{"id":5868,"date":"2023-07-16T19:36:17","date_gmt":"2023-07-16T19:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=5868"},"modified":"2026-08-11T21:32:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T21:32:48","slug":"ravalli-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/ravalli-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Ravalli County, Montana"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ravalli County is a county in Montana, United States, in the Bitterroot Valley about 45 miles<br \/>\nsouth of Missoula. It had a population of 44,174 at the 2020 census, an estimated 48,582 by 2025,<br \/>\nand covers 2,391 square miles (6,190 km2) of land centred near 46\u00b005\u2032N 114\u00b007\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Hamilton is the county seat and the county&#8217;s only incorporated city; its postal code is 59840.<br \/>\nThe county holds 1 city, 3 incorporated towns and 6 census-designated places, and it runs<br \/>\non Mountain Time. Its FIPS code is 30081.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Ravalli County<\/h2>\n<p>Ravalli County has 10 named places on record: 4 incorporated cities and towns and 6 census<br \/>\ndesignated places (CDPs) with no local government of their own. Together they hold about a<br \/>\nquarter of the county&#8217;s population; the rest lives on unincorporated ranch and forest land<br \/>\noutside any place boundary.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Hamilton<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>4,659<\/td>\n<td>59840<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Stevensville<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>2,002<\/td>\n<td>59870<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Corvallis<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>1,125<\/td>\n<td>59828<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Florence<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>821<\/td>\n<td>59833<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Victor<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>789<\/td>\n<td>59875<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Darby<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>783<\/td>\n<td>59829<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Pinesdale<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>805<\/td>\n<td>59841<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Conner<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>182<\/td>\n<td>59827<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Charlos Heights<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>135<\/td>\n<td>59840<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sula<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>41<\/td>\n<td>59871<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>The county&#8217;s older place list included dozens of mobile home parks and platted subdivisions<br \/>\n&#8212; Apple Blossom Court, Bitterroot Pines, Leisure Village, Ponderosa MH Park and similar names<br \/>\namong them &#8212; none of which the Census Bureau recognizes as incorporated places or CDPs. They<br \/>\nare addresses within the places above or in unincorporated county territory, not separate towns,<br \/>\nso they are left off this list. Grantsdale, a 19th-century townsite Marcus Daly considered for his<br \/>\nsmelter operation before choosing Hamilton, is now an unincorporated crossroads inside Hamilton&#8217;s<br \/>\nmailing area rather than a place of its own.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>59840 &mdash; Hamilton (also serves Charlos Heights)<\/li>\n<li>59870 &mdash; Stevensville<\/li>\n<li>59828 &mdash; Corvallis<\/li>\n<li>59833 &mdash; Florence<\/li>\n<li>59875 &mdash; Victor<\/li>\n<li>59829 &mdash; Darby<\/li>\n<li>59841 &mdash; Pinesdale<\/li>\n<li>59827 &mdash; Conner<\/li>\n<li>59871 &mdash; Sula<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Charlos Heights has no ZIP of its own; mail there is delivered under Hamilton&#8217;s 59840<br \/>\ncode.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Ravalli County occupies the Bitterroot Valley, a north-south trench bounded on the east by the<br \/>\nSapphire Mountains and on the west by the Bitterroot Mountains and the Bitterroot National Forest.<br \/>\nAbout 70 percent of that 1.6-million-acre national forest lies inside the county, and its western<br \/>\nhalf backs onto the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, where no roads, logging or motorized access are<br \/>\nallowed. The Bitterroot River runs the length of the valley floor, formed by the East Fork and<br \/>\nWest Fork forks that join near Conner, and drains north into the Clark Fork at Missoula.<\/p>\n<p>Missoula County lies to the north, Granite County to the northeast, Deer Lodge County to the<br \/>\neast, Beaverhead County to the southeast, and Idaho County and Lemhi County, both in Idaho, to the<br \/>\nsouth and west across the Bitterroot Mountains. <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/missoula-county\/\">Missoula County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/granite-county\/\">Granite County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/deer-lodge-county\/\">Deer Lodge County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/beaverhead-county\/\">Beaverhead County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/idaho-county\/\">Idaho County<\/a> and <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/lemhi-county\/\">Lemhi County<\/a> all border Ravalli directly.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Ravalli County had a population of 44,174 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the<br \/>\ncounty near 48,582 residents. Hamilton and Stevensville are the two largest communities, but most<br \/>\nresidents live outside any incorporated place, on ranch, timber and subdivided land along the<br \/>\nvalley floor. Median household income runs $71,283, slightly above Montana&#8217;s 2023 ACS<br \/>\nstatewide figure of $70,804. Population density works out to roughly 18 people per square mile of<br \/>\nland, low even by Montana standards, reflecting how much of the county is national forest and<br \/>\nwilderness.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 2,805 people,<br \/>\nfollowed by retail trade at 2,747 and construction at 2,419. Bitterroot Health-Daly Hospital,<br \/>\ndescended from the Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital that copper magnate Marcus Daly&#8217;s estate<br \/>\nendowed in 1929, is Hamilton&#8217;s largest employer in that sector. Agriculture and timber have<br \/>\nformed the traditional base of the county&#8217;s economy since Daly&#8217;s Bitterroot Stock Farm<br \/>\nera, and tourism has grown alongside them, drawing on the Bitterroot National Forest, the Selway-<br \/>\nBitterroot Wilderness and the Lost Trail Powder Mountain ski area near the Idaho line, which gets<br \/>\nabout 300 inches of snow a year and runs without snowmaking or lights. Hamilton holds Daly Days<br \/>\neach year, a community celebration of Marcus Daly&#8217;s legacy centred on the Daly Mansion, his<br \/>\nrestored 1910 summer estate on the edge of town.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>The Bitterroot Salish lived in the valley long before Jesuit missionaries founded St. Mary&#8217;s<br \/>\nMission at what is now Stevensville in 1841, the first permanent non-Indigenous settlement in<br \/>\nMontana. Major John Owen bought the mission in 1850 and turned it into Fort Owen, a trading post<br \/>\nthat anchored the valley&#8217;s early ranching and irrigated farming. In 1877, Chief Joseph&#8217;s<br \/>\nNez Perce band passed through the valley during their retreat toward Canada. The Salish were<br \/>\nremoved to the Flathead Reservation in 1891 under the Hellgate Treaty. Montana&#8217;s territorial<br \/>\nlegislature had already organized Ravalli County out of Missoula County on 3 March 1893, naming it<br \/>\nfor Father Anthony Ravalli, the Italian Jesuit priest who served the Bitterroot Salish from 1845<br \/>\nuntil his death in 1884. Copper magnate Marcus Daly founded Hamilton on his Bitterroot Stock Farm<br \/>\nland in the late 1880s and built it into the county seat.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>US Route 93 runs the length of the county through Darby, Hamilton, Stevensville and Florence,<br \/>\nclimbing south out of the valley over Lost Trail Pass into Idaho. State Route 38, the Skalkaho<br \/>\nHighway, crosses the Sapphire Mountains east from Hamilton toward Philipsburg. No interstate<br \/>\nhighway crosses the county.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Missoula &mdash; about 45 miles north<\/li>\n<li>Anaconda &mdash; about 45 miles east<\/li>\n<li>Salmon, Idaho &mdash; about 90 miles south<\/li>\n<li>Butte &mdash; about 75 miles southeast<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Missoula Montana Airport, the nearest major commercial airport, sits about 45 miles north of<br \/>\nHamilton. Ravalli County Airport, on Hamilton&#8217;s north side, handles general aviation only.<br \/>\nAmtrak&#8217;s Empire Builder does not reach the Bitterroot Valley; the nearest station is at<br \/>\nWhitefish, well over 100 miles to the north.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Ravalli County located?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt sits in the Bitterroot Valley in southwestern Montana, about 45 miles south of Missoula,<br \/>\nbordered by Missoula, Granite, Deer Lodge and Beaverhead counties and by Idaho and Lemhi counties<br \/>\nin Idaho.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Ravalli County?<\/strong><br \/>\n44,174 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 48,582.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Ravalli County?<\/strong><br \/>\n2,391 square miles (6,190 km2) of land, plus 9.4 square miles of water &#8212; 2,400 square miles<br \/>\nin total.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Ravalli County?<\/strong><br \/>\nHamilton, founded by Marcus Daly in the late 1880s, is the county seat and the county&#8217;s only<br \/>\nincorporated city.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns are in Ravalli County?<\/strong><br \/>\nOne city (Hamilton) and three incorporated towns &#8212; Darby, Pinesdale and Stevensville &#8212;<br \/>\nplus six census-designated places: Corvallis, Florence, Victor, Conner, Charlos Heights and<br \/>\nSula.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes does Ravalli County use?<\/strong><br \/>\n59840 for Hamilton and Charlos Heights, 59870 for Stevensville, 59828 for Corvallis, 59833 for<br \/>\nFlorence, 59875 for Victor, 59829 for Darby, 59841 for Pinesdale, 59827 for Conner and 59871 for<br \/>\nSula.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is Ravalli County known for?<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Bitterroot Valley&#8217;s ranching and orchard history, Marcus Daly&#8217;s Daly Mansion near<br \/>\nHamilton, and access to the Bitterroot National Forest and Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/montana\/\">Towns and villages in Montana<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ravalli County is a county in Montana, United States, in the Bitterroot Valley about 45 miles south of Missoula. It had a population of 44,174 at the 2020 census, an estimated 48,582 by 2025, and covers 2,391 square miles (6,190 km2) of land centred near 46\u00b005\u2032N 114\u00b007\u2032W. Hamilton is the county seat and the county&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Ravalli County, Montana","_seopress_titles_desc":"10 Census-recognized towns in Ravalli County, Montana - type, population and ZIP for each, plus Bitterroot Valley geography and history.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-5868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-montana","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5868"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9645,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5868\/revisions\/9645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}