.80%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Cascade County
Cascade County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Cascade County.
Who works in Cascade County, and how
Work in Cascade County 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 86%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Cascade County
Cascade County has more parkland per resident than 87% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 98% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Cascade County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Cascade County growing, and who is moving in?
Cascade County has grown about 3% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Williams County, ND.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Cascade County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Cascade County, month by month
Cascade County sees roughly 113 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 26° | 16° |
| April | 57° | 43° | 29° |
| July | 88° | 71° | 53° |
| October | 60° | 45° | 33° |
Flying in and out of Cascade County
The nearest airport, Great Falls International, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 361 miles away.
The best schools in and around Cascade County
Schools across Cascade County average a C+, better than 53% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Elk City SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Hillcrest Colony ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Meadow Lark SchoolA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Belt 7-8A+ · 70% proficient
- Tongue River Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Rocky Mountain Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Rocky Mountain High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- Belt High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- C M Russell High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Cascade County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Cascade 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 Cascade County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Cascade County suits
Families
Schools land around the 53rd percentile and crime safety beats 65%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 70% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Cascade County
Is Cascade County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Cascade County ranks 547th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low disaster risk, cell coverage, and short commutes, and lowest on distance from a big city and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Cascade County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $274,295. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $74,713 median income, cost of living beats 70% of counties.
Is Cascade County safe?
Yes, Cascade County is safer than 65% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $411 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Cascade County?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 38 with lows near 16. That works out to about 113 pleasant days a year, more than 70% of counties.
Is Cascade County good for families?
Schools beat 53% of counties, crime safety beats 65%, and childcare runs $1,039 a month.
Compare Cascade County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Cascade County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Cascade 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.
Cascade County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Cascade County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Cascade County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Cascade County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Cascade County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Cascade 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.