Lake County, MT

County

2024 Population

32,561

US Senator

Steve Daines

Republican Party

US Senator

Tim Sheehy

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

44.3

1.14% 1-year increase

2024 Poverty Rate

17.2%

2.71% 1-year decrease

2024 Median Household Income

$63,360

2.25% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

Population & Diversity

Lake County, MT is home to a population of 32.6k people, from which 99% are citizens.

As of 2024, 2.33% of Lake County, MT residents were born outside of the country (758 people).

In 2024, there were 3.3 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (21k people) in Lake County, MT than any other race or ethnicity. There were 6.38k American Indian & Alaska Native (Non-Hispanic) and 2.86k Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

99%

2024 Citizenship

98.9%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 99% of Lake County, MT residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Lake County, MT was 98.9%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been increasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Lake County, MT compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Lake County, MT

White (Non-Hispanic)
21k ± 223
American Indian & Alaska Native (Non-Hispanic)
6.38k ± 440
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
2.86k ± 452

4.29%

Hispanic Population

1.4k people

4.29% of the people in Lake County, MT are hispanic (1.4k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Lake County, MT as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the County level, so we are showing data for Montana.

Most Common Origin

Canada
4,118 ± 1,573 people
Mexico
2,905 ± 1,322 people
Philippines
1,984 ± 1,093 people

In 2024, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Montana was Canada, the natal country of 4,118 Montana residents, followed by Mexico with 2,905 and Philippines with 1,984.

Foreign-Born Population

2.33%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

758 people

2.32%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

743 people

As of 2024, 2.33% of Lake County, MT residents (758 people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Lake County, MT was 2.32%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Lake County, MT compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
1,051 ± 157
Gulf War (2001-)
485 ± 140
Gulf War (1990s)
332 ± 84

Lake County, MT has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 2.17 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Lake County, MT.

Health

85.5% of the population of Lake County, MT has health coverage, with 29% on employee plans, 21.9% on Medicaid, 17.7% on Medicare, 14% on non-group plans, and 2.89% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Lake County, MT see 1,335 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,335 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1217 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 344 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.3% were men and 50.7% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

1,335 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Lake County, MT

Primary care physicians in Lake County, MT see an average of 1,335 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,335 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Lake County, MT in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Location of Health Services Facilities

Health Service Type

Top 5 Health Facilities Servicing the Greatest Number of Addresses

Health Practice Name
12345 Community Center Dr., Hayward, CA 94540 Census Tract # 4001
Health Practice Name
12345 Community Center Dr., Hayward, CA 94540 Census Tract # 4002
Health Practice Name
12345 Community Center Dr., Hayward, CA 94540 Census Tract # 4003
Health Practice Name
12345 Community Center Dr., Hayward, CA 94540 Census Tract # 4004

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 22.9% under 18 years, 16.7% between 18 and 34 years, 36.3% between 35 and 64 years, and 24.1% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.3% were men and 50.7% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

14.5%

Uninsured

29%

Employer Coverage

21.9%

Medicaid

17.7%

Medicare

14%

Non-Group

2.89%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Lake County, MT grew by 2.44% from 14.1% to 14.5%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Lake County, MT changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Health Indicators

Health Outcomes

Indicator

In 2025, the average number of mentally unhealthy days reported in past 30 days (age-adjusted) was 5.91 in Lake County, MT.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Lake County, MT.

Health Behaviors

Indicator

In 2025, the percentage of the adult population (age 18 and older) that reports a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 (age-adjusted) was 33.9% in Lake County, MT.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Lake County, MT.

Clinical Care

Indicator

In 2025, the percentage of population under age 65 without health insurance was 15.5% in Lake County, MT.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Lake County, MT.

Economy

The economy of Lake County, MT employs 13.7k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Lake County, MT were Health Care & Social Assistance (1,940 people), Retail Trade (1,689 people), and Educational Services (1,259 people), and the highest paying industries were Utilities ($105,000), Finance & Insurance ($67,500), and Information ($61,776).

Employment

Occupations

13.7k

2024 Value

± 700

2.1%

1 Year growth

± 7.05%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Lake County, MT grew at a rate of 2.1%, from 13.4k employees to 13.7k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Lake County, MT, are Management Occupations (1,791 people), Office & Administrative Support Occupations (1,443 people), and Sales & Related Occupations (1,254 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Lake County, MT.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Montana.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Montana (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

13.7k

2024 Value

± 700

2.1%

1 Year growth

± 7.05%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Lake County, MT grew at a rate of 2.1%, from 13.4k employees to 13.7k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Lake County, MT, are Health Care & Social Assistance (1,940 people), Retail Trade (1,689 people), and Educational Services (1,259 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Lake County, MT, though some of these residents may live in Lake County, MT and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$44,378

Median earning men ± $2,690

$33,651

Median earning women ± $3,164

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($106,852), Information ($84,132), and Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($61,875).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Public Administration ($57,869), Information ($55,568), and Wholesale Trade ($55,179).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Montana.

Y-Axis

2.24%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 508k people employed in Montana. This represents a 2.24% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 11.8%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Montana.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

170
Construction
61
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
60
Other Services (except Public Administration)

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$79.2k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$43.9k
Retail Trade
$34.2k
Construction

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Education

The student population of Lake County, MT in 2024 is skewed towards women, with 205 male students and 466 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Lake County, MT are American Indian or Alaska Native (106 and 71.1%), White (39 and 26.2%), Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders (3 and 2.01%), and Hispanic or Latino (1 and 0.671%).

The largest universities in Lake County, MT by number of degrees awarded are Salish Kootenai College (149 and 100%).

The most popular majors in Lake County, MT are Registered Nursing (21 and 14.1%), Curriculum & Instruction (18 and 12.1%), and General Psychology (13 and 8.72%).

The median tuition cost for a public four year colleges is $5,076 for in-state students and $10,260 for out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Enrollments by Gender and Races

In 2024 there were 671 students enrolled in Lake County, MT, 30.6% men and 69.4% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in American Indian or Alaska Native with 456 records, of which 66.2% were women and 33.8% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Registered Nursing
21 degrees awarded
Elementary Education & Teaching
10 degrees awarded
Social Work
7 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Lake County, MT was Registered Nursing with 21 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Lake County, MT according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Salish Kootenai College

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

149 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Salish Kootenai College with 149 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

In 2024, 39 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Lake County, MT, which is 0.355 times less than the 110 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was American Indian or Alaska Native students. These 106 degrees mean that there were 2.72 times more degrees awarded to American Indian or Alaska Native students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, White, with 39 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Public, 4-year or above ($5,076) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,323) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,500) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Lake County, MT was $421,800 in 2024, which is 1.27 times larger than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $369,200 to $421,800, a 14.2% increase. The homeownership rate in Lake County, MT is 75%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Lake County, MT have an average commute time of 22.9 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Lake County, MT is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

In 2025, 15.9% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Lake County, MT. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 1.49%.

Housing

Property

$421,800

Median Property Value 2024

±$19,570

$9,438

Median Property Taxes

±$501

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Lake County, MT the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Lake County, MT compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

75%

Homeownership

2024

66.7%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 75% of the housing units in Lake County, MT were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 73.8%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Lake County, MT compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$63,360

Median Household Income

± $3,063

12.6k

Number of Households

± 602

In 2024, the median household income of the 12.6k households in Lake County, MT grew to $63,360 from the previous year's value of $61,965.

The following chart displays the households in Lake County, MT distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Lake County, MT is from Montana.

0.458

2024 Wage GINI in Montana

0.46

2023 Wage GINI in Montana

In 2024, the income inequality in Montana was 0.458 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.613% decline from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Montana was lower than than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Montana in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Montana across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (69.4%)
Worked At Home (13.2%)
Carpooled (12.4%)

In 2024, 69.4% of workers in Lake County, MT drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (13.2%) and those who carpooled to work (12.4%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

22.9 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Lake County, MT have a shorter commute time (22.9 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 2.89% of the workforce in Lake County, MT have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Lake County, MT compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Lake County, MT distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Lake County, MT have 2 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 15.9% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Lake County, MT. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 1.49%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the population living with severe housing problems.

Poverty & Diversity

17.2% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Lake County, MT (5.55k out of 32.2k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Males 55 - 64, followed by Males 6 - 11 and then Females 35 - 44.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Lake County, MT is White, followed by Native American and Two Or More.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Children in Poverty

In 2025, 18% of the children was living in poverty in Lake County, MT. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 13.3%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the children living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798, followed by New York (5,087).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Security

Crimes & Accidents

Indicator

In 2022, the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population was 446 in Lake County, MT. From 2014 to 2022, the indicator grew 60.6% per 100,000 population.

The graph shows the trend in the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population.

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