Hill County, Montana | |
|---|---|
 Hill County Courthouse in Havre | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofMontana | |
 Montana's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:48°38′N110°07′W / 48.63°N 110.11°W /48.63; -110.11 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Montana |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Named after | James J. Hill |
| Seat | Havre |
| Largest city | Havre |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,916 sq mi (7,550 km2) |
| • Land | 2,899 sq mi (7,510 km2) |
| • Water | 17 sq mi (44 km2) 0.6% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 16,309 |
• Estimate (2024) | 16,065 |
| • Density | 5.626/sq mi (2.172/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−7 (Mountain) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−6 (MDT) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Website | hillcounty |
| |
Hill County is acounty located in theU.S. state ofMontana. As of the2020 census, the population was 16,309.[1] Itscounty seat isHavre.[2] It lies along the United States border with Canada, abuttingAlberta andSaskatchewan.
Part of its territory is within theRocky Boy Indian Reservation, which is held by the federally recognized Chippewa-Cree Tribe.
The first European-American settlement in the future county area wasFort Assinniboine, garrisoned by the United States Army in 1879. Fifteen of the original 104 structures from the fort are still standing. A portion of the fort was ceded for use as the Indian reservation, which was established in 1916.
The county is named afterJames J. Hill, president of theGreat Northern Railway Company, which built the rail line across Montana as part of theTranscontinental Railroad to the Pacific coast.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,916 square miles (7,550 km2), of which 2,899 square miles (7,510 km2) is land and 17 square miles (44 km2) (0.6%) is water.[3]
Hill County is on the "Hi-Line" in north-central Montana. It borders Blaine County to the east, Liberty County to the west, and Canada to the north. Hill County contains Beaver Creek Park, the nation's largest county park.
It is one of the few locations in the United States to have anantipodal point on land, and its community ofRudyard is the only populated such place. TheKerguelen Islands are on the opposite side of the earth from parts of Hill County, while the antipodal points of almost all other places in the United States lie in theIndian Ocean.
In presidential elections, Hill County is a swing county. Since 1952, it has voted for the Democratic nominee nine times and the Republican nominee nine times and the nationwide winner from 1992 to 2016. The rural parts of the county vote heavily Republican, and the city of Havre is also majority Republican. However, the Rocky Boy's Reservation in the southeastern part of the county is a Democratic stronghold, having voted by as much as 84% Democratic in 2024 (down from 93% in 2020). This leads the county to be less Republican overall than multiple neighboring counties.[4] The county swung heavily to supportBarack Obama in 2008 and ever since then the county has seen a steady Republican trend.Donald Trump, who swung the county back into the Republican column in 2016, showed the strongest performance by any Republican candidate in the county's history in 2024 when he received over 56% of the vote.
Current Hill County Commissioners are Jake Strissel, Chair, Sheri Williams, Vice-Chair, and William "Bill" Lanier
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1912 | 536 | 26.43% | 624 | 30.77% | 868 | 42.80% |
| 1916 | 1,709 | 31.73% | 3,241 | 60.17% | 436 | 8.10% |
| 1920 | 2,220 | 55.44% | 1,388 | 34.67% | 396 | 9.89% |
| 1924 | 1,110 | 30.60% | 602 | 16.59% | 1,916 | 52.81% |
| 1928 | 2,336 | 53.37% | 2,022 | 46.20% | 19 | 0.43% |
| 1932 | 1,589 | 31.44% | 3,257 | 64.44% | 208 | 4.12% |
| 1936 | 1,014 | 18.37% | 4,328 | 78.41% | 178 | 3.22% |
| 1940 | 1,842 | 32.79% | 3,700 | 65.87% | 75 | 1.34% |
| 1944 | 1,646 | 35.25% | 2,986 | 63.95% | 37 | 0.79% |
| 1948 | 1,645 | 31.75% | 3,321 | 64.10% | 215 | 4.15% |
| 1952 | 3,474 | 55.44% | 2,748 | 43.86% | 44 | 0.70% |
| 1956 | 3,415 | 53.24% | 2,999 | 46.76% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 3,163 | 45.73% | 3,741 | 54.09% | 12 | 0.17% |
| 1964 | 2,101 | 31.81% | 4,491 | 68.00% | 12 | 0.18% |
| 1968 | 2,970 | 44.53% | 3,386 | 50.77% | 313 | 4.69% |
| 1972 | 3,759 | 53.06% | 3,061 | 43.20% | 265 | 3.74% |
| 1976 | 3,274 | 45.10% | 3,878 | 53.42% | 108 | 1.49% |
| 1980 | 4,448 | 54.99% | 2,875 | 35.54% | 766 | 9.47% |
| 1984 | 4,635 | 55.24% | 3,657 | 43.59% | 98 | 1.17% |
| 1988 | 3,467 | 44.50% | 4,219 | 54.15% | 105 | 1.35% |
| 1992 | 2,408 | 29.79% | 3,618 | 44.77% | 2,056 | 25.44% |
| 1996 | 2,601 | 36.58% | 3,517 | 49.46% | 993 | 13.96% |
| 2000 | 3,392 | 51.72% | 2,760 | 42.09% | 406 | 6.19% |
| 2004 | 3,505 | 52.65% | 2,997 | 45.02% | 155 | 2.33% |
| 2008 | 2,787 | 42.07% | 3,596 | 54.28% | 242 | 3.65% |
| 2012 | 3,164 | 46.36% | 3,403 | 49.86% | 258 | 3.78% |
| 2016 | 3,478 | 53.96% | 2,371 | 36.79% | 596 | 9.25% |
| 2020 | 3,957 | 55.10% | 2,981 | 41.51% | 244 | 3.40% |
| 2024 | 3,871 | 56.89% | 2,634 | 38.71% | 299 | 4.39% |
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 13,958 | — | |
| 1930 | 13,775 | −1.3% | |
| 1940 | 13,304 | −3.4% | |
| 1950 | 14,285 | 7.4% | |
| 1960 | 18,653 | 30.6% | |
| 1970 | 17,358 | −6.9% | |
| 1980 | 17,985 | 3.6% | |
| 1990 | 17,654 | −1.8% | |
| 2000 | 16,673 | −5.6% | |
| 2010 | 16,096 | −3.5% | |
| 2020 | 16,309 | 1.3% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 16,065 | [7] | −1.5% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[8] 1790–1960,[9] 1900–1990,[10] 1990–2000,[11] 2010–2020[1] | |||
As of the2020 census, there were 16,309 people living in the county.[citation needed]
As of the2010 census, there were 16,096 people, 6,275 households, and 4,020 families living in the county. The population density was 5.6 inhabitants per square mile (2.2/km2). There were 7,250 housing units at an average density of 2.5 per square mile (0.97/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 73.9% white, 21.7% American Indian, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.3% from other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 28.9% wereGerman, 18.5% wereNorwegian, 12.7% wereIrish, 9.2% wereEnglish, and 3.0% wereAmerican.
Of the 6,275 households, 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.9% were non-families, and 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.10. The median age was 35.1 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $43,606 and the median income for a family was $55,963. Males had a median income of $44,286 versus $28,908 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,420. About 12.4% of families and 17.9% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 24.0% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.
Places adjacent to Hill County, Montana | |
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Municipalities and communities ofHill County, Montana,United States | ||
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| City |  | |
| Town | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Indian reservations | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
