Sanders County, MT

County

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2024 Population
13,285
US Senator
Steve Daines
Republican Party
US Senator
Tim Sheehy
Republican Party
2024 Poverty Rate
15.4%
2.4% 1-year increase
2024 Median Household Income
$57,476
6.37% 1-year growth
2024 Median Property Value
$359,000
10.9% 1-year growth
2024 Employed Population
4,473
1.24% 1-year growth

About

None of the households in Sanders County, MT reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

99.8% of the residents in Sanders County, MT are U.S. citizens.

In 2024, the median property value in Sanders County, MT was $359,000, and the homeownership rate was 81.3%.

Most people in Sanders County, MT drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 22 minutes. The average car ownership in Sanders County, MT was 2 cars per household.

About the photo: Flathead River, west of Dixon, MT
Photo by Keith Ewing
United StatesMontana

Population & Diversity

Sanders County, MT is home to a population of 13.3k people, from which 99.8% are citizens. As of 2024, 1.61% of Sanders County, MT residents were born outside of the country (214 people).

In 2024, there were 25.6 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (11.7k people) in Sanders County, MT than any other race or ethnicity. There were 458 Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) and 331 American Indian & Alaska Native (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

99.8%
2024 Citizenship
99.6%
2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 99.8% of Sanders County, MT residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Sanders County, MT was 99.6%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been increasing.

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

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Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Sanders County, MT
  1. White (Non-Hispanic)
    11.7k ± 109
  2. Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
    458 ± 101
  3. American Indian & Alaska Native (Non-Hispanic)
    331 ± 95
3.51%
Hispanic Population
466 people

In 2024, there were 25.6 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (11.7k people) in Sanders County, MT than any other race or ethnicity. There were 458 Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) and 331 American Indian & Alaska Native (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

3.51% of the people in Sanders County, MT are hispanic (466 people).

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

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Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the County level, so we are showing data for Montana.
Most Common Origin
  1. Canada
    3,832 ± 1,517 people
  2. Mexico
    2,638 ± 1,259 people
  3. Germany
    1,932 ± 1,078 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Montana was Canada, the natal country of 3,832 Montana residents, followed by Mexico with 2,638 and Germany with 1,932.

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Foreign-Born Population

1.61%
2024 Foreign-Born Population
214 people
1.72%
2023 Foreign-Born Population
222 people

As of 2024, 1.61% of Sanders County, MT residents (214 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 Sanders County, MT was 1.72%, meaning that the rate has been decreasing.

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

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Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period
  1. Vietnam
    757 ± 166
  2. Gulf War (2001-)
    198 ± 72
  3. Gulf War (1990s)
    184 ± 82

Sanders County, MT has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 3.82 times greater than any other conflict.

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

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Economy

The economy of Sanders County, MT employs 4.47k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Sanders County, MT were Health Care & Social Assistance (736 people), Construction (525 people), and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting (439 people), and the highest paying industries were Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($250,001), Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction ($92,083), and Utilities ($88,750).

Employment

Occupations

4.47k
2024 Value
± 415
1.24%
1 Year growth
± 13%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Sanders County, MT grew at a rate of 1.24%, from 4.42k employees to 4.47k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Sanders County, MT, are Management Occupations (608 people), Office & Administrative Support Occupations (558 people), and Construction & Extraction Occupations (339 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Sanders County, MT.

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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.

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Industries

Employment by Industries

4.47k
2024 Value
± 415
1.24%
1 Year growth
± 13%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Sanders County, MT grew at a rate of 1.24%, from 4.42k employees to 4.47k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Sanders County, MT, are Health Care & Social Assistance (736 people), Construction (525 people), and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting (439 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Sanders County, MT, though some of these residents may live in Sanders County, MT and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

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Median Earnings by Industry

$49,560
Median earning men ± $5,106
$31,037
Median earning women ± $3,377

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($250,001), Wholesale Trade ($75,076), and Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($72,813).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($72,674), Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining ($66,875), and Construction ($42,500).

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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.

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Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments
  1. 60
    Construction
  2. 30
    Retail Trade
  3. 24
    Health Care and Social Assistance

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.

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Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll
  1. $22.4k
    Health Care and Social Assistance
  2. $12.2k
    Manufacturing
  3. $10.8k
    Accommodation and Food Services

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

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Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Montana went to Donald J. Trump with 58.4% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (38.5%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.96%).

Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy are the senators currently representing the state of Montana. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Montana is currently represented by 2 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Voting results are not available for Sanders County, MT. Showing the available data for Montana.
2024 Election Results
  1. Donald J. Trump (58.4%)
    Republican Party
  2. Kamala Harris (38.5%)
    Democratic Party
  3. Robert Kennedy (1.96%)
    Independent Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Montana went to Donald J. Trump with 58.4% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (38.5%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.96%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in Montana for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

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Senator Elections

US Senators from Montana

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for Montana.
Steve Daines
Senator from Montana2
Assumed office on January 3, 2015
Tim Sheehy
Senator from Montana1
Assumed office on January 3, 2025

Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy are the senators currently representing Montana.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in Montana over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

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Housing & Living

The median property value in Sanders County, MT was $359,000 in 2024, which is 1.08 times larger than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $323,800 to $359,000, a 10.9% increase. The homeownership rate in Sanders County, MT is 81.3%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Sanders County, MT have an average commute time of 22 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Sanders 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 Sanders County, MT. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 2.04%.

Housing

Property

$359,000
Median Property Value 2024
±$20,498
$4,431
Median Property Taxes
±$436

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 Sanders County, MT the largest share of households pay taxes in the $2k - $3k range.

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

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Rent vs Own

81.3%
Homeownership
2024
68.7%
Homeowners with Mortgage
2024

In 2024, 81.3% of the housing units in Sanders County, MT were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 80%.

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

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Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.
$57,476
Median Household Income
± $6,047
5.45k
Number of Households
± 462

In 2024, the median household income of the 5.45k households in Sanders County, MT grew to $57,476 from the previous year's value of $54,035.

The following chart displays the households in Sanders 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.

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Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Sanders County, MT is from Montana.
0.46
2023 Wage GINI in Montana
0.463
2022 Wage GINI in Montana

In 2023, the income inequality in Montana was 0.46 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.635% decline from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Montana was lower than than the national average of 0.476. 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.

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Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024
  1. Drove Alone (64.6%)
  2. Worked At Home (15.2%)
  3. Carpooled (10.2%)

In 2024, 64.6% of workers in Sanders County, MT drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (15.2%) and those who carpooled to work (10.2%).

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.

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Commute Time

22 minutes
Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Sanders County, MT have a shorter commute time (22 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 4.98% of the workforce in Sanders County, MT have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

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

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Car Ownership

2 cars
Average Number

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

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Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 15.9% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Sanders County, MT. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 2.04%.

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

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Poverty & Diversity

15.4% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Sanders County, MT (2.03k out of 13.1k 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 Females 35 - 44, followed by Females 55 - 64 and then Females 18 - 24.

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

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.

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Children in Poverty

In 2025, 20.4% of the children was living in poverty in Sanders County, MT. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 17.9%.

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

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Security

Crimes & Accidents

Indicator

In 2022, the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population was 225 in Sanders County, MT. From 2014 to 2022, the indicator declined 39.7 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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Health

86.3% of the population of Sanders County, MT has health coverage, with 23.5% on employee plans, 23.2% on Medicaid, 25.9% on Medicare, 10.9% on non-group plans, and 2.86% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Sanders County, MT see 1,296 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,296 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 3360 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 360 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 50.9% were men and 49.1% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

1,296 to 1
Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Sanders County, MT

Primary care physicians in Sanders County, MT see an average of 1,296 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,296 patients).

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

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Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 18.4% under 18 years, 12.1% between 18 and 34 years, 36.5% between 35 and 64 years, and 33.1% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 50.9% were men and 49.1% were women.

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

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Uninsured People

13.7%
Uninsured
23.5%
Employer Coverage
23.2%
Medicaid
25.9%
Medicare
10.9%
Non-Group
2.86%
Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Sanders County, MT grew by 2.19% from 13.4% to 13.7%.

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

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Health Indicators

Health Outcomes

Indicator

In 2025, the number of deaths among residents under age 18 per 100,000 population was 148 in Sanders County, MT.

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

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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 35.3% in Sanders County, MT.

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

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Clinical Care

Indicator

In 2025, the percentage of population under age 65 without health insurance was 16.5% in Sanders County, MT.

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

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