Best PlacesPowder River County, MT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Powder River 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.
Powder River County ranks 1,190th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Powder River 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.
Powder River County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Powder River County ranks high
- QuietBetter than 98% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 96% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 96% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 136 pleasant days a year, better than 86% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of counties
Where Powder River County ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 7% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 7% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Powder River County
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Powder River County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,241, 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 Powder River County's effective rate of 0.32%, 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 Powder River County
Powder River County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Powder River County.
Who works in Powder River County, and how
Work in Powder River County centers on agriculture & forestry and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Powder River County
Powder River County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Powder River County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Powder River County growing, and who is moving in?
Powder River County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Stark County, ND.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Powder River County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Powder River County, month by month
Powder River County sees roughly 136 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 26° | 18° |
| April | 56° | 43° | 33° |
| July | 86° | 72° | 59° |
| October | 60° | 46° | 36° |
Flying in and out of Powder River County
The nearest airport, Northeast Wyoming Regional, is about 75 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 388 miles away.
The best schools in and around Powder River County
Schools across Powder River County average a C, better than 41% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Recluse SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Little Powder ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Broadus SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Broadus 7-8D+ · 25% proficient
- Ashland 7-8D+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Sheridan High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Powder River Co Dist HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Powder River County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Powder River 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 Powder River County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Powder River County
Is Powder River County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Powder River County ranks 1,190th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on quiet, a strong job market, and low property taxes, and lowest on cell coverage 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 Powder River County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $195,434. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $69,241 median income, cost of living beats 65% of counties.
Is Powder River County safe?
Powder River County is safer than 50% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $432 per resident a year.
Compare Powder River County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Powder River County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Powder River 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.
Powder River County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Powder River County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Powder River County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Powder River County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Powder River County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Powder River 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.