Best PlacesDell, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Dell, 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.
Dell ranks 20,778th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Dell
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.
Dell's strengths and weaknesses
Where Dell ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 99% of towns
- Short commute14.7 minutes each way, better than 98% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 89% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 133 pleasant days a year, better than 86% of towns
Where Dell ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 14% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 18% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Dell
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dell home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $63,118; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Dell's effective rate of 0.29%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Dell
Dell 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 Dell.
Who works in Dell, and how
Work in Dell centers on agriculture & forestry and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Dell
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Dell.
What the weather is like in Dell, month by month
Dell sees roughly 133 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 5. The comfortable stretch runs June through August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 17° | 5° |
| April | 53° | 37° | 24° |
| July | 84° | 65° | 44° |
| October | 56° | 40° | 26° |
Flying in and out of Dell
The nearest airport, Yellowstone, is about 80 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 192 miles away.
The best schools in and around Dell
Schools across Dell average a C+, better than 50% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Parkview SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Lindy Ross Elementary SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Lima SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dillon Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Beaverhead Co High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Clark County Jr/sr High SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dell school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dell 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 Dell against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Dell
Is Dell a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dell ranks 20,778th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on clean air, short commutes, and low property taxes, and lowest on distance from a big city and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Dell expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $265,565. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $63,118 median income, cost of living beats 32% of towns.
Is Dell safe?
Yes, Dell is safer than 55% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $378 per resident a year.
Compare Dell with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dell. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dell 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.
Dell detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dell: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dell: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dell: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dell: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dell 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.