Photo: Greg Gjerdingen · CC BY 2.0Living in Big Sky, MT: what to set up and who to call
Big Sky has no town government of its own, so Gallatin County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Big Sky School K-12. The nearest emergency room is Bozeman Health Big Sky Medical Center, 16.2 miles away.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Big Sky, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Big Sky.
Power comes from NorthWestern Energy
NorthWestern Energy (NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT)), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Big Sky. Its homes paid an average of 14.4¢ per kWh in 2025, about $102 a month (its average across Montana, for customers on its standard service). Montana lets you buy power from another supplier; 0% of NorthWestern Energy’s home customers do, and NorthWestern Energy still delivers it.
Start or move service: northwesternenergy.com · (888) 467-2669
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Big Sky County Water and Sewer Dist 363
Big Sky County Water and Sewer Dist 363 supplies Big Sky: about 76% of residents live in its service area. About 21% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws ground water and serves 4,132 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 80% of the 5,012 systems serving 3,301–10,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 4.8 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 91% of similar systems’ latest results.
The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report
EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. MT0002385.
4 home internet providers serve Big Sky
93% of 2,241 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 91% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Rivers Communications | Fiber, DSL | 100% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 55% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 32% | 100/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 5% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Big Sky’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Big Sky.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Most of Big Sky (72%) is in Big Sky School K-12; parts are in Ennis K-12 Schools (28%).
ASchool gradeSee Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
No town hall: the county runs things
Big Sky is unincorporated, so Gallatin County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Jun 2024; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Big Sky spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Big Sky residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Big Sky | ZIP’s residents in Big Sky |
|---|---|---|---|
| 59716 | Big Sky, MT | 81% | 100% |
| 59730 | Gallatin Gateway, MT | 19% | 31% |
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
Getting around, the ER and the library
One line each; the subject pages have the rest.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Big Sky
Who supplies Big Sky’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Big Sky County Water and Sewer Dist 363 (EPA ID MT0002385). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 80% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 4.8 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Big Sky?
NorthWestern Energy (NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT)), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 14.4¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Big Sky?
3 Rivers Communications, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Big Sky?
59716 (81%), 59730 (19%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Big Sky in?
Big Sky School K-12. Parts of the city are in Ennis K-12 Schools.
How do I register to vote in Big Sky?
Montana has no online registration; you can register in person up to and including Election Day or by mail (postmarked 30 days before). Elections here are run by the Gallatin County Election Administrator. Check your registration at prodvoterportal.mt.gov.
Sources & dates
Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.
- Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
- Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
- Trash: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
- ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
- Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
- Registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
- Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
- Internet: FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.