Garfield County, Montana

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4847 sqmi, of which 4675 sqmi is land and 172 sqmi (3.6%) is water. Its average population density of 0.1058 /km2 is the third-lowest of any county outside of Alaska (behind Loving County, Texas and Esmeralda County, Nevada).

Major highways

• Montana Highway 22
• [[Image:MT-59.svg|20px]] Montana Highway 59
• [[Image:MT-24.svg|20px]] Montana Highway 24
• [[Image:MT-200.svg|20px]] Montana Highway 200

Adjacent counties

• Phillips County – northwest
• Valley County – north
• McCone County – east
• Prairie County – east
• Custer County – southeast
• Rosebud County – south
• Petroleum County – west

National protected area

• Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1790–1960, 1900–1990, 1990–2000, 2010–2020

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,173. Of the residents, 23.5% were under the age of 18 and 28.0% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 44.9 years. For every 100 females there were 101.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 102.0 males. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas and 100.0% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 96.0% White, 0.0% Black or African American, 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, 0.5% from some other race, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.2% of the population.

There were 509 households in the county, of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 20.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 795 housing units, of which 36.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 76.4% were owner-occupied and 23.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.6%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,206 people, 532 households, and 347 families living in the county. The population density was 0.3 PD/sqmi. There were 844 housing units at an average density of 0.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 98.6% white, 0.4% American Indian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 0.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 33.3% were German, 16.9% were Irish, 15.0% were Norwegian, 13.3% were English, 10.5% were American, 8.1% were Swedish, and 7.4% were Scottish.

Of the 532 households, 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.8% were non-families, and 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age was 46.4 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,955 and the median income for a family was $54,375. Males had a median income of $37,813 versus $19,286 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,424. About 8.1% of families and 10.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.1% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Like nearly all of the High Plains outside of Native American counties, Garfield is an overwhelmingly Republican county. It has been the most Republican county in Montana since the 2004 United States presidential election.

The last Democratic presidential candidate to carry the county was Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940, and in the last nine Presidential elections no Democratic candidate has managed to receive more than 20 percent. In the 2016, 2020, and 2024 elections, Garfield was the only county in Montana to give over 90% of the vote to the Republican nominee, namely Donald Trump.

Garfield County is also Republican at the local level. Democratic governor Brian Schweitzer never received more than 40 percent of the county's vote and no Democratic gubernatorial candidate has carried the county since Ted Schwinden in 1984. As part of the 15th district of the Montana Senate, the county is represented by Republican Jim Peterson and as part of the 30th district of the Montana House of Representatives it is represented by Republican Dave Kasten.

Communities

Town

• Jordan (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

• Benzien
• Big Dry
• Brusett
• Cohagen
• Haxby
• Hillside
• Mosby
• Sand Springs
• Steve Forks
• Tindall

References

References

1. [http://genealogytrails.com/mon/countytimeline.html ''County Timeline'' Genealogy Trails]
2. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
4. [[David Quammen]], "Local Bird Makes Good" (1995), collected in ''The Boilerplate Rhino'' (2000), {{ISBN. 0-684-83728-5
5. (August 22, 2012). "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
6. "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024". United States Census Bureau.
7. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
8. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
9. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
10. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
11. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau.
12. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau.
13. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau.
14. [http://geoelections.free.fr/USA/elec_comtes/1940.htm Geographie Electorale]
15. [http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html?scp=1&sq=%22election%20map&st=cse The New York Times electoral map (Zoom in on Montana)]
16. [http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/comparemaps.php?year=2008&fips=30&f=1&off=5&elect=0 David Leip US Election Atlas]
17. [http://nris.mt.gov/gis/legislat/2009/default.asp?District=30 Montana legislative site]
18. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections".
19. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Benzien,+MT+59077/@47.2555675,-107.6888577,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x53392ea8ce034ff5:0x7e268524ab42aaa!8m2!3d47.2555538!4d-107.6801029 ''Benzien, Garfield County MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
20. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Brusett+Post+Office/@47.4271339,-107.329976,13.5z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x53395508a9198b7f:0xd543eb36b74b9caf!2sGarfield+County,+MT!3b1!8m2!3d47.2662361!4d-107.1263146!3m4!1s0x533eb36df296d339:0xaa6f45b28d44fc84!8m2!3d47.4275066!4d-107.3178864 ''Brusett Post Office, Garfield County MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
21. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Haxby,+MT+59337/@47.770023,-106.4360142,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x533c641eaa91788d:0xf1224127c2c29201!8m2!3d47.7700095!4d-106.4272594 ''Haxby, Garfield County MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
22. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hillside,+MT+59301/@46.911125,-106.4087887,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x533bccdec017b4eb:0x31573760f03cd95!8m2!3d46.9111112!4d-106.4000338 ''Hillside, Garfield County MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
23. [https://www.histopolis.com/Place/US/MT/Garfield_County/Tindall Histopolis: Tindall, Garfield County, Montana, United States]. Accessed July 23, 2021.