Best PlacesHeart of Missoula, Missoula, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Heart of Missoula, Missoula, 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.
Heart of Missoula, Missoula ranks 3,142nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Heart of Missoula, Missoula
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.
Heart of Missoula, Missoula's strengths and weaknesses
Where Heart of Missoula, Missoula ranks high
- BikingBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Short commute16.5 minutes each way, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
Where Heart of Missoula, Missoula ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Heart of Missoula, Missoula
A household needs to earn about $128,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Heart of Missoula, Missoula home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $59,337, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Heart of Missoula, Missoula's effective rate of 0.79%, 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 Heart of Missoula, Missoula
Heart of Missoula, Missoula runs younger 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 Heart of Missoula, Missoula.
Who works in Heart of Missoula, Missoula, and how
Work in Heart of Missoula, Missoula centers on hospitality & food and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 18%
Life in Heart of Missoula, Missoula
Heart of Missoula, Missoula has more restaurants and bars per resident than 94% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 88% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Heart of Missoula, Missoula and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Heart of Missoula, Missoula, month by month
Heart of Missoula, Missoula sees roughly 121 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 24° | 16° |
| April | 60° | 45° | 31° |
| July | 91° | 71° | 51° |
| October | 60° | 44° | 32° |
Flying in and out of Heart of Missoula, Missoula
The nearest airport, Missoula Montana, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 253 miles away.
The best schools in and around Heart of Missoula, Missoula
Schools across Heart of Missoula, Missoula average a B−, better than 65% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Rattlesnake Elementary SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Paxson SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Lowell SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Washington Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Porter Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Hellgate High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Heart of Missoula, Missoula school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Heart of Missoula, Missoula 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 Heart of Missoula, Missoula against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Heart of Missoula, Missoula
Is Heart of Missoula, Missoula a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Heart of Missoula, Missoula ranks 3,142nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on biking, short commutes, and clean air, and lowest on distance from a big city and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Heart of Missoula, Missoula expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $490,573. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $59,337 median income, cost of living beats 22% of neighborhoods.
Is Heart of Missoula, Missoula safe?
Heart of Missoula, Missoula is safer than 19% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,004 per resident a year.
Compare Heart of Missoula, Missoula with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Heart of Missoula, Missoula. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Heart of Missoula, Missoula 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.
Heart of Missoula, Missoula detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Heart of Missoula, Missoula: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Heart of Missoula, Missoula: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Heart of Missoula, Missoula: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Heart of Missoula, Missoula: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Heart of Missoula, Missoula 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.