Which Montana counties score best for off-grid living?

Of the 56 Montana counties we have scored, Wheatland County scores highest at 83 and Petroleum County lowest at 54. Montana ranks 42nd of 50 overall, at 71 out of 100 (Significant challenges). Buildability separates its counties most: 0 to 10 out of 10.

Updated 2026-09-27 · 56 counties · 298 spots of private rural land scored

Significant challengesMontana ranks 42nd of 50, 71 out of 100, in the Best States ranking: the typical parcel on the state's private rural land, with each scored spot weighted by the land it stands for. On a fresh draw of counties it would rank between #39 and #44. City counties with little private rural land have no page, and any parcel can be scored, free, below.

Every scored county in Montana, best score first

Find a county56 counties


Wheatland → 1 people / sq mi	83	19	20	12	14	8	10
Stillwater → 5 people / sq mi	82	17	19	13	15	8	10
Carbon → 6 people / sq mi	81	16	20	13	15	8	9
Gallatin → 49 people / sq mi	80	19	17	12	14	8	10
Jefferson → 8 people / sq mi	80	17	20	12	14	7	10
Glacier → 5 people / sq mi	79	19	17	11	14	8	10
Broadwater → 7 people / sq mi	78	17	19	12	14	7	9
Deer Lodge → 13 people / sq mi	78	18	19	11	14	7	9
Madison → 3 people / sq mi	78	18	19	12	13	7	9
Pondera → 4 people / sq mi	78	16	19	11	14	8	10
Powell → 3 people / sq mi	78	19	19	9	14	7	10
Teton → 3 people / sq mi	78	15	20	11	14	8	10
Blaine → 2 people / sq mi	77	15	20	10	14	8	10
Ravalli → 20 people / sq mi	77	18	20	12	14	6	7
Silver Bow → 51 people / sq mi	77	17	20	12	14	7	7
Dawson → 4 people / sq mi	76	14	19	11	14	8	10
Park → 6 people / sq mi	76	19	19	11	15	7	5
Sweet Grass → 2 people / sq mi	76	19	17	12	14	7	7
Beaverhead → 2 people / sq mi	75	16	17	11	14	7	10
Big Horn → 3 people / sq mi	75	16	17	12	14	6	10
Carter → under 1 person / sq mi	74	14	17	13	14	6	10
Cascade → 32 people / sq mi	74	15	17	12	14	6	10
Daniels → 1 people / sq mi	74	17	17	9	14	8	9
Granite → 2 people / sq mi	74	18	20	10	14	6	6
Missoula → 47 people / sq mi	74	18	20	10	12	7	7
Toole → 3 people / sq mi	74	13	18	11	14	8	10
Golden Valley → under 1 person / sq mi	73	12	18	13	14	6	10
Lake → 22 people / sq mi	73	18	20	9	10	8	8
Lewis and Clark → 22 people / sq mi	73	18	17	12	12	7	7
Roosevelt → 4 people / sq mi	73	13	20	10	14	7	9
Fallon → 2 people / sq mi	72	12	18	12	14	6	10
Judith Basin → 1 people / sq mi	72	12	18	12	14	6	10
Lincoln → 6 people / sq mi	72	20	19	9	12	9	3
Meagher → under 1 person / sq mi	72	18	18	10	15	6	5
Richland → 5 people / sq mi	72	12	18	11	14	7	10
Chouteau → 2 people / sq mi	71	10	18	11	14	8	10
Valley → 2 people / sq mi	71	14	18	9	14	7	9
Wibaux → 1 people / sq mi	71	13	16	12	14	6	10
Yellowstone → 65 people / sq mi	71	12	19	13	13	5	9
Liberty → 1 people / sq mi	70	13	17	11	14	5	10
Sheridan → 2 people / sq mi	70	13	18	10	14	6	9
Fergus → 3 people / sq mi	69	9	19	12	14	7	8
Flathead → 22 people / sq mi	69	19	19	9	12	6	4
Mineral → 4 people / sq mi	69	19	20	10	14	6	0
Prairie → under 1 person / sq mi	69	9	17	12	14	7	10
Custer → 3 people / sq mi	68	12	16	12	13	5	10
Garfield → under 1 person / sq mi	68	11	19	11	14	4	9
Musselshell → 3 people / sq mi	68	10	18	12	14	5	9
Treasure → under 1 person / sq mi	68	12	16	12	14	6	8
Sanders → 5 people / sq mi	67	16	19	10	13	5	4
Hill → 6 people / sq mi	66	8	20	10	14	4	10
Rosebud → 2 people / sq mi	66	11	15	11	13	6	10
McCone → under 1 person / sq mi	63	9	14	10	14	6	10
Phillips → under 1 person / sq mi	63	11	16	10	14	5	7
Powder River → under 1 person / sq mi	62	10	15	12	13	5	7
Petroleum → under 1 person / sq mi	54	0	15	12	14	4	9

Score is out of 100: Water 25, Legal 20, Solar 15, Hazard 15, Food 15, Buildability 10. Green cells score 80% or better of their maximum; amber cells under 70%.

Where the good land is

7% of Montana's private rural land scores Good with caveats or better (80 or more). The strongest counties are Wheatland, Stillwater and Carbon. The weakest are Petroleum, Powder River and McCone. Where the land falls short, it is most often on growing food (season, soil and water for crops) and water (rain, wells and salty or weak wells).

What separates them

Buildability: Wheatland County scores 10 of 10, Mineral County 0. Slope, the septic the ground needs, footings, and the county's land price. A steep or soggy lot that fails a septic test is the dealbreaker photos hide.
Water: Lincoln County scores 20 of 25, Petroleum County 0. Drinking, system, and irrigation water, the #1 reason off-grid and homestead plans collapse. A low score means a deep, costly well or hauled water.
Hazard: Stillwater County scores 15 of 15, Lake County 10. Flood, wildfire, seismic, and severe-weather exposure: the risks that raise insurance and build cost or strand a parcel.
Food: Lincoln County scores 9 of 15, Petroleum County 4. Soil quality, frost-free growing days, and rainfall: what decides whether you can actually feed yourself and your animals.
Legal: Wheatland County scores 20 of 20, McCone County 14. Whether you can reach the land and live on it: road access, distance to emergency care, internet and cell, and how built up the area is, which decides how many lot-size, livestock, and zoning rules you will meet.
Solar: Stillwater County scores 13 of 15, Flathead County 9. Year-round solar potential, including the darkest month, and how much energy it takes to heat and cool a house there. Matters most if you're fully off-grid.

The state's soft spot

Food is Montana's weakest dimension, at 7 of 15 for the state as a whole. Soil quality, frost-free growing days, and rainfall: what decides whether you can actually feed yourself and your animals. Getting a parcel here off-grid runs $31k to $148k by our estimates across these counties, before the house. The full Montana row in the Best States ranking has the state-wide spread and how the popular off-grid guides rank it.

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Before you buy in Montana

The scores read the physical land. Whether you may legally live on it is a separate question, and it changes at the county line: Is it legal to live off-grid in Montana? covers zoning, building code, septic, and wells for the state, with the counties that opt out. For the reason water carries a quarter of the score, how you get water on off-grid land is the read. And the five-point check is the order to do it in.

Significant challengesMontana: 71 of 100, 42nd of 50. A good state is not a good parcel. Score the one you are looking at, free, in about a minute.

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