Lewis and Clark County, Montana

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3498 sqmi, of which 3459 sqmi is land and 39 sqmi (1.1%) is water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

• Teton County - north
• Cascade County - east
• Meagher County - east
• Broadwater County - southeast
• Jefferson County - south
• Powell County - west
• Flathead County - northwest

National protected areas

• Flathead National Forest (part)
• Helena National Forest (part)
• Lewis and Clark National Forest (part)
• Lolo National Forest (part)
• Rocky Mountain Front Conservation Area (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 70,973. Of the residents, 21.5% were under the age of 18 and 19.5% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 41.3 years. For every 100 females there were 97.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.6 males. 73.8% of residents lived in urban areas and 26.2% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 88.8% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 1.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% Asian, 0.9% from some other race, and 7.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.7% of the population.

There were 30,204 households in the county, of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 25.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 33,599 housing units, of which 10.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 68.3% were owner-occupied and 31.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.1%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 63,395 people, 26,694 households, and 16,705 families in the county. The population density was 18.3 PD/sqmi. There were 30,180 housing units at an average density of 8.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 94.0% white, 2.1% American Indian, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.5% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 29.2% were German, 19.3% were Irish, 15.0% were English, 8.9% were Norwegian, and 5.1% were American.

Of the 26,694 households, 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.4% were non-families, and 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 40.9 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $50,238 and the median income for a family was $65,573. Males had a median income of $44,476 versus $34,893 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,894. About 5.8% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.2% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Lewis and Clark County leans slightly Republican, but it has voted for Democratic candidates three times since 1964. Bill Clinton won by nearly seven percentage points in 1992, but Bob Dole won by 130 votes in 1996. Barack Obama carried the county in 2008 but lost it to Mitt Romney in 2012. In recent elections, the county has voted Republican but only by narrow margins.

Communities

Cities

• Helena (county seat)
• East Helena

Census-designated places

• Augusta
• Canyon Creek
• Craig
• Gilman
• Helena Valley Northeast
• Helena Valley Northwest
• Helena Valley Southeast
• Helena Valley West Central
• Helena West Side
• Lincoln
• Marysville
• Milford Colony
• Rimini
• Unionville
• Wolf Creek
• York

Other unincorporated communities

• Austin
• Bald Butte
• Birdseye
• Canyon Ferry
• Dearborn (partially within Cascade County)
• Fort Harrison Army Air Park
• Four Range
• Frontier Town
• Gearing
• La Chapelle Place
• Nelson
• Silver City
• Stoner Place
• Weed
• Wilborn
• Winston

Education

School districts include:

K-12 (Unified):

• East Helena K-12 Schools
• Lincoln K-12 Schools

High school:

• Augusta High School District
• Helena High School District

Elementary school:

• Auchard Creek Elementary School District
• Augusta Elementary School District
• Helena Elementary School District
• Trinity Elementary School District
• Wolf Creek Elementary School District

Notable people

• Seth Bullock, sheriff of Lewis and Clark County, later sheriff of Deadwood, South Dakota.
• Ted Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber, lived in a cabin in Lincoln from 1971 to 1996, during which time he conducted his infamous bombing campaign.
• Mike McGrath, Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court, former Montana Attorney General, former County Attorney of Lewis and Clark County.
• Johnny Miljus, major league baseball pitcher, retired to Fort Harrison in Lewis and Clark County.
• W. A. Boyle, president of the UMW, was born in Bald Butte, approximately two miles southwest of Marysville.
• Brian Knight, Major League Baseball umpire
• The governor of Montana, whose official residence is in the state capital of Helena.

References

References

1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
3. "Montana Place Names Companion". Montana Historical Society Research Center.
4. Gannett, Henry. (1905). "The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States". U.S. Government Printing Office.
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. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau.
12. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau.
13. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau.
14. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections".
15. The leading "other" candidate, [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912). Progressive]] [[Theodore Roosevelt]], received 1,375 votes, while Socialist candidate [[Eugene V. Debs. Eugene Debs]] received 391 votes and [[Write-in candidate]] [[Eugene Chafin]] received 2 votes.
16. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Austin,+MT+59602/@46.6391008,-112.254044,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x535cae7c7b4d49a1:0x5dfe35dcf8e83ddd!8m2!3d46.6391017!4d-112.2452892 ''Austin MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
17. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bald+Butte/@46.6914925,-112.3782188,12z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x535cb13c6ee0b6a7:0x3523c3e459f3be81!8m2!3d46.7204921!4d-112.3422401 ''Bald Butte MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
18. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Birdseye,+MT+59602/@46.6654905,-112.1590383,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x535cad3a9547b0ff:0xb8ad342ee82c3d09!8m2!3d46.6654914!4d-112.1502835 ''Birdseye MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
19. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Canyon+Ferry,+MT+59602/@46.6388059,-111.7056495,12.5z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x5344a313b07b4eef:0x739f3280945c2dca!2sCanyon+Ferry+Lake!3b1!8m2!3d46.4822536!4d-111.5446187!3m4!1s0x53435f1c12b894c3:0xf61a38b21a108902!8m2!3d46.6555634!4d-111.7182541 ''Canyon Ferry MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
20. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/I-15,+Cascade,+MT+59421/@47.1335092,-111.8911349,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x53431bde2d1c46a9:0xa85066d4905405c9 ''Dearborn, Lewis & Clark County MT'' Google Maps (accessed September 4, 2019)]
21. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fort+Harrison+Army+Air+Field/@46.6226184,-112.1145783,14.75z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x535caca943954845:0xc72a6218e44e6bbe!8m2!3d46.6250018!4d-112.1099395 ''Fort Harrison Army Air Park MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
22. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Four+Range,+MT+59634/@46.5829891,-111.9365238,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x5343561b50ebfb29:0x9398d5cb562ecd80!8m2!3d46.58299!4d-111.927769 ''Four Range MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
23. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Rimini,+MT+59601/@46.4072084,-112.2057606,10.75z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x535b582355191337:0x3dd798f93babc7e0!8m2!3d46.487511!4d-112.247963 ''Frontier Town MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
24. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Gearing,+MT+59602/@46.7143804,-112.1426489,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x53434d6c0cd2e859:0xd031819fd7e511ef!8m2!3d46.7143813!4d-112.1338941 ''Gearing MT'' (accessed January 2, 2019)]
25. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/La+Chapelle+Place,+MT+59648/@47.3405011,-112.2996052,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x5342c369f9c97c97:0xae118527bb0d54e7!8m2!3d47.3405019!4d-112.2908503 ''La Chapelle Place MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
26. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Nelson,+MT+59602/@46.8168834,-111.8179076,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x53434245a201eb0b:0x866171584e025fc0!8m2!3d46.8168843!4d-111.8091528 ''Nelson MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
27. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Silver+City,+MT+59602/@46.7785294,-112.1559732,12.25z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x53434c941457a017:0x5fa70d9614d758be!8m2!3d46.7554933!4d-112.16973 ''Silver City MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
28. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Stoner+Place,+MT+59422/@47.2708254,-112.6372352,9z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x5342b3cda953a839:0xa72d3dfdea3329d7!8m2!3d47.5143887!4d-112.7300398 ''Stoner Place MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
29. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Weed,+MT+59602/@46.6488233,-112.263767,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x535cae723bd4e771:0x8b15a0a1e23c6e20!8m2!3d46.6488241!4d-112.2550122 ''Weed MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
30. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Wilborn,+MT+59633/@46.8835503,-112.3518296,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x535ccb6a0426e535:0x1e8ae733e7974dbb!8m2!3d46.8835511!4d-112.3430747 ''Wilborn MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
31. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Winston,+MT+59647/@46.4800587,-111.6958143,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x5344a4c57a249331:0x7145f680b0036a0!8m2!3d46.4765996!4d-111.6588646 ''Winston MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)]
32. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Lewis and Clark County, MT". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].