Best PlacesMusselshell County, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Musselshell County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Musselshell County ranks 1,554th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Musselshell 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.
Musselshell County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Musselshell County ranks high
- QuietBetter than 92% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 131 pleasant days a year, better than 83% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 76% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 75% of counties
Where Musselshell County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 9% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,119 a month, better than only 10% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Musselshell County
A household needs to earn about $62,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Musselshell County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,174, 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 Musselshell County's effective rate of 0.56%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Musselshell County
Musselshell 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 Musselshell County.
Who works in Musselshell County, and how
Work in Musselshell County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Musselshell County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Musselshell County.
Is Musselshell County growing, and who is moving in?
Musselshell County has grown about 17% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Billings, MT.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Musselshell County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Musselshell County, month by month
Musselshell County sees roughly 131 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 27° | 17° |
| April | 60° | 45° | 33° |
| July | 92° | 75° | 59° |
| October | 63° | 48° | 36° |
Flying in and out of Musselshell County
The nearest airport, Billings Logan International, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 426 miles away.
The best schools in and around Musselshell County
Schools across Musselshell County average a C, better than 34% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Broadview SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Rocky Mountain ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Roundup ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Broadview 7-8A · 60% proficient
- Rocky Mountain Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Melstone Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Rocky Mountain High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- Broadview High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Melstone High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Musselshell County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Musselshell 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 Musselshell County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Musselshell County
Is Musselshell County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Musselshell County ranks 1,554th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on quiet, low taxes, and the weather, and lowest on an overheated housing market 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 Musselshell County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $243,299. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $64,174 median income, cost of living beats 34% of counties.
Is Musselshell County safe?
Yes, Musselshell County is safer than 73% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $364 per resident a year.
Compare Musselshell County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Musselshell County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Musselshell 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.
Musselshell County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Musselshell County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Musselshell County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Musselshell County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Musselshell County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Musselshell 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.