Toole County, MT

Cost & lifestyle range

The cost spread across Toole County is narrow in absolute dollars but wide in lifestyle implications. At the low end, a modest three-bedroom home in Kevin or Oilmont can be purchased for under $120,000, and rent for a small house or mobile home often falls below $600. These areas offer the lowest property taxes in the county and complete privacy, but residents must drive 20–30 minutes to Shelby for basic errands and face winter road closures that can strand them for days. At the higher end, homes in Shelby's newer subdivisions—such as those near the golf course or along the Marias River—sell for $250,000 to $350,000, and rentals for a modern two-bedroom apartment approach $900. Shelby provides walkable access to schools, the hospital, and the post office, along with municipal water and sewer. The county's overall cost of living index of 65 means a family earning $40,000 annually can afford a mortgage on a median-priced home, a rarity in most of Montana. However, utility costs are above average due to heating demands in winter and cooling needs in summer, and gasoline prices tend to be 10–15% higher than in Great Falls due to limited competition.

Toole County best suits self-reliant individuals and families who prioritize affordability, space, and a slower pace over urban amenities. Retirees on fixed incomes, remote workers with stable internet (Starlink is common), and oil-field or railroad employees find the low housing costs and short commutes compelling. Those who require frequent medical specialists, diverse dining, or robust public transit will struggle here. The county's character is defined by its extremes: the wind-scoured plains, the long winters, and the fierce independence of its residents, who accept isolation as the price of owning a home for under $200,000 in one of the last affordable corners of the American West.

What residents experience

For everyday residents, the most tangible safety issue is property crime — especially theft from vehicles and outbuildings in Shelby’s residential neighborhoods and near the oil-field staging areas east of town. The Port of Sweet Grass, a busy commercial border crossing north of Sunburst, experiences periodic cargo theft and drug interdiction incidents that occasionally spill over into the local area. Violent crime is rarer day-to-day, but the county’s proximity to the Canadian border and the Interstate 15 drug trafficking route mean methamphetamine and fentanyl-related offenses, including assault and robbery, are not uncommon — a pattern seen in other Hi-Line communities like Cut Bank and Havre as well.

Justice system dynamics matter here. The 1st Judicial District Court, which serves Toole County along with Liberty, Pondera, and Glacier counties, has in recent years been overseen by a bench that some critics argue prioritizes plea deals and treatment diversion over incarceration for low-level drug offenders. While sympathetic in theory, this approach can lead to repeat offenders cycling back onto Shelby streets without meaningful accountability, frustrating victims and residents. Property crime suspects arrested in Shelby or Sunburst may receive deferred sentences, reducing the deterrent effect and contributing to the perception that the system is not fully protecting the public. Voters should weigh whether the progressive leniency in the local judiciary — common across larger Montana communities like Missoula and Bozeman — adequately addresses the root causes of recidivism in a high-crime corridor.

Neighborhood-level variation is pronounced. Shelby’s downtown and the railroad-adjacent blocks north of 1st Street report the highest crime density, while established residential areas southwest of the Shelby airport see far fewer incidents. In Sunburst, crime clusters near Main Street and the port entry, but the rest of the town remains relatively quiet. Kevin, a small incorporated community of roughly 150 people, has negligible crime rates. Residents seeking safer parts of the county should look to the agricultural homesteads between Kevin and Galata, where property crime is statistically rare. For those considering relocation, the 2025 data underscores that crime in Toole County is not uniform — it is heavily concentrated in Shelby’s transit hubs and commercial corridors, leaving large rural expanses well below national averages.