Best PlacesColstrip, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Colstrip, 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.
Colstrip ranks 3,384th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Colstrip
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.
Colstrip's strengths and weaknesses
Where Colstrip ranks high
- Short commute11.1 minutes each way, better than 99% of towns
- BikingBetter than 95% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 92% of towns
Where Colstrip ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of towns
- School gradeD+, better than only 14% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 14% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 20% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,031 a month, better than only 23% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Colstrip
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Colstrip home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $97,749, 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 Colstrip's effective rate of 0.49%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Colstrip
Colstrip runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Colstrip.
Who works in Colstrip, and how
Work in Colstrip centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Colstrip
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Colstrip.
What the weather is like in Colstrip, month by month
Colstrip sees roughly 142 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 21° | 11° |
| April | 61° | 45° | 31° |
| July | 93° | 76° | 59° |
| October | 63° | 46° | 33° |
Flying in and out of Colstrip
The nearest airport, Sheridan County, is about 80 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 428 miles away.
The best schools in and around Colstrip
Schools across Colstrip average a D+, better than 14% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Forsyth Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Tongue River ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Pine Butte Elementary SchC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Tongue River Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Forsyth 7-8C− · 30% proficient
- Rosebud 7-8D+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Sheridan High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Forsyth High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Colstrip High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Colstrip school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Colstrip 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 Colstrip against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Colstrip
Is Colstrip a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Colstrip ranks 3,384th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on short commutes, biking, and civic engagement, and lowest on distance from a big city and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Colstrip expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $184,008. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $97,749 median income, cost of living beats 91% of towns.
Is Colstrip safe?
Colstrip is safer than 38% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $477 per resident a year.
Compare Colstrip with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Colstrip. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Colstrip 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.
Colstrip detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Colstrip: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Colstrip: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Colstrip: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Colstrip: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Colstrip 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.