Bison Inn Cafe - Buffalo burgers and shakes at the Bison Cafe in Ravalli, Montana 01, 2017
Ravalli’s story
139 years in pictures
The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2017 and a map from 1964 on.
- 1887Ravalli is settled
RavalliMT
Home to 146 people, the town was settled in 1887.
Photo: Montanasuffragettes · CC BY-SA 4.0
Is Ravalli a good place to live?
No town among the 43 in Montana we compare has a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Ravalli. The biggest park or preserve is CSKT Bison Range, at 50 acres. Ravalli has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Small town
146 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
Getting set up
Moving to Ravalli: who provides what
Ravalli is unincorporated, so Lake County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerNorthWestern Energy14.4¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
Internet3 providers68% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesLake CountyLake County provides services here
Register to voteIn personMontana has no online registration; you can register in person up to and including Election Day or by mail (postmarked 30 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereLake County Election AdministratorLake County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2025
ZIP code5986359863 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Ravalli.
Climate
In Ravalli, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 21° and about 49 inches of snow falls in a winter.
49″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter21–35°
Spring34–57°
Summer50–80°
Fall35–56°
Oct 2
typical first frost
May 12
typical last frost
+1.5°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Health
Compared with most of Montana and the rest of the country, more of Ravalli’s adults have high blood pressure
19% of Ravalli adults smoke cigarettes, above both the Montana town median (14%) and the median of U.S. towns (14%). In Ravalli, 15% of adults have diabetes. Only 4 of the 42 Montana towns we compare have a higher share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Ravalli.
| Ravalli | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 10% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 32% | 35% |
32 measures vs. Montana
0 better16 too close to call16 worse
| What stands out | Ravalli | MT |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 9.7% | 6.5% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 17.4% | 11.7% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 5.2% | 3.5% |
St. Luke Community Hospital
17.3 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Housing
Ravalli stands out in Montana and nationally: a larger share of its households are owner-occupiers
$449Kmedian sale price
0
homes sold in September
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Outdoors
0% of Ravalli is conserved land
Across 1 park or preserve: 2.0 miles of trail. Ravalli’s density of trails comes in at 0.8 miles per square mile.
0%conserved
0%
conserved · 0 of 1,676 acres
2.0 mi
of trails · 0.8 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. CSKT Bison Range | — | 50 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Natural hazards
Moderate risk in Ravalli, with avalanches at the top
FEMA puts 43% of Ravalli’s expected hazard losses down to avalanches, and 21% to inland flooding. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in half of U.S. communities.
50risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
AvalanchesInland floodingCold waves
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Ravalli
16pages on Ravalli
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Ravalli; the nearest are
Salish Kootenai CollegeUniversity or college · Public · Pablo22.1 mi$4,311 in-state tuitionFlathead Valley Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Kalispell65.8 mi$4,912 in-state tuition
About 0 of every 100 Ravalli residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Montana.
About Ravalli
Place in Montana, United States
Ravalli (Salish: sk̓ʷɫólqʷe, sk̓ʷɫʔó) is an unincorporated community on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Lake County, Montana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Ravalli had a population of 85. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Ravalli as a census-designated place (CDP). In the early 1900s, the Pablo-Allard herd in Ravalli was said to be the largest collection of the bison remaining in the U.S. and played a critical role in the conservation of bison.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.6 sq mi
- Elevation
- 2,717 ft
- ZIP code
- 59863
Questions about Ravalli
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Ravalli, MT a good place to live?
Ravalli has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.