Best PlacesMalmstrom Air Force Base, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Malmstrom Air Force Base, 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.
Malmstrom Air Force Base ranks 4,250th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Malmstrom Air Force Base
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.
Malmstrom Air Force Base's strengths and weaknesses
Where Malmstrom Air Force Base ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of towns
- Short commute16.6 minutes each way, better than 96% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 89% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 89% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 88% of towns
Where Malmstrom Air Force Base ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 9% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 17% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,039 a month, better than only 22% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 30% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Malmstrom Air Force Base
A household needs to earn about $104,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Malmstrom Air Force Base home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $95,687; 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base's effective rate of 0.73%, 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base
Malmstrom Air Force Base runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Malmstrom Air Force Base.
Who works in Malmstrom Air Force Base, and how
Work in Malmstrom Air Force Base centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Malmstrom Air Force Base
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Malmstrom Air Force Base.
What the weather is like in Malmstrom Air Force Base, month by month
Malmstrom Air Force Base sees roughly 98 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 26° | 16° |
| April | 57° | 43° | 29° |
| July | 88° | 71° | 53° |
| October | 60° | 45° | 33° |
Flying in and out of Malmstrom Air Force Base
The nearest airport, Great Falls International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 361 miles away.
The best schools in and around Malmstrom Air Force Base
Schools across Malmstrom Air Force Base average a B−, better than 59% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Meadow Lark SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Ulm SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Belt SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Belt 7-8A+ · 70% proficient
- North Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Centerville 6-8B · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- C M Russell High SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Great Falls High SchoolC− · 26% proficient
- Centerville High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Malmstrom Air Force Base school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Malmstrom Air Force Base 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Malmstrom Air Force Base
Is Malmstrom Air Force Base a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Malmstrom Air Force Base ranks 4,250th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low disaster risk, short commutes, and a strong job 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $402,379. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $95,687 median income, cost of living beats 84% of towns.
Is Malmstrom Air Force Base safe?
Yes, Malmstrom Air Force Base is safer than 84% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $268 per resident a year.
Compare Malmstrom Air Force Base with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Malmstrom Air Force Base. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Malmstrom Air Force Base 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.
Malmstrom Air Force Base detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Malmstrom Air Force Base: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Malmstrom Air Force Base: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Malmstrom Air Force Base: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Malmstrom Air Force Base: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Malmstrom Air Force Base 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.