Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Three Forks’ subject grades are an A for walkability, an A− for health, and an A+ for civic life; the weakest is a C for hazard risk. 11% of working residents work locally in Three Forks, below the Montana town median (39%) but above the median of U.S. towns (8%). Among 43 Montana towns, just 3 have a higher average trip to work than Three Forks. Three Forks has 7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Three Forks of the Missouri and Sacajawea Hotel. Three Forks has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Three Forks beats most towns.
Census counts: 674 in 1910, 1,989 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 2 maps from 1950 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Montana), ordered by how far Three Forks is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Three Forks, 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 Three Forks.
Three Forks beats the Montana average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 26% of adults have obesity in Three Forks, where Montana’s towns sit at 32% and U.S. towns at 35%. 21% of Three Forks adults binge drink.
| Three Forks | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 32% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 20% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 72% | 79% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 21% | 25% |
| What stands out | Three Forks | MT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with obesity | 25.9% | 31.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Three Forks Elementary District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three Forks Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 361 | B |
| Three Forks High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 251 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MT on state tests and graduation
Since 2013, Three Forks has added 200 jobs, to 508 in 2023. 6.2% of residents live below the poverty line in Three Forks. The top destinations are Bozeman (21%), Four Corners (4%) and Billings (3%).
| Three Forks | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 6.2% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $80,000 | $67,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 68% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Three Forks has cold winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 86° and January nights drop to 14°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Three Forks home is worth about $552,000, up 2.2% in a year, 18% above the Montana typical home. Three Forks’ median rent is $1,330 a month.
| Three Forks | Montana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,330 a month | $1,000 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 73% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stevenson Park | — | 2 |
| 2. Tom Bertagnolli Park | — | 2 |
| 3. Peterson Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Three Forks; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Three Forks residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Montana.
Where Three Forks’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
7 places in Three Forks on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Montana, United States
Three Forks is a city in Gallatin County, Montana, United States and is located within the watershed valley system of both the Missouri and Mississippi rivers drainage basins — and is historically considered the birthplace or start of the Missouri River. The population was 1,989 at the 2020 census. The city of Three Forks is named so because it lies geographically near the point, in nearby Missouri Headwaters State Park, where the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin rivers converge to form the Missouri River — the longest single river in North America, as well as the major portion of the Missouri–Mississippi River System from the headwaters near Three Forks to its discharge into the Gulf of Me…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 5.9 years of the area's median household income ($93,528 across the Bozeman, MT metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
