Gallatin County, Montana | |
|---|---|
 Gallatin County Courthouse in Bozeman | |
 Seal | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofMontana | |
| Coordinates:45°34′N111°10′W / 45.56°N 111.17°W /45.56; -111.17 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Montana |
| Founded | 1865 |
| Named after | Gallatin River (Albert Gallatin) |
| Seat | Bozeman |
| Largest city | Bozeman |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,632 sq mi (6,820 km2) |
| • Land | 2,603 sq mi (6,740 km2) |
| • Water | 29 sq mi (75 km2) 1.1% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 118,960 |
• Estimate (2024) | 126,984 |
| • Density | 45.70/sq mi (17.65/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−7 (Mountain) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−6 (MDT) |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Website | www |
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Gallatin County is acounty located in theU.S. state ofMontana. With itscounty seat inBozeman, it is thesecond-most populous county in Montana, with a population of 118,960 in the2020 census.[1]
The county's prominent geographical features are theBridger Range in the north, and theGallatin Range andGallatin River in the south, named byMeriwether Lewis in 1805 forAlbert Gallatin,[2] theUnited States Treasury Secretary who formulated theLewis and Clark Expedition.
At the southern end of the county,West Yellowstone's entrance intoYellowstone National Park accounts for around half of all park visitors.Big Sky Resort, one of the largest ski resorts in the United States, lies in Gallatin and neighboringMadison counties, midway between Bozeman and West Yellowstone.
During the territorial era, a small patch of land known as "Lost Dakota" existed as a remote exclave ofDakota Territory until it was transferred to Gallatin County,Montana Territory, in 1873.[3]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,632 square miles (6,820 km2), of which 2,603 square miles (6,740 km2) is land and 29 square miles (75 km2) (1.1%) is water.[4] The county attained its present boundaries in 1978, when the formerYellowstone National Park (part)county-equivalent was dissolved and apportioned between Gallatin County and Park County. Gallatin County received 99.155 square miles (256.8 km2) of land area and 0.119 square miles (0.3 km2) of water area, whereas Park County received 146.229 square miles (378.7 km2) of land area and 0.608 square miles (1.6 km2) of water area. The geographies transferred are known now as Census Tract 14 in Gallatin County, and as Census Tract 6 in Park County.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 1,578 | — | |
| 1880 | 3,643 | 130.9% | |
| 1890 | 6,246 | 71.5% | |
| 1900 | 9,553 | 52.9% | |
| 1910 | 14,079 | 47.4% | |
| 1920 | 15,864 | 12.7% | |
| 1930 | 16,124 | 1.6% | |
| 1940 | 18,269 | 13.3% | |
| 1950 | 21,902 | 19.9% | |
| 1960 | 26,045 | 18.9% | |
| 1970 | 32,505 | 24.8% | |
| 1980 | 42,865 | 31.9% | |
| 1990 | 50,463 | 17.7% | |
| 2000 | 67,831 | 34.4% | |
| 2010 | 89,513 | 32.0% | |
| 2020 | 118,960 | 32.9% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 126,984 | [5] | 6.7% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[6] 1790–1960,[7] 1900–1990,[8] 1990–2000,[9] 2010–2020[1] | |||
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 118,960 and 47,117 households; 19.8% of residents were under the age of 18, 13.2% were 65 years of age or older, there were 107.4 males for every 100 females (108.8 for every 100 females age 18 and over), and 65.2% of residents lived in urban areas while 34.8% lived in rural areas.[10] The median age was 33.4 years, compared with 40.1 years in Montana.[10][11]
In terms of ancestry, 25.4% were German, 14.8% were Irish, 12.4% were English, 8.8% were Norwegian, 4.6% were Italian, 4.0% were French, 3.5% were Scottish, 2.2% were Polish and 0.3% were Subsaharan African.[11]
The population density was 45.2 inhabitants per square mile (17.5/km2). There were 52,835 housing units in the county at an average density of 20.1 per square mile (7.8/km2).[11]
The racial makeup of the county was 89.0% White, 0.4%Black or African American, 0.9%American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%Asian, 1.8% from some other race, and 6.6% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.0% of the population.[12]
Of the 47,117 households in the county, 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 21.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, about 25.9% were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[13] 48.2% were married-couple family households, 23.9% were male householders with no spouse present, 20.4% were female householders with no spouse present, and the average family size was 2.96.[11]
Among occupied housing units, 59.9% were owner-occupied and 40.1% were renter-occupied; the homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.9%.[13]
The median household income was $75,418, significantly higher than the $57,153 median household income in Montana; 11.9% of the population was below the poverty line, including 6.9% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those 65 or older.[11]
As of the2010 census, there were 89,513 people, 36,550 households, and 21,263 families living in the county. The population density was 34.4 inhabitants per square mile (13.3/km2). There were 42,289 housing units at an average density of 16.2 per square mile (6.3/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 95.1% White, 1.1% Asian, 0.9% American Indian, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.7% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 32.2% wereGerman, 18.1% wereIrish, 14.7% wereEnglish, 9.4% wereNorwegian, and 3.5% wereAmerican.
Of the 36,550 households, 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 41.8% were non-families, and 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age was 32.5 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $50,136 and the median income for a family was $65,029. Males had a median income of $42,245 versus $31,349 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,423. About 7.4% of families and 13.5% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.
Gallatin County has traditionally favored Republican presidential candidates, often by large margins. Recent changes to Gallatin County's demographics (including migration from Democratic-leaning areas,[14] and younger voters adopting more liberal political positions)[15] have made the county more competitive.
Gallatin County is home to the flagship campus ofMontana State University, which contributes to its Democratic lean.
Democratic candidatesBarack Obama andHillary Clinton narrowly won Gallatin County in 2008 and 2016 respectively, with RepublicanMitt Romney winning the county in 2012.
2020 Democratic candidateJoe Biden won Gallatin County by the largest margin for a Democrat sinceFranklin Delano Roosevelt's victory in1940. DemocratKamala Harris won the county in 2024, marking the first time the county voted for a Democrat who lost the popular vote since 1900.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1892 | 998 | 43.32% | 1,144 | 49.65% | 162 | 7.03% |
| 1896 | 423 | 20.07% | 1,649 | 78.23% | 36 | 1.71% |
| 1900 | 1,146 | 45.53% | 1,297 | 51.53% | 74 | 2.94% |
| 1904 | 1,700 | 55.77% | 1,130 | 37.07% | 218 | 7.15% |
| 1908 | 1,519 | 47.19% | 1,485 | 46.13% | 215 | 6.68% |
| 1912 | 683 | 21.07% | 1,407 | 43.41% | 1,151 | 35.51% |
| 1916 | 2,527 | 40.07% | 3,661 | 58.06% | 118 | 1.87% |
| 1920 | 3,238 | 54.70% | 2,370 | 40.03% | 312 | 5.27% |
| 1924 | 2,494 | 44.35% | 1,564 | 27.81% | 1,565 | 27.83% |
| 1928 | 3,861 | 61.11% | 2,423 | 38.35% | 34 | 0.54% |
| 1932 | 2,553 | 35.98% | 4,359 | 61.44% | 183 | 2.58% |
| 1936 | 2,151 | 30.01% | 4,697 | 65.53% | 320 | 4.46% |
| 1940 | 3,430 | 41.84% | 4,718 | 57.55% | 50 | 0.61% |
| 1944 | 3,120 | 47.04% | 3,479 | 52.46% | 33 | 0.50% |
| 1948 | 4,220 | 53.08% | 3,548 | 44.63% | 182 | 2.29% |
| 1952 | 6,998 | 71.93% | 2,697 | 27.72% | 34 | 0.35% |
| 1956 | 6,680 | 67.20% | 3,260 | 32.80% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 6,870 | 64.49% | 3,761 | 35.31% | 21 | 0.20% |
| 1964 | 5,621 | 49.97% | 5,600 | 49.79% | 27 | 0.24% |
| 1968 | 7,433 | 62.06% | 3,818 | 31.88% | 727 | 6.07% |
| 1972 | 10,663 | 66.28% | 5,096 | 31.68% | 329 | 2.05% |
| 1976 | 11,062 | 63.36% | 6,215 | 35.60% | 183 | 1.05% |
| 1980 | 12,738 | 58.63% | 5,747 | 26.45% | 3,241 | 14.92% |
| 1984 | 15,643 | 64.80% | 8,163 | 33.82% | 334 | 1.38% |
| 1988 | 13,214 | 56.94% | 9,527 | 41.06% | 464 | 2.00% |
| 1992 | 11,109 | 38.60% | 9,535 | 33.13% | 8,135 | 28.27% |
| 1996 | 14,559 | 50.07% | 10,972 | 37.73% | 3,547 | 12.20% |
| 2000 | 18,833 | 58.78% | 10,009 | 31.24% | 3,198 | 9.98% |
| 2004 | 22,392 | 56.20% | 16,405 | 41.18% | 1,045 | 2.62% |
| 2008 | 22,578 | 46.77% | 24,205 | 50.14% | 1,489 | 3.08% |
| 2012 | 24,358 | 50.84% | 21,961 | 45.84% | 1,589 | 3.32% |
| 2016 | 23,802 | 44.23% | 24,246 | 45.05% | 5,771 | 10.72% |
| 2020 | 31,696 | 44.33% | 37,044 | 51.80% | 2,767 | 3.87% |
| 2024 | 32,695 | 46.50% | 34,938 | 49.69% | 2,684 | 3.82% |
Unified (K-12) districts include:[17]
The Belgrade elementary and high school districts are both a part ofBelgrade Public Schools.[18] The Bozeman elementary and high school districts are both a part ofBozeman Public Schools.[19] The Manhattan elementary and high school districts are both a part ofManhattan Public Schools.[20] The Three Forks elementary and high school districts are both a part ofThree Forks Public Schools.[21] The Willow Creek elementary and high school districts are both a part ofWillow Creek Public Schools.[22]
High school districts include:[17]
Elementary school districts include:[17]
Places adjacent to Gallatin County, Montana | |
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Municipalities and communities ofGallatin County, Montana,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
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| Other communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
