Fallon County, Montana

Fallon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,049.^[1] Its county seat is Baker.^[2] The county was created in 1913 from a portion of Custer County. It is named for Benjamin O'Fallon, a nephew of Captain William Clark and an Indian agent for the upper Missouri region from 1823 to 1827.^[3]

Fallon County, Montana
County
Fallon County Courthouse in Baker
Location within the U.S. state of Montana
Coordinates: 46°21′N 104°25′W
Country	United States
State	Montana
Founded	December 9, 1913
Seat	Baker
Largest city	Baker
Area
• Total	1,623 sq mi (4,200 km2)
• Land	1,621 sq mi (4,200 km2)
• Water	2.3 sq mi (6.0 km2)  0.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,049
• Estimate  (2024)	2,946
• Density	1.881/sq mi (0.7262/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	www.falloncounty.net
Montana county number 39

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,623 square miles (4,200 km²), of which 1,621 square miles (4,200 km²) is land and 2.3 square miles (6.0 km²) (0.1%) is water.^[4]

Adjacent counties

• Wibaux County - north
• Prairie County - northwest
• Custer County - west
• Carter County - south
• Harding County, South Dakota - southeast
• Bowman County, North Dakota - east
• Slope County, North Dakota - east
• Golden Valley County, North Dakota - northeast

Politics

Fallon County is a heavily Republican county, like most in eastern Montana, having supported the Republican presidential candidate in every election since 1936.

United States presidential election results for Fallon County, Montana^[5]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	№	%	№	%	№	%
1916	1,169	37.54%	1,845	59.25%	100	3.21%
1920	1,064	71.36%	381	25.55%	46	3.09%
1924	731	55.63%	220	16.74%	363	27.63%
1928	1,036	69.07%	454	30.27%	10	0.67%
1932	690	39.79%	973	56.11%	71	4.09%
1936	598	36.00%	1,015	61.11%	48	2.89%
1940	925	56.96%	686	42.24%	13	0.80%
1944	870	63.46%	494	36.03%	7	0.51%
1948	678	51.02%	623	46.88%	28	2.11%
1952	1,046	70.01%	440	29.45%	8	0.54%
1956	967	61.24%	612	38.76%	0	0.00%
1960	918	60.55%	597	39.38%	1	0.07%
1964	827	51.85%	765	47.96%	3	0.19%
1968	990	63.26%	477	30.48%	98	6.26%
1972	1,034	64.46%	531	33.10%	39	2.43%
1976	934	51.98%	847	47.13%	16	0.89%
1980	1,286	66.98%	512	26.67%	122	6.35%
1984	1,237	67.63%	569	31.11%	23	1.26%
1988	1,002	61.25%	612	37.41%	22	1.34%
1992	731	45.46%	446	27.74%	431	26.80%
1996	778	51.32%	452	29.82%	286	18.87%
2000	1,061	77.50%	256	18.70%	52	3.80%
2004	1,178	79.01%	289	19.38%	24	1.61%
2008	1,064	74.25%	318	22.19%	51	3.56%
2012	1,128	80.23%	237	16.86%	41	2.92%
2016	1,279	86.19%	154	10.38%	51	3.44%
2020	1,375	87.30%	172	10.92%	28	1.78%
2024	1,303	86.46%	163	10.82%	41	2.72%

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1920	4,548		—
1930	4,568		0.4%
1940	3,719		−18.6%
1950	3,660		−1.6%
1960	3,997		9.2%
1970	4,050		1.3%
1980	3,763		−7.1%
1990	3,103		−17.5%
2000	2,837		−8.6%
2010	2,890		1.9%
2020	3,049		5.5%
2024 (est.)	2,946	[6]	−3.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790–1960,[8] 1900–1990,[9] 1990–2000,[10] 2010–2020[1]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 3,049. Of the residents, 27.6% were under the age of 18 and 17.7% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 39.0 years. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 101.2 males. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas and 100.0% lived in rural areas.^[11][12][13]

The racial makeup of the county was 94.7% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, 0.4% from some other race, and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.1% of the population.^[13]

There were 1,213 households in the county, of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 19.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[12]

There were 1,526 housing units, of which 20.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 76.3% were owner-occupied and 23.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 24.9%.^[12]

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 2,890 people, 1,233 households, and 810 families living in the county. The population density was 1.8 inhabitants per square mile (0.69/km²). There were 1,470 housing units at an average density of 0.9 units per square mile (0.35 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.4% white, 0.6% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.1% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 53.0% were German, 24.8% were Irish, 12.1% were Norwegian, 10.6% were English, 5.3% were Scotch-Irish, and 0.4% were American.

Of the 1,233 households, 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.3% were non-families, and 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 42.9 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $52,529 and the median income for a family was $64,500. Males had a median income of $41,570 versus $30,000 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,819. About 5.7% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.3% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 12
• Montana Highway 7

Airport

The Baker Municipal Airport is southeast of Baker.^[14]

Communities

Cities

• Baker (county seat)

Towns

• Plevna

Unincorporated communities

• Cabin Creek^[15]
• Ollie^[16]
• Webster^[17]
• Westmore^[18]
• Willard

See also

• List of lakes in Fallon County, Montana
• List of mountains in Fallon County, Montana
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Fallon County, Montana