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%

Columbus$2,660/mo

Typical home $461K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.63% · or rent about $945/mo · Housing →

Three Forks$3,180/mo

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

The difference: $530 a month, about $6,300 a year, between Three Forks and Columbus.

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.

Safety

C−ColumbusSafer than 24% of U.S. towns –Three ForksNot graded

Schools

B+ColumbusBetter than 73% of districts in the state B−Three ForksBetter than 47% of districts in the state

Health

A−ColumbusHealthier than 76% 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

ColumbusThree Forks

Snow a year48″—

January low10°F —

July high85°F —

Growing season (days)108d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)74th 68th

Outdoors & history

ColumbusThree Forks

Trails0 mi 1 mi

Conserved land34.4%12.3%

National Register places5 7

Archive photos12 24

Famous people born here5 1

Community

ColumbusThree Forks

Library hours a week51 hrs 42 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined1 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

112 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

ColumbusMT Three ForksMT

Columbus ↔ Three Forks112 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

ColumbusThree Forks

People

Population 2,003Highest 1,919Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -1.9%Lowest MT: +9.6% +6.4%Highest MT: +9.6%

Median age 47.2±3.8Highest 17% above MT 41.4±17Lowest about the MT average

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

Kids under 18 19.1%±3.5Highest MT: 21% 18.1%±5.9Lowest MT: 21%

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

Age 65+ 27.4%±4.3Highest MT: 20.1% 21.8%±5.8Lowest MT: 20.1%

Columbus 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+ 24%Highest MT: 35.2% 21%Lowest MT: 35.2%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.2%±1.8Lowest MT: 5.2% 2.3%±2.4Highest MT: 5.2%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $65,250±$17kLowest 10% below MT $79,784±$17kHighest 10% above MT

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $282,800±$24kLowest 25% below MT $395,800±$43kHighest 5% above MT

Rentmedian gross, monthly $945±$46Lowest 13% below MT $1,330±$84Highest 23% above MT

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,777Lowest 34% below MT $2,243Highest 17% below MT

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 34.4%±16.8Lowest MT: 44.8% 47.3%±29.1Highest MT: 44.8%

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

Below poverty line 11%Highest MT: 11.5% 6.2%Lowest MT: 11.5%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 76.7%Highest MT: 69.2% 73.2%Lowest MT: 69.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1969Lowest 12 yrs older than MT 1985Highest 4 yrs newer than MT

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 27 minHighest 41% above MT 24 minLowest 26% above MT

Work from home 5.4%±2.8Lowest MT: 12.5% 9%±7.3Highest MT: 12.5%

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

Work in townworking residents 35.8%Highest 11.3%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 23.8 miLowest 26.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.75Highest 0.63Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Billings (19%)Bozeman (21%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Three ForksFew work in Columbus

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 34.4%Highest 12.3%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.4 miLowest 0.5 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 mi 0.3 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Lowest 3Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 99.3Lowest 100Highest

Schools

School district Columbus Elem · Columbus H SThree Forks Elem · Three Forks H S

High school in town Columbus High SchoolThree Forks High School

Students per teacherat that high school 15.8Lowest 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.

Columbus neighborsTown Square →

1 neighbor in Columbus can answer.

Three Forks neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Three Forks’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Columbus

+ Compare

Townsend1,967 people · $228K homes

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Thompson Falls1,500 people · $266K homes

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Colstrip2,101 people · $195K homes

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Big Timber1,611 people · $278K 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.

Columbus vs Three Forks

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $530 more a month in Three Forks

Grades and rankings, side by side

What daily life feels like in each

112 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Columbus and Three Forks

Towns like Columbus

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