Sweet Grass County, Montana | |
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 Location within the U.S. state ofMontana | |
 Montana's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:45°49′N109°56′W / 45.81°N 109.94°W /45.81; -109.94 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Montana |
| Founded | 1895 |
| Named after | Sweet grass |
| Seat | Big Timber |
| Largest city | Big Timber |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,862 sq mi (4,820 km2) |
| • Land | 1,855 sq mi (4,800 km2) |
| • Water | 6.8 sq mi (18 km2) 0.4% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 3,678 |
• Estimate (2024) | 3,757 |
| • Density | 1.983/sq mi (0.7655/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−7 (Mountain) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−6 (MDT) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Website | sweetgrasscountygov |
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Sweet Grass County is acounty located in theU.S. state ofMontana. As of the2020 census, the population was 3,678.[1] Itscounty seat isBig Timber.[2] The county was founded in 1895.[3]
TheMontana Legislature authorized Sweet Grass County in 1895, taking parts ofPark,Meagher, andYellowstone counties. That boundary was altered in 1913 whenStillwater County was formed from a portion of Sweet Grass; again in 1917 with the formation ofWheatland County, and in 1920 with the formation ofGolden Valley County.[4]
Sweet Grass County's climate is generally dry and cool, specified as Dfc in the Köppen-Geiger climate classification (subarctic or boreal).[5] Average annual precipitation of 15 inches (380 mm) comes in rain and snow. The summer precipitation accumulation (April through September) averages 10.5 inches (270 mm). The average summer high temperature is 75.3 °F (24.1 °C) and the average minimum temperature during that period is 44.2 °F (6.8 °C). July and August are the hottest months. The annual average high temperature is 60.6 °F (15.9 °C) and the annual average minimum temperature is 33.6 °F (0.9 °C). The coldest temperature recorded in the county in recent times was −47 °F (−44 °C) in February 1936, and the warmest was 107 °F (42 °C) in July 2002. Big Timber receives 286 sunny days on average.[4]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,862 square miles (4,820 km2), of which 1,855 square miles (4,800 km2) is land and 6.8 square miles (18 km2) (0.4%) is water.[6]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 3,086 | — | |
| 1910 | 4,029 | 30.6% | |
| 1920 | 4,926 | 22.3% | |
| 1930 | 3,944 | −19.9% | |
| 1940 | 3,719 | −5.7% | |
| 1950 | 3,621 | −2.6% | |
| 1960 | 3,290 | −9.1% | |
| 1970 | 2,980 | −9.4% | |
| 1980 | 3,216 | 7.9% | |
| 1990 | 3,154 | −1.9% | |
| 2000 | 3,609 | 14.4% | |
| 2010 | 3,651 | 1.2% | |
| 2020 | 3,678 | 0.7% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 3,757 | [7] | 2.1% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[8] 1790–1960,[9] 1900–1990,[10] 1990–2000,[11] 2010–2020[1] | |||
As of the2020 census, there were 3,678 people living in the county.[citation needed]
As of the2010 census, there were 3,651 people, 1,590 households, and 1,045 families in the county. The population density was 2.0 people per square mile (0.77 people/km2). There were 2,148 housing units at an average density of 1.2 units per square mile (0.46/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 96.6% white, 0.7% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.6% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 25.3% wereGerman, 22.6% wereNorwegian, 13.0% wereAmerican, 12.8% wereIrish, 10.8% wereEnglish, and 7.3% wereScottish.
Of the 1,590 households, 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.3% were non-families, and 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age was 46.6 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $43,723 and the median income for a family was $56,552. Males had a median income of $35,385 versus $25,000 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,785. About 10% of the families and 12.1% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 17.8% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.
In presidential elections, Sweet Grass County is among the most consistently Republican counties in the state and the nation. The last, and one of the only, times the Democratic candidate carried the county was in 1936 whenFranklin D. Roosevelt won every county in Montana. In both the 1916 and 1932 Presidential elections, Sweet Grass County was the only county in Montana to be won by the Republican.[12]
The county is also Republican at a local level. In 2025 GovernorGreg Gianforte won with 75% of the vote.[13] Previous Democratic governorBrian Schweitzer never won a majority of the county's vote and no Democratic gubernatorial candidate has carried the county in decades.[14] In 2025, theMontana Senate is represented by RepublicanWylie Galt and theMontana House of Representatives is represented by RepublicanRandyn Gregg.[15][16]
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1904 | 538 | 70.51% | 174 | 22.80% | 51 | 6.68% |
| 1908 | 526 | 63.76% | 264 | 32.00% | 35 | 4.24% |
| 1912 | 181 | 19.21% | 277 | 29.41% | 484 | 51.38% |
| 1916 | 890 | 50.20% | 839 | 47.32% | 44 | 2.48% |
| 1920 | 1,035 | 73.51% | 349 | 24.79% | 24 | 1.70% |
| 1924 | 853 | 59.57% | 248 | 17.32% | 331 | 23.11% |
| 1928 | 1,163 | 72.46% | 435 | 27.10% | 7 | 0.44% |
| 1932 | 784 | 49.18% | 761 | 47.74% | 49 | 3.07% |
| 1936 | 664 | 43.01% | 783 | 50.71% | 97 | 6.28% |
| 1940 | 861 | 53.45% | 741 | 46.00% | 9 | 0.56% |
| 1944 | 897 | 62.29% | 533 | 37.01% | 10 | 0.69% |
| 1948 | 843 | 61.71% | 499 | 36.53% | 24 | 1.76% |
| 1952 | 1,315 | 77.17% | 372 | 21.83% | 17 | 1.00% |
| 1956 | 1,129 | 71.28% | 455 | 28.72% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 1,096 | 67.78% | 521 | 32.22% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1964 | 856 | 56.54% | 653 | 43.13% | 5 | 0.33% |
| 1968 | 1,043 | 70.00% | 336 | 22.55% | 111 | 7.45% |
| 1972 | 1,260 | 76.00% | 350 | 21.11% | 48 | 2.90% |
| 1976 | 1,135 | 68.41% | 502 | 30.26% | 22 | 1.33% |
| 1980 | 1,169 | 67.22% | 440 | 25.30% | 130 | 7.48% |
| 1984 | 1,417 | 78.59% | 378 | 20.97% | 8 | 0.44% |
| 1988 | 1,242 | 71.67% | 462 | 26.66% | 29 | 1.67% |
| 1992 | 880 | 48.86% | 395 | 21.93% | 526 | 29.21% |
| 1996 | 1,109 | 62.23% | 469 | 26.32% | 204 | 11.45% |
| 2000 | 1,450 | 78.55% | 305 | 16.52% | 91 | 4.93% |
| 2004 | 1,509 | 76.10% | 445 | 22.44% | 29 | 1.46% |
| 2008 | 1,494 | 71.72% | 541 | 25.97% | 48 | 2.30% |
| 2012 | 1,594 | 75.30% | 475 | 22.44% | 48 | 2.27% |
| 2016 | 1,595 | 75.70% | 402 | 19.08% | 110 | 5.22% |
| 2020 | 1,840 | 75.22% | 549 | 22.44% | 57 | 2.33% |
| 2024 | 1,789 | 75.14% | 525 | 22.05% | 67 | 2.81% |
The county was the setting of the 2009 sheep-herding documentarySweetgrass. The film takes place in many counties in Montana but the title comes from this county.
Places adjacent to Sweet Grass County, Montana | ||||||||||||||||
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Municipalities and communities ofSweet Grass County, Montana,United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
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