Census-designated place Big Sky is a census-designated place in Montana, partly in Gallatin County and Madison County. A census-designated place is an unincorporated community that the Census Bureau defines for statistics; it has no city government of its own.
The median owner-occupied home in Big Sky had a real-estate tax bill of $4,029 (± $1,231) a year, compared with $2,535 in Montana and $2,969 nationwide. The median home value was $884,700 (± $258,744), compared with $338,100 in Montana and $303,400 nationwide.
| Measure | Big Sky | Montana | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,388 ± 445 | 1,105,072 | 332,387,540 |
| Median annual property tax bill (homeowners) | $4,029 ± $1,231rough guide only: the margin of error is 31% of the estimate | $2,535 ± $19 | $2,969 ± $3 |
| Median home value | $884,700 ± $258,744rough guide only: the margin of error is 29% of the estimate | $338,100 ± $3,741 | $303,400 ± $362 |
| Median household income | $103,625 ± $50,175rough guide only: the margin of error is 48% of the estimate | $69,922 ± $768 | $78,538 ± $176 |
| Property tax as a share of home value (calculated) | 0.46% ± 0.19 pointsrough guide only: the margin of error is 42% of the estimate | 0.75% ± 0.01 points | 0.98% ± under 0.01 points |
| Homes lived in by their owners | 85.5% ± 7.3 points | 69.4% ± 0.5 points | 65.0% ± 0.3 points |
| Owner households headed by someone 65 or older | 21.6% ± 10.0 pointsrough guide only: the margin of error is 46% of the estimate | 35.7% ± 0.4 points | 32.6% ± 0.2 points |
| Owners spending 30% or more of income on housing costs | 31.1% ± 13.6 pointsrough guide only: the margin of error is 44% of the estimate | 22.0% ± 0.6 points | 22.2% ± 0.1 points |
How to read these numbers
- These are estimates from a survey, not a count. The American Community Survey asks a sample of households. The ± figure is the Census Bureau’s margin of error: the true value is very likely within that range of the estimate. Small places have large margins.
- “Too imprecise to report” means the margin of error is at least half of the estimate, so printing the number would suggest accuracy that does not exist. A “rough guide only” note means the margin is a quarter to a half of the estimate.
- Property tax bill and home value are medians for owner-occupied homes. Half of the homes are above the figure and half below. A median bill is not the rate set by a city or town; the bill combines taxes levied by every local government that serves the home, such as the school district and county.
- “Calculated” rows are worked out by Untax the Roof from the Census figures above them. They compare two medians, so they describe the place, not a particular household.
- Missing is not zero. Where the Census Bureau publishes no figure, this page says so.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2019–2023: tables B25103 (real estate taxes), B25077 (home value), B19013 (household income), B01003 (population), B25003 (owners and renters), B25007 (age of householder), B25091 (housing costs as a share of income); see the Census ACS data page.
If property taxes go unpaid in Montana
How it works. Property-tax lien attachment/assignment followed by redemption period and tax-deed process; certain residential tax-deed applications require county public auction
Excess sale money. MCA 15-18-221 requires surplus from tax-deed auction to be distributed to legal titleholder of record within 30 days after payment, after statutory amounts due to assignee are handled
These rules are set by Montana, not by Big Sky, so this section is the same for every place in the state. Last verified 2026-09-25. See the full Montana entry with statute links.
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