Best PlacesChouteau County, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Chouteau County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Chouteau County ranks 1,174th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Chouteau 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.
Chouteau County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chouteau County ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 93% of counties
- QuietBetter than 93% of counties
- Short commute18.6 minutes each way, better than 86% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of counties
Where Chouteau County ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 3% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 15% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 16% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,005 a month, better than only 16% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Chouteau County
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chouteau County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,619, 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 Chouteau County'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 Chouteau County
Chouteau County'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 Chouteau County.
Who works in Chouteau County, and how
Work in Chouteau County centers on agriculture & forestry and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Chouteau County
Chouteau County has more parkland per resident than 84% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Chouteau County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Chouteau County growing, and who is moving in?
Chouteau County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Riverside, CA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Chouteau County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Chouteau County, month by month
Chouteau County sees roughly 123 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 8. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 20° | 8° |
| April | 59° | 43° | 28° |
| July | 91° | 72° | 53° |
| October | 60° | 43° | 30° |
Flying in and out of Chouteau County
The nearest airport, Havre City-County, is about 49 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 414 miles away.
The best schools in and around Chouteau County
Schools across Chouteau County average a B−, better than 64% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Highwood SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Benton Lake SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Geraldine ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Geraldine Middle SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Fort Benton 7-8A · 60% proficient
- Rocky Mountain Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Fort Benton High SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Big Sandy High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chouteau County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chouteau 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 Chouteau County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Chouteau County
Is Chouteau County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chouteau County ranks 1,174th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low disaster risk, clean air, and quiet, and lowest on internet speeds 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 Chouteau County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $193,067. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $58,619 median income, cost of living beats 23% of counties.
Is Chouteau County safe?
Chouteau County is safer than 39% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $492 per resident a year.
Compare Chouteau County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chouteau County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chouteau 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.
Chouteau County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chouteau County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chouteau County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chouteau County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chouteau County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chouteau 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.