Photo: Katie Brady from Missoula, Montana, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Living in Bigfork, MT: what to set up and who to call
Bigfork has no town government of its own, so Flathead County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Bigfork High School District. Power in Bigfork comes from Flathead Electric Coop, a cooperative utility rather than a private company.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Bigfork, 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 Bigfork.
Power comes from Flathead Electric Coop
Flathead Electric Coop (Flathead Electric Coop Inc), a cooperative utility, serves all of Bigfork. Its homes paid an average of 10.0¢ per kWh in 2025, about $119 a month (its average across Montana).
Start or move service: flatheadelectric.com · (406) 293-7122
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Bigfork County Water and Sewer
Bigfork County Water and Sewer supplies Bigfork: about 58% of residents live in its service area. About 39% 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 6,100 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 2024–Dec 2026, was 2.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 67% 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. MT0000262.
7 home internet providers serve Bigfork
73% of 3,240 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 7% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Cable, Fiber | 67% | 1,000/1,000 |
| CenturyLink | DSL, Fiber | 35% | 40/3 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 58% | 300/20 |
| Glacier Broadband | Fixed wireless | 16% | 1,000/1,000 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 14% | 100/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 9% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Bigfork’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Bigfork.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Bigfork is in two districts that split the grades: Bigfork High School District and Bigfork Elementary School District.
B+School 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
Bigfork is unincorporated, so Flathead County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Mar 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Bigfork is in ZIP code 59911
ZIP codes where Bigfork residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Bigfork | ZIP’s residents in Bigfork |
|---|---|---|---|
| 59911 | Bigfork, MT | 100% | 59% |
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 Bigfork
Who supplies Bigfork’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Bigfork County Water and Sewer (EPA ID MT0000262). 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 2.0 ppb (Jan 2024–Dec 2026), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Bigfork?
Flathead Electric Coop (Flathead Electric Coop Inc), a cooperative utility. Its homes paid about 10.0¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Bigfork?
Spectrum, CenturyLink, Verizon, Glacier Broadband, T-Mobile, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Bigfork?
59911. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Bigfork in?
Bigfork High School District and Bigfork Elementary School District. Parts of the city are in Swan River Elementary School District.
How do I register to vote in Bigfork?
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 Flathead 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.