Yellowstone County, Montana | |
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 Yellowstone County Courthouse in Billings, 2024 | |
 Seal | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofMontana | |
| Coordinates:45°56′N108°16′W / 45.94°N 108.27°W /45.94; -108.27 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Montana |
| Founded | February 26, 1883 |
| Named after | Yellowstone River |
| Seat | Billings |
| Largest city | Billings |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,649 sq mi (6,860 km2) |
| • Land | 2,633 sq mi (6,820 km2) |
| • Water | 16 sq mi (41 km2) 0.6% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 164,731 |
• Estimate (2024) | 171,583 |
| • Density | 62.56/sq mi (24.16/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−7 (Mountain) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−6 (MDT) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Website | www |
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Yellowstone County is themost populous county in theU.S. state ofMontana. As of the2020 census, the population was 164,731.[1] Itscounty seat isBillings,[2] the state'smost populous city. Likethe nearby national park, Yellowstone County is named after theYellowstone River which roughly bisects the county, flowing southwest to northeast.[3] The river, in turn, was named forthe yellow sandstone cliffs in what is now Yellowstone County.[4]
Yellowstone County is included in the Billings, MontanaMetropolitan Statistical Area.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,649 square miles (6,860 km2), of which 2,633 square miles (6,820 km2) is land and 16 square miles (41 km2) (0.6%) is water.[5]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 2,065 | — | |
| 1900 | 6,212 | 200.8% | |
| 1910 | 22,944 | 269.3% | |
| 1920 | 29,600 | 29.0% | |
| 1930 | 30,785 | 4.0% | |
| 1940 | 41,182 | 33.8% | |
| 1950 | 55,875 | 35.7% | |
| 1960 | 79,016 | 41.4% | |
| 1970 | 87,367 | 10.6% | |
| 1980 | 108,035 | 23.7% | |
| 1990 | 113,419 | 5.0% | |
| 2000 | 129,352 | 14.0% | |
| 2010 | 147,972 | 14.4% | |
| 2020 | 164,731 | 11.3% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 171,583 | [6] | 4.2% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790–1960[8] 1900–1990[9] 1990–2000[10] 2010–2020[1] | |||
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 164,731. Of the residents, 23.2% were under the age of 18 and 17.8% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 38.8 years. For every 100 females there were 96.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.9 males. 83.5% of residents lived in urban areas and 16.5% lived in rural areas.[11]
The racial makeup of the county was 85.0% White, 0.8%Black or African American, 4.4%American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Asian, 1.7% from some other race, and 7.2% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 6.1% of the population.[12]
There were 67,578 households in the county, of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 26.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[13]
There were 71,804 housing units, of which 5.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 66.3% were owner-occupied and 33.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.1%.[13]
As of the2010 census, there were 147,972 people, 60,672 households, and 38,367 families residing in the county. The population density was 56.2 inhabitants per square mile (21.7/km2). There were 63,943 housing units at an average density of 24.3 per square mile (9.4/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 90.7% white, 4.0% American Indian, 0.6% black or African American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.2% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 32.4% wereGerman, 14.0% wereIrish, 11.3% wereEnglish, 10.0% wereAmerican, and 9.9% wereNorwegian.
Of the 60,672 households, 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.8% were non-families, and 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 38.3 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $48,641 and the median income for a family was $62,380. Males had a median income of $42,899 versus $30,403 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,152. About 7.9% of families and 11.2% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.
Yellowstone County is very conservative for an urban county. Its voters have been reliably Republican for the better part of a century.Lyndon B. Johnson's1964 landslide was the last time that the county voted for a Democratic candidate.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1892 | 479 | 53.88% | 369 | 41.51% | 41 | 4.61% |
| 1896 | 429 | 42.52% | 575 | 56.99% | 5 | 0.50% |
| 1900 | 816 | 54.51% | 654 | 43.69% | 27 | 1.80% |
| 1904 | 1,249 | 70.41% | 436 | 24.58% | 89 | 5.02% |
| 1908 | 1,803 | 56.61% | 1,114 | 34.98% | 268 | 8.41% |
| 1912 | 1,004 | 26.23% | 1,193 | 31.17% | 1,631 | 42.61% |
| 1916 | 3,281 | 42.06% | 4,259 | 54.60% | 261 | 3.35% |
| 1920 | 5,714 | 65.08% | 2,782 | 31.69% | 284 | 3.23% |
| 1924 | 4,715 | 55.91% | 1,172 | 13.90% | 2,546 | 30.19% |
| 1928 | 6,904 | 68.08% | 3,205 | 31.60% | 32 | 0.32% |
| 1932 | 5,386 | 46.90% | 5,777 | 50.31% | 320 | 2.79% |
| 1936 | 5,193 | 37.05% | 8,575 | 61.18% | 248 | 1.77% |
| 1940 | 8,479 | 48.03% | 9,036 | 51.18% | 140 | 0.79% |
| 1944 | 8,706 | 51.44% | 8,140 | 48.09% | 79 | 0.47% |
| 1948 | 10,342 | 50.74% | 9,718 | 47.67% | 324 | 1.59% |
| 1952 | 17,556 | 66.61% | 8,750 | 33.20% | 51 | 0.19% |
| 1956 | 18,664 | 64.91% | 10,088 | 35.09% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 19,467 | 60.82% | 12,356 | 38.61% | 183 | 0.57% |
| 1964 | 15,571 | 46.85% | 17,446 | 52.49% | 222 | 0.67% |
| 1968 | 19,898 | 58.77% | 11,682 | 34.50% | 2,277 | 6.73% |
| 1972 | 25,205 | 62.64% | 13,602 | 33.80% | 1,430 | 3.55% |
| 1976 | 25,201 | 57.11% | 18,329 | 41.54% | 595 | 1.35% |
| 1980 | 27,332 | 56.57% | 15,272 | 31.61% | 5,709 | 11.82% |
| 1984 | 34,124 | 63.01% | 19,437 | 35.89% | 592 | 1.09% |
| 1988 | 28,069 | 55.42% | 21,987 | 43.41% | 591 | 1.17% |
| 1992 | 22,822 | 40.43% | 20,163 | 35.72% | 13,465 | 23.85% |
| 1996 | 26,367 | 47.18% | 22,992 | 41.14% | 6,523 | 11.67% |
| 2000 | 33,922 | 59.00% | 20,370 | 35.43% | 3,207 | 5.58% |
| 2004 | 40,903 | 61.71% | 24,120 | 36.39% | 1,263 | 1.91% |
| 2008 | 36,483 | 51.62% | 32,038 | 45.33% | 2,158 | 3.05% |
| 2012 | 40,500 | 58.86% | 26,403 | 38.37% | 1,904 | 2.77% |
| 2016 | 40,920 | 58.05% | 22,171 | 31.45% | 7,395 | 10.49% |
| 2020 | 50,772 | 60.22% | 30,679 | 36.39% | 2,855 | 3.39% |
| 2024 | 50,460 | 62.00% | 28,392 | 34.88% | 2,541 | 3.12% |
School districts include:
K-12 (unified):[21]
High school districts:[21]
Elementary school districts:[21]
Places adjacent to Yellowstone County, Montana | |
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Municipalities and communities ofYellowstone County, Montana,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Town | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other communities | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
