Best PlacesMeagher County, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Meagher County, 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.
Meagher County ranks 1,531st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Meagher 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.
Meagher County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Meagher County ranks high
- QuietBetter than 99% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 83% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 82% of counties
Where Meagher County ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 1% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 9% of counties
- School gradeD+, better than only 16% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Meagher County
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Meagher County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $75,941, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Meagher County's effective rate of 0.42%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Meagher County
Meagher 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 Meagher County.
Who works in Meagher County, and how
Work in Meagher County centers on agriculture & forestry and public administration. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Meagher County
Meagher County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Meagher County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Meagher County growing, and who is moving in?
Meagher County has grown about 11% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Santa Rosa, CA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Meagher County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Meagher County, month by month
Meagher County sees roughly 109 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs June through August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 25° | 15° |
| April | 52° | 38° | 25° |
| July | 81° | 64° | 45° |
| October | 56° | 42° | 29° |
Flying in and out of Meagher County
The nearest airport, Helena Regional, is about 53 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 332 miles away.
The best schools in and around Meagher County
Schools across Meagher County average a D+, better than 16% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Elk City SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Salmon Pioneer Primary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- White Sulphur Springs ElD+ · 23% proficient
Top middle schools
- Powell Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Rocky Mountain Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- White Sulphur Springs 7-8D+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Rocky Mountain High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- Powell High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Salmon Jr/sr High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Meagher County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Meagher 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 Meagher County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Meagher County
Is Meagher County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Meagher County ranks 1,531st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on quiet, low property taxes, and low taxes, and lowest on internet speeds 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 Meagher County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $279,352. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $75,941 median income, cost of living beats 49% of counties.
Is Meagher County safe?
Meagher County is safer than 44% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $454 per resident a year.
Compare Meagher County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Meagher County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Meagher 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.
Meagher County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Meagher County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Meagher County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Meagher County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Meagher County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Meagher 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.