Blaine County | |
|---|---|
 Blaine County Courthouse in Chinook | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofMontana | |
 Montana's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:48°26′N108°58′W / 48.44°N 108.96°W /48.44; -108.96 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Montana |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Named after | James G. Blaine |
| Seat | Chinook |
| Largest city | Chinook |
| Area | |
• Total | 4,239 sq mi (10,980 km2) |
| • Land | 4,228 sq mi (10,950 km2) |
| • Water | 11 sq mi (30 km2) 0.3% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 7,044 |
• Estimate (2024) | 6,903 |
| • Density | 1.7/sq mi (0.64/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−7 (Mountain) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−6 (MDT) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Website | blainecounty-mt |
| |
Blaine County is acounty in theU.S. state ofMontana. As of the2020 census, the population was 7,044.[1] Itscounty seat isChinook.[2] The county was named forJames G. Blaine, formerUnited States Secretary of State. It is on the north line of the state, and thus shares the southern border of Canada oppositeSaskatchewan.
In 1912 Blaine,Phillips andHill counties were formed from the area ofChouteau County. The original boundary of Blaine County included a portion of land in the west that is now included in Phillips County.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,239 square miles (10,980 km2), of which 4,228 square miles (10,950 km2) is land and 11 square miles (28 km2) (0.3%) is water.[3]
The majority ofFort Belknap Indian Reservation is located in the southeastern part of the county.[4]
Features of the area include theMilk River,Bears Paw Mountains, and theLittle Rocky Mountains.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 9,057 | — | |
| 1930 | 9,006 | −0.6% | |
| 1940 | 9,566 | 6.2% | |
| 1950 | 8,516 | −11.0% | |
| 1960 | 8,091 | −5.0% | |
| 1970 | 6,727 | −16.9% | |
| 1980 | 6,999 | 4.0% | |
| 1990 | 6,728 | −3.9% | |
| 2000 | 7,009 | 4.2% | |
| 2010 | 6,491 | −7.4% | |
| 2020 | 7,044 | 8.5% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 6,903 | [5] | −2.0% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[6] 1790–1960,[7] 1900–1990,[8] 1990–2000,[9] 2010–2020[1] | |||
As of the2020 census, there were 7,044 people living in the county.
As of the2010 census, there were 6,491 people, 2,357 households, and 1,604 families living in the county. The population density was 1.5 inhabitants per square mile (0.58 inhabitants/km2). There were 2,843 housing units at an average density of 0.7 units per square mile (0.27 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 49.4% American Indian, 48.2% white, 0.1% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 23.0% wereGerman, 9.2% wereNorwegian, 6.6% wereIrish, 5.7% wereEnglish, and 2.0% wereAmerican.
Of the 2,357 households, 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.6% were married couples living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.9% were non-families, and 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.28. The median age was 35.1 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,034 and the median income for a family was $40,890. Males had a median income of $32,320 versus $28,986 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,813. About 23.6% of families and 29.0% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 44.6% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.
Blaine County is the nation's most consistent long-termbellwether county, having voted for the winning presidential candidate in all but two elections held in its history. After backingTheodore Roosevelt againstWoodrow Wilson in the county's inaugural1912 election, Blaine County has been won by the winner of the presidential election in every election except that of1988, held during the aftermath of a majordrought and farm crisis;Michael Dukakis won the county by 58 votes. During two other drought years on the Great Plains,Adlai Stevenson II in1956 andGerald Ford in1976 also came close to breaking the county's streak, losing by even smaller vote margins thanGeorge H. W. Bush. The county's swing status comes from the fact that it contains the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, which trends Democratic, with the rest of the county voting strongly Republican. Since 2016, the trends on the Reservation have been a heavy factor in the county's leaning. The strongest Democratic shift in the county in 2020 and in turn the strongest Republican shift in 2024 each occurred on the Reservation, while the rest of the county simply shifted slightly more Republican in both. This pushed the county majority to go to Biden in 2020 and to Trump in 2024.[10][11]
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2024 | 1,526 | 50.55% | 1,348 | 44.65% | 145 | 4.80% |
| 2020 | 1,469 | 47.11% | 1,589 | 50.96% | 60 | 1.92% |
| 2016 | 1,268 | 47.24% | 1,202 | 44.78% | 214 | 7.97% |
| 2012 | 1,178 | 41.20% | 1,616 | 56.52% | 65 | 2.27% |
| 2008 | 1,139 | 38.93% | 1,702 | 58.17% | 85 | 2.90% |
| 2004 | 1,424 | 51.45% | 1,300 | 46.97% | 44 | 1.59% |
| 2000 | 1,410 | 51.11% | 1,246 | 45.16% | 103 | 3.73% |
| 1996 | 1,127 | 38.96% | 1,316 | 45.49% | 450 | 15.55% |
| 1992 | 971 | 31.88% | 1,355 | 44.48% | 720 | 23.64% |
| 1988 | 1,402 | 48.15% | 1,460 | 50.14% | 50 | 1.72% |
| 1984 | 1,736 | 57.92% | 1,229 | 41.01% | 32 | 1.07% |
| 1980 | 1,686 | 56.29% | 1,107 | 36.96% | 202 | 6.74% |
| 1976 | 1,349 | 49.25% | 1,356 | 49.51% | 34 | 1.24% |
| 1972 | 1,513 | 54.44% | 1,151 | 41.42% | 115 | 4.14% |
| 1968 | 1,291 | 48.63% | 1,198 | 45.12% | 166 | 6.25% |
| 1964 | 961 | 35.55% | 1,742 | 64.45% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 1,290 | 44.85% | 1,569 | 54.55% | 17 | 0.59% |
| 1956 | 1,460 | 50.38% | 1,438 | 49.62% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 1,890 | 60.85% | 1,207 | 38.86% | 9 | 0.29% |
| 1948 | 997 | 36.28% | 1,669 | 60.74% | 82 | 2.98% |
| 1944 | 990 | 39.94% | 1,469 | 59.26% | 20 | 0.81% |
| 1940 | 1,165 | 35.02% | 2,129 | 63.99% | 33 | 0.99% |
| 1936 | 851 | 27.68% | 2,166 | 70.46% | 57 | 1.85% |
| 1932 | 1,063 | 33.64% | 1,977 | 62.56% | 120 | 3.80% |
| 1928 | 1,537 | 56.63% | 1,160 | 42.74% | 17 | 0.63% |
| 1924 | 827 | 45.74% | 337 | 18.64% | 644 | 35.62% |
| 1920 | 1,720 | 62.48% | 848 | 30.80% | 185 | 6.72% |
| 1916 | 857 | 39.13% | 1,261 | 57.58% | 72 | 3.29% |
| 1912 | 204 | 17.94% | 318 | 27.97% | 615 | 54.09% |
The main industry in Blaine County is agriculture.[13] The main employers on the Reservation are theGros Ventre andAssiniboine tribes.[14]
Aaniiih Nakoda College (formerly Fort Belknap College) is located on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. Public high schools in the county includeHarlem High School in Harlem,Chinook High School in Chinook, andTurner High School in Turner.
Places adjacent to Blaine County, Montana | |
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Municipalities and communities ofBlaine County, Montana,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| CDPs | ||
| Other community | ||
| Indian reservations | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
