16 Amazing Places to Raise a Family in Montana

Montana is one of the prettiest states in the union. Its proximity to nature and healthy lifestyles have increased its radar in the minds of many who are looking for somewhere truly nice to spend their time.

This includes those who are looking for good places to raise a family. Due to its safety, affordability and plentiful recreation options, Montana makes a great place to settle down and rear a litter.

If you’re thinking about raising kids in Montana, here’s a checklist of some of the best places in the state to live the family life.

1. Missoula

Missoula tops the list as perhaps the most family-friendly city in the state of Montana. Missoula is a small college city that offers residents a number of cultural benefits. At the same time, it remains small enough that it doesn’t prevent them from escaping the city and exploring all of the outdoor spaces that make Montana so beloved.

Missoula has an extensive school system and a high quality of life. The University of Montana is the largest college in the state and has garnered renown for several of its programs. This includes its forestry and creative writing programs.

Missoula is also known for being more left-leaning than many other places in the state. This is partially due to the presence of higher education institutions in its borders.

2. Helena

The capital of the state, Helena has a lot going for it that makes it a great place to raise kids. The presence of the state government has created a cottage industry surrounding serving the needs of government officials in the state.

Helena also boasts more sunshine on average than many of the other cities in the western half of the state. This has the effect of dampening the fierceness of some of the famously harsh winters that Montana is bound to experience.

Helena also has a wide-ranging school system that is identified as one of the best in the state. Sandwiched between the two major college cities of Montana, Missoula, and Bozeman, it means that your child will have their pick of the litter in terms of in-state college opportunities.

3. Bozeman

Bozeman is the other major college city in Montana. Slightly smaller than Missoula, it offers residents a slightly different array of benefits when one is making decisions on where to live.

Bozeman is within spitting distance of Yellowstone National Park. There are also several other major wilderness areas nearby. There is basically an unlimited amount of backpacking, hiking, and skiing to do in very close proximity to the city.

Montana State University is located within Bozeman’s borders as well. This university is also called the name “University of Yellowstone”. This is due to the extensive research that the university performs into the nearby national park. In addition, the university has the world’s largest T. Rex skull on display. This, however, is only a partial specimen.

4. Livingston

Livingston is another Yellowstone-adjacent community that lies just north of the extensive national park. Livingston even boasts the nickname “The Gateway to Yellowstone” due to its very close proximity to the national park.

Livingston boasts a historic downtown and some interesting cultural presences that are wrapped up in small-town charm. Given that the small city is so close to Yellowstone and other bountiful outdoor activities, the small city has a plethora of recreational activities to offer parents and their children in their downtime.

The community is served by Livingston Public Schools, which operates a K-12 school system, much the same as the rest of the country. The town also has basic amenities such as a public library, so you won’t have to go to the big city for things of the sort.

5. Billings

Billings is the largest city in the state and might prove attractive to those moving to Montana from more populated areas. Generally speaking, young families might not be moving to the “Big Sky State” for the razzle-dazzle of city life, but you never know.

With a population of just under 200,000, Billings is still very modestly sized in comparison to most other large cities in the country. This means that although you might be closer to some of the benefits offered by a large city in Billings, you’re never far away from the wilderness of the greater area.

Billings has a branch of Montana State University in its borders, as well as some smaller private colleges. It also has a number of museums and historic buildings in its downtown area, as well as the state’s largest zoo, ZooMontana.

6. Great Falls

Great Falls is a historic gem that lies a few hours north of Bozeman, and to the east of the Rocky Mountain front. This hidden gem is the third-largest city in the state, after Billings and Missoula.

Great Falls offers residents an extensive education system. It has over 20 schools being present within the confines of the Great Falls Public Schools system. This includes some alternative and specialized education projects, such as the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind.

Great Falls also has its own branch of the Montana State University System, the Great Falls Montana State University. There are also several private and religious universities available for attendance.

Like the rest of Montana, Great Falls has a number of massive wilderness areas, rivers, lakes, and forests all closely located to the borders of the city. This makes for endless opportunities for outdoor fun with the family.

7. Whitefish

Whitefish is one of the more expensive places to live in Montana, but well worth it if you can afford the price tag. The small city boasts a high quality of life, as well as acts as the gateway to the stunningly beautiful Glacier National Park and its adjacent wilderness areas.

Whitefish is perhaps even more kid and family-friendly than many of the other entries on this list. This is partially because violence and crime are practically non-existent in this ritzy ski town. It also has a number of regional festivals that occur annually in its borders. This ensures that the town often has a festive atmosphere surrounding its township.

Some of these events amount to fun music and arts education experiences, such as the Nashville Heads West festival. This festival brings some of country music’s most successful songwriters to the small Montana town.

8. Kalispell

Just down the highway from Whitefish is the slightly larger city of Kalispell. Kalispell is a charming city that hosts the dual advantages of being both in proximity to Glacier National Park, as well as Flathead Lake. The latter is the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi.

Kalispell is surrounded by stunning natural beauty. It also has some interesting cultural dynamics due to the presence of several indigenous nations nearby. The city has produced many notable names in the arts and sciences, including Brad Bird, James E. Atwater, and Michelle Williams.

The forested community offers residents a large amount of outdoor activities. In addition, its proximity to Glacier means that there is a healthy international presence in the city in the summer when throngs of tourists pass through the city’s gates. The city is served by the Kalispell Public School system, which hosts two high schools. There is also a small community college in Kalispell, the Flathead Valley Community College.

9. Choteau

Choteau is a beautiful little community that lies just to the east of the Rocky Mountains in Montana’s Great Plains region. This place offers residents an authentic slice of Western life. It hosts a number of highly authentic communities of ranchers and cowboys.

If this is the kind of culture that you and your family fit in with, then you’ll likely find a lot to love about Choteau. The community’s position at the intersection of the mountains and the plains also means that you get a double dose of recreational activities to partake in.

Choteau is a small community with a small public education system. However, this system punches above its weight class. Choteau Public High School was recently awarded a Best High School award for its excellence in education by the publication News and World Report.

10. Columbia Falls

Columbia Falls is another neighbor of Whitefish and Kalispell. This stunning little community is located along the Flathead River. It’s knee-deep in the surrounding wilderness areas.

Columbia Falls is small but offers a lot for its size. The town was recently rated as one of the safest and highest quality of life places to live in the state. There are a number of cultural events and festivals that take place in the town’s historic downtown districts.

The community has one high school, the very highly-rated Columbia Falls High School. This high school has served to educate some individuals who would go on to influence American politics and the sciences, including future governors and senators.

11. Stevensville

Stevensville is a lovely little community that lies just down the highway from Missoula in a region called the Bitterroot Valley. This beautiful small town offers residents and visitors stunning views of the surrounding mountains and rivers.

Stevensville is a good choice for those who are interested in being in close proximity to some of the cultural amenities offered by Missoula, but who can’t be bothered by some of the higher costs of living and bad traffic.

Indeed, in the past few years, the cost of living in Missoula has skyrocketed due to individuals from more expensive coastal communities moving inland, attracted to its charms. This in turn has prompted some folks from Missoula to spread out into the surrounding communities of the city. Stevensville is one of these communities.

12. Belgrade

Belgrade is a suburb community of Bozeman that props up its own set of charms and advantages. This suburb is likely of interest to those who are attracted to some of the perks of being close to Bozeman, without wanting to deal with some of the rising property costs and other things that have made the small city harder to survive in.

Despite the fact that many consider Belgrade to be a satellite community of Bozeman, the community has a somewhat independent identity to set it apart from its mother city. The Belgrade Special Events Center draws in thousands annually from the surrounding communities for sports and music events.

In addition, there are seasonal events, such as the Belgrade Fall Festival. Events like these tie the Belgrade community together and make it a special place to live for families.

13. Laurel

Similar to some of the preceding entries on this list, Laurel is a distinct suburb that is part of a larger metropolitan area in Montana. In this case, it’s one of the more affluent suburbs of Billings, the largest city in Montana.

Laurel has many perks to residency. The high amount of foliage and greenery in its borders has earned it the distinction of being a Tree City USA for the high per-capita presence of trees on its streets.

The city is also home to one of the country’s top Fourth of July festivals, ranked as one of the ten best in the country for a number of years. For those interested in fostering a tight-knit and safe community for rearing children, Laurel has much to offer.

14. Lolo

Lolo is a small mountain community surrounded by the absolutely gorgeous scenery of the surrounding mountains. This includes the largest peak in the area, Lolo Peak.

Lolo is another satellite community of Missoula, and its appeal lies in being close to that city while maintaining a distinct cultural identity. Outdoor opportunities abound in Lolo, and the city is home to several natural hot springs that take the edge off of some of the harsh Montana winters.

In terms of education, children attend grade school in local schools while attending high school in Missoula. The community has served as home to some notable writers, including James Lee Burke and David Lee Duncan. These men are both specialists in the “western mystery” subgenre.

15. Polson

Polson is a beautiful little city that lies on Flathead Lake. This lakeside town offers residents bountiful recreational activities due to the twin proximities of the lake and the nearby Mission Mountains. These mountains serve as the gateway to some of the largest wilderness areas in the country.

Polson is also a culturally dynamic place thanks to the presence of the indigenous people of the area, the Flathead Tribe. In addition, Polson’s education system serves as one of the central education systems for the communities located on the southern edge of Flathead Lake.

In addition, Polson isn’t far from Glacier National Park, as well as the communities of Kalispell and Whitefish. Altogether, this region of Montana offers families a variety of lovely nature, culture, and affordability that is hard to beat in the state and the nation.

16. Lakeside

Lakeside is another beautiful community located on the shores of the beautiful Flathead Lake. This place offers residents many of the benefits of the other places in the same region – tons of swimming, kayaking, boating, and more.

Lakeside is also in close proximity to a number of ski resorts and other winter sports meccas, which can help to break up some of the harshness and coldness of the Montana winters.

Lakeside is served by the Kalispell education system. For those who want to have proximity to this larger community education system while dodging some of the hassles that come along with it, Lakeside serves as the perfect choice.