Lake County

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,654 square miles (4,280 km2), of which 1,490 square miles (3,900 km2) is land and 164 square miles (420 km2) (9.9%) is water. Over two-thirds (67.7%) of the county's land lies within the Flathead Indian Reservation.

Adjacent counties

Flathead County - north

Missoula County - east

Sanders County - west

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 31,134. Of the residents, 23.2% were under the age of 18 and 24.3% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 44.7 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.7 males. 17.9% of residents lived in urban areas and 82.1% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 66.3% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 22.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, 0.8% from some other race, and 9.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.8% of the population.

There were 12,486 households in the county, of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 26.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 16,390 housing units, of which 23.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.4% were owner-occupied and 28.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.9%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 28,746 people, 11,432 households, and 7,770 families living in the county. The population density was 19.3 inhabitants per square mile (7.5/km2). There were 16,588 housing units at an average density of 11.1 per square mile (4.3/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 69.4% white, 22.0% American Indian, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.5% from other races, and 7.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 22.3% were German, 11.6% were English, 11.5% were Irish, 6.9% were Norwegian, and 3.8% were American.

Of the 11,432 households, 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.0% were non-families, and 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age was 41.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,274 and the median income for a family was $47,437. Males had a median income of $37,461 versus $26,637 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,164. About 15.4% of families and 21.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.9% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Polson (county seat)

Ronan

Town

St. Ignatius

Education

School districts include:

K-12 (Unified):

Hot Springs K-12 Schools

St. Ignatius K-12 Schools

High school:

Arlee High School District

Bigfork High School District

Charlo High School District

Missoula High School District

Polson High School District

Ronan High School District

Elementary school:

Arlee Elementary School District

Bigfork Elementary School District

Charlo Elementary School District

Polson Elementary School District

Ronan Elementary School District

Swan Lake-Salmon Elementary School District

Upper West Shore Elementary School District

Valley View Elementary School District