A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Big Timber$2,540/mo

Typical home $449K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.52% · or rent about $1,109/mo · Housing →

Three Forks$3,180/mo

Typical home $557K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.57% · or rent about $1,330/mo · Housing →

The difference: $640 a month, about $7,700 a year, between Three Forks and Big Timber.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Grades and rankings, side by side

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Montana ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Schools

B−Big TimberBetter than 52% of districts in the state B−Three ForksBetter than 47% of districts in the state

Health

B+Big TimberHealthier than 71% of U.S. towns A−Three ForksHealthier than 78% of U.S. towns

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

Big TimberThree Forks

Snow a year55″—

January low20°F —

July high86°F —

Growing season (days)133d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)81st 68th

Outdoors & history

Big TimberThree Forks

Trails0 mi 1 mi

Conserved land17.4%12.3%

National Register places4 7

Archive photos15 24

Famous people born here5 1

Community

Big TimberThree Forks

Library hours a week40 hrs 42 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

77 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Big TimberMT Three ForksMT

Big Timber ↔ Three Forks77 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Montana average

Big TimberThree Forks

People

Population 1,611Lowest 1,919Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +0.5%Lowest MT: +9.6% +6.4%Highest MT: +9.6%

Median age 43.6±5.4Highest 8% above MT 41.4±17Lowest about the MT average

Big Timber and Three Forks are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 20.8%±4.6Highest MT: 21% 18.1%±5.9Lowest MT: 21%

Big Timber and Three Forks are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 29.1%±5.8Highest MT: 20.1% 21.8%±5.8Lowest MT: 20.1%

Big Timber and Three Forks are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 16.2%Lowest MT: 35.2% 21%Highest MT: 35.2%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.9%±2Highest MT: 5.2% 2.3%±2.4Lowest MT: 5.2%

Big Timber and Three Forks are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $66,898±$13kLowest 8% below MT $79,784±$17kHighest 10% above MT

Three Forks and Big Timber are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $278,200±$25kLowest 26% below MT $395,800±$43kHighest 5% above MT

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,109±$292Lowest about the MT average $1,330±$84Highest 23% above MT

Three Forks and Big Timber are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,433Lowest 47% below MT $2,243Highest 17% below MT

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 34.5%±23.4Lowest MT: 44.8% 47.3%±29.1Highest MT: 44.8%

Three Forks and Big Timber are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 10.4%Highest MT: 11.5% 6.2%Lowest MT: 11.5%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 80.3%Highest MT: 69.2% 73.2%Lowest MT: 69.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1965Lowest 16 yrs older than MT 1985Highest 4 yrs newer than MT

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 19 minLowest about the MT average 24 minHighest 26% above MT

Work from home 12.5%±7.6Highest MT: 12.5% 9%±7.3Lowest MT: 12.5%

Big Timber and Three Forks are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 34.6%Highest 11.3%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 3.3 miLowest 26.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.27Highest 0.63Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Billings (7%)Bozeman (21%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Three ForksFew work in Big Timber

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 17.4%Highest 12.3%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.4 miLowest 0.5 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.4 miHighest 0.3 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Lowest 3Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 125Highest 100Lowest

Schools

School district Big Timber Elem · Sweet Grass County H SThree Forks Elem · Three Forks H S

High school in town Sweet Grass Co High SchlThree Forks High School

Students per teacherat that high school 11.5Lowest 18.6Highest

Montana average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Big Timber neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Big Timber’s Town Square.

Three Forks neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Three Forks’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Big Timber

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Colstrip2,101 people · $195K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Montana towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Big Timber vs Three Forks

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $640 more a month in Three Forks

Grades and rankings, side by side

What daily life feels like in each

77 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Big Timber and Three Forks

Towns like Big Timber

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