Best PlacesPetroleum County, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Petroleum 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.
Petroleum County ranks 2,151st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Petroleum 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.
Petroleum County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Petroleum County ranks high
- QuietBetter than 99% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of counties
- Short commute16.2 minutes each way, better than 93% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 88% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 86% of counties
Where Petroleum County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 2% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 3% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 3% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Petroleum County
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Petroleum County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,208, 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 Petroleum County's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Petroleum County
Petroleum 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 Petroleum County.
Who works in Petroleum County, and how
Work in Petroleum County centers on agriculture & forestry and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 60%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 26%
Life in Petroleum County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Petroleum County.
Is Petroleum County growing, and who is moving in?
Petroleum County has grown about 8% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Fergus County, MT.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Petroleum County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Petroleum County, month by month
Petroleum County sees roughly 103 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 27° | 17° |
| April | 57° | 43° | 31° |
| July | 86° | 70° | 53° |
| October | 61° | 46° | 34° |
Flying in and out of Petroleum County
The nearest airport, Billings Logan International, is about 84 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 452 miles away.
The best schools in and around Petroleum County
Schools across Petroleum County average a C+, better than 46% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Rocky Mountain ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Winnett SchoolC · 31% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rocky Mountain Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Winnett 7-8B+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Rocky Mountain High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- Winnett High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Petroleum County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Petroleum 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 Petroleum County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Petroleum County
Is Petroleum County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Petroleum County ranks 2,151st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on quiet, heat safety, and short commutes, and lowest on walkability and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Petroleum County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $201,400. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $60,208 median income, cost of living beats 47% of counties.
Is Petroleum County safe?
Petroleum County is safer than 7% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $768 per resident a year.
Compare Petroleum County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Petroleum County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Petroleum 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.
Petroleum County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Petroleum County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Petroleum County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Petroleum County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Petroleum County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Petroleum 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.