Bigfork, MT population, income and ZIP codes

Bigfork CDP is a mid-size town in Montana, with 5,249 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #25 of 497 ranked by population — larger than 95% of them. The median age here is 53.7 years against 39.1 nationally, a markedly older profile that usually tracks retirees staying put and younger households leaving for work. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in Bigfork CDP earn a median of $82,648 a year, 5.2% above the national figure of $78,538 and 31% above the $62,992 median for the 94 Montana cities we cover. Household income here is measured before tax and pooled across everyone at the address, which is why it reads higher than typical individual earnings in the same area. Poverty reaches 6.2% of residents here, less than half the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Bigfork CDP is valued at $614,300, 102.5% above the national figure and 145% above the $250,900 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,103 a month, 21.6% below the national figure, or roughly $13,236 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 16% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 7.4×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is out of reach on local earnings alone and the ownership market leans on outside income, equity or dual high earners. 78.6% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.

Home values sit at 7.4× median household income, far past the 3.9× national mark, so ownership costs here are set by something other than local wages — second homes, retirees with equity, or commuters earning elsewhere. A median age of 53.7 puts Bigfork CDP well into retirement-weighted territory, which pulls median household income down even where household wealth is high, because retirement draws are counted differently from wages.

Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.