Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,686, settled in 1880. 2.4 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Montana town.
Trash & recyclingThe best of Big Timber’s subject grades are an A for walkability and civic life; the weakest is a D for hazard risk. Only 3 of the 43 Montana towns we compare have a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Big Timber. 17% of the land in Big Timber is conserved, above both Montana’s towns (9.2%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Big Timber has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Carnegie Public Library and Grand Hotel. Big Timber has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Big Timber beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Big Timber School | PK–6 | 222 |
| Big Timber 7-8 | 7–8 | 69 |
| Sweet Grass Co High Schl | 9–12 | 161 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Montana), ordered by how far Big Timber is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 100 in 1880, 1,650 in 2020. The archive holds 15 old photos and papers going back to 1896 and 2 maps from 1954 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Big Timber, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Big Timber.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 81% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Big Timber Elementary District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Timber SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 222 | B− |
| Sweet Grass Co High SchlLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 161 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MT on state tests and graduation
Big Timber beats the Montana average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 30% of adults have obesity in Big Timber, where Montana’s towns sit at 32% and U.S. towns at 35%. 73% of Big Timber adults had a checkup this year.
| Big Timber | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 72% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 31% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 20% | 16% |
| What stands out | Big Timber | MT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults without reliable transportation | 6.4% | 7.5% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 77.2% | 73.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.1% | 9.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lions Club Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Big Timber has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 18° and about 55 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of Big Timber’s working residents works in town. Big Timber’s average trip to work is 19 minutes. Since 2013, Big Timber has lost 74 jobs, to 766 in 2023.
| Big Timber | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 35% | 39% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 17 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $67,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Big Timber home is worth about $443,000, up 9.5% in a year, 5% below the Montana typical home. 80% of households own their home in Big Timber.
| Big Timber | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 80% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,109 a month | $1,000 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Big Timber; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Big Timber residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Montana.
4 places in Big Timber on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Big Timber.
City in Montana, United States
Big Timber is a city in and the county seat of Sweet Grass County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,650 at the 2020 census. Big Timber takes its name from Big Timber Creek, which was named by William Clark because of the large cottonwood trees. The post office was established in 1880, closed, then reopened in 1882 with Ella Burns as postmaster. In 1881 Charles McDonnell became the first person to drive sheep into Sweet Grass County and Big Timber. As a stop on the Northern Pacific Railroad, Big Timber became a major wool-shipping depot. It became the county seat in 1895. In 1902, rancher John F. Asbury was elected the first mayor of Big Timber. A fire in 1908 destroyed half the …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
2.4 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Montana town.
Not for the area. That is 5.8 years of the area's median household income ($77,000 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
4 notable people were born here, including Judy Martz and Lindsay Burns.
