Best PlacesJudith Basin County, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Judith Basin County, 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.
Judith Basin County ranks 1,752nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Judith Basin 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.
Judith Basin County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Judith Basin County ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of counties
- QuietBetter than 95% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 89% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 88% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of counties
Where Judith Basin County ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Judith Basin County
A household needs to earn about $61,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Judith Basin County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $58,093; 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 Judith Basin County's effective rate of 0.50%, 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 Judith Basin County
Judith Basin 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 Judith Basin County.
Who works in Judith Basin County, and how
Work in Judith Basin County centers on agriculture & forestry and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 65%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Judith Basin County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Judith Basin County.
Is Judith Basin County growing, and who is moving in?
Judith Basin County has grown about 6% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Musselshell County, MT.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Judith Basin County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Judith Basin County, month by month
Judith Basin County sees roughly 96 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 28° | 17° |
| April | 54° | 41° | 29° |
| July | 84° | 68° | 52° |
| October | 59° | 45° | 33° |
Flying in and out of Judith Basin County
The nearest airport, Great Falls International, is about 62 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 382 miles away.
The best schools in and around Judith Basin County
Schools across Judith Basin County average a C+, better than 58% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Elk City SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Geyser SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Silver Hills Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Tongue River Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Rocky Mountain Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Geyser 7-8B+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Rocky Mountain High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- Powell High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Hobson High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Judith Basin County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Judith Basin 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 Judith Basin County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Judith Basin County
Is Judith Basin County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Judith Basin County ranks 1,752nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low disaster risk, quiet, and civic engagement, and lowest on internet speeds and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Judith Basin County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $244,802. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $58,093 median income, cost of living beats 33% of counties.
Is Judith Basin County safe?
Judith Basin County is safer than 23% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $579 per resident a year.
Compare Judith Basin County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Judith Basin County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Judith Basin 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.
Judith Basin County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Judith Basin County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Judith Basin County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Judith Basin County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Judith Basin County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Judith Basin 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.