Best PlacesDawson County, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Dawson 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.
Dawson County ranks 761st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Dawson 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.
Dawson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Dawson County ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 88% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 85% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of counties
Where Dawson County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,062 a month, better than only 14% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 19% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Dawson County
A household needs to earn about $53,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dawson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,490, 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 Dawson County's effective rate of 1.03%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Dawson County
Dawson County 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 Dawson County.
Who works in Dawson County, and how
Work in Dawson County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Dawson County
Dawson County has more parkland per resident than 79% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Dawson County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Dawson County growing, and who is moving in?
Dawson County has lost about 8% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Missoula, MT.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Dawson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Dawson County, month by month
Dawson County sees roughly 104 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 19° | 9° |
| April | 58° | 43° | 29° |
| July | 90° | 74° | 58° |
| October | 60° | 44° | 32° |
Flying in and out of Dawson County
The nearest airport, Sidney-Richland Regional, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 503 miles away.
The best schools in and around Dawson County
Schools across Dawson County average a C, better than 36% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Little Powder ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Richey SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Tongue River ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Richey 7-8A+ · 75% proficient
- Tongue River Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Savage 7-8C− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Tongue River High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- Rocky Mountain High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- Dawson High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dawson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dawson 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 Dawson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Dawson County
Is Dawson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dawson County ranks 761st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on civic engagement, low crime, and a stable housing market, and lowest on distance from a big city and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Dawson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $197,998. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $72,490 median income, cost of living beats 80% of counties.
Is Dawson County safe?
Yes, Dawson County is safer than 96% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $285 per resident a year.
Compare Dawson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dawson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dawson 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.
Dawson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dawson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dawson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dawson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dawson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dawson 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.