Lake County, Montana Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Lake County
U.S. county
St. Ignatius Mission at St. Ignatius, Montana
Location within the U.S. state of Montana
Montana's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Montana
Founded	1923
Named for	Flathead Lake
Seat	Polson
Largest city	Polson
Area
• Total	1,654 sq mi (4,280 km²)
• Land	1,490 sq mi (3,900 km²)
• Water	164 sq mi (420 km²) 9.9%
Population (2020)
• Total	31,134
• Estimate (2022)	32,853
• Density	18.823/sq mi (7.2678/km²)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	1st
Montana county number 15

Lake County is a county located in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,134. Its county seat is Polson.

Geography
- Adjacent counties
- National protected areas
Demographics
- 2020 census
- 2010 census
Communities
Education
See also

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,654 square miles (4,280 km²), of which 1,490 square miles (3,900 km²) is land and 164 square miles (420 km²) (9.9%) is water. Over two-thirds (67.7%) of the county's land lies within the Flathead Indian Reservation.

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Bison Range (part)
Flathead National Forest (part)
Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge
Pablo National Wildlife Refuge
Swan River National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1930	9,541	—
1940	13,490	41.4%
1950	13,835	2.6%
1960	13,104	−5.3%
1970	14,445	10.2%
1980	19,056	31.9%
1990	21,041	10.4%
2000	26,507	26.0%
2010	28,746	8.4%
2020	31,134	8.3%
2022 (est.)	32,853	14.3%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960, 1900–1990, 1990–2000, 2010–2020

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 31,134 people living in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 28,746 people, 11,432 households, and 7,770 families living in the county. The population density was 19.3 inhabitants per square mile (7.5/km²). There were 16,588 housing units at an average density of 11.1 per square mile (4.3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 69.4% white, 22.0% American Indian, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.5% from other races, and 7.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 22.3% were German, 11.6% were English, 11.5% were Irish, 6.9% were Norwegian, and 3.8% were American.

Of the 11,432 households, 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.0% were non-families, and 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age was 41.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,274 and the median income for a family was $47,437. Males had a median income of $37,461 versus $26,637 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,164. About 15.4% of families and 21.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.9% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Polson (county seat)
Ronan

Town

St. Ignatius

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Allentown
Post Creek
Proctor
Round Butte
Salmon Prairie
Sipes

Education

School districts include:

K-12 (Unified):

Hot Springs K-12 Schools
St. Ignatius K-12 Schools

High school:

Arlee High School District
Bigfork High School District
Charlo High School District
Missoula High School District
Polson High School District
Ronan High School District

Elementary school:

Arlee Elementary School District
Bigfork Elementary School District
Charlo Elementary School District
Polson Elementary School District
Ronan Elementary School District
Swan Lake-Salmon Elementary School District
Upper West Shore Elementary School District
Valley View Elementary School District

Lake County, Montana facts for kids

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