Best PlacesJefferson City, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Jefferson City, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Jefferson City ranks 5,470th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Jefferson City
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.
Jefferson City's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jefferson City ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 96% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 149 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 89% of towns
- Household income$103,422 median, better than 87% of towns
Where Jefferson City ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 7% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,081 a month, better than only 20% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 26% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Jefferson City
A household needs to earn about $109,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jefferson City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $103,422; 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 Jefferson City's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 Jefferson City
Jefferson City runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Jefferson City.
Who works in Jefferson City, and how
Work in Jefferson City centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Jefferson City
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Jefferson City.
What the weather is like in Jefferson City, month by month
Jefferson City sees roughly 149 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 23° | 12° |
| April | 60° | 44° | 31° |
| July | 91° | 73° | 55° |
| October | 61° | 46° | 33° |
Flying in and out of Jefferson City
The nearest airport, Helena Regional, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 283 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jefferson City
Schools across Jefferson City average a B−, better than 61% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Clancy SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Boulder Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Clancy 7-8A− · 53% proficient
- Boulder 7-8D+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Jefferson High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jefferson City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jefferson City 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 Jefferson City against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Jefferson City
Is Jefferson City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jefferson City ranks 5,470th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, low crime, and the weather, and lowest on distance from a big city and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Jefferson City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $432,749. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $103,422 median income, cost of living beats 79% of towns.
Is Jefferson City safe?
Yes, Jefferson City is safer than 93% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $224 per resident a year.
Compare Jefferson City with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jefferson City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jefferson City 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.
Jefferson City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jefferson City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jefferson City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jefferson City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jefferson City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jefferson City 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.