Best PlacesMontana Mines, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Montana Mines, 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.
Montana Mines ranks 5,252nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Montana Mines
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.
Montana Mines' strengths and weaknesses
Where Montana Mines ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 86% of towns
- Household income$101,729 median, better than 86% of towns
Where Montana Mines ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 29% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 72 pleasant days a year, better than only 29% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 42% of towns
- TransitBetter than only 44% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Montana Mines
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Montana Mines home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $101,729, 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 Montana Mines' effective rate of 0.65%, 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 Montana Mines
Montana Mines's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Montana Mines.
Who works in Montana Mines, and how
Work in Montana Mines 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 80%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Montana Mines
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Montana Mines.
What the weather is like in Montana Mines, month by month
Montana Mines sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 24° |
| April | 68° | 55° | 42° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Montana Mines
The nearest airport, Morgantown Municipal/Walter L Bill Hart Field, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 67 miles away.
The best schools in and around Montana Mines
Schools across Montana Mines average a C+, better than 48% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- East Dale Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Rivesville Elementary/middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Fairmont Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Fairmont Senior High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Montana Mines school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Montana Mines 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 Montana Mines against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Montana Mines
Is Montana Mines a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Montana Mines ranks 5,252nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on fast internet, low crime, and what local pay buys, and lowest on state infrastructure and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Montana Mines expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $306,919. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $101,729 median income, cost of living beats 91% of towns.
Is Montana Mines safe?
Yes, Montana Mines is safer than 92% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $157 per resident a year.
Compare Montana Mines with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Montana Mines. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Montana Mines 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.
Montana Mines detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Montana Mines: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Montana Mines: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Montana Mines: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Montana Mines: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Montana Mines 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.