Yellowstone County, Montana

Yellowstone County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 164,731.^[1] Its county seat is Billings,^[2] the state's most populous city. Like the nearby national park, Yellowstone County is named after the Yellowstone River which roughly bisects the county, flowing southwest to northeast.^[3] The river, in turn, was named for the yellow sandstone cliffs in what is now Yellowstone County.^[4]

Yellowstone County
County
Yellowstone County Courthouse in Billings, 2024
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Montana
Montana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 45°56′N 108°16′W
Country	United States
State	Montana
Founded	February 26, 1883
Named after	Yellowstone River
Seat	Billings
Largest city	Billings
Area
• Total	2,649 sq mi (6,860 km2)
• Land	2,633 sq mi (6,820 km2)
• Water	16 sq mi (40 km2)  0.6%
Population  (2020)
• Total	164,731
• Estimate  (2024)	171,583
• Density	62/sq mi (24/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	www.co.yellowstone.mt.gov
Montana county number 03

Yellowstone County is included in the Billings, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,649 square miles (6,860 km²), of which 2,633 square miles (6,820 km²) is land and 16 square miles (41 km²) (0.6%) is water.^[5]

Major highways

• I-90
• I-90 BL
• I-94
• US 87
• US 212
• US 310
• MT 3
• MT 47
• S-302

Transit

• Billings Metropolitan Transit
• Express Arrow
• Jefferson Lines

Adjacent counties

• Musselshell County – north
• Rosebud County – northeast
• Treasure County – east
• Big Horn County – southeast
• Carbon County – southwest
• Stillwater County – west
• Golden Valley County – northwest

National protected areas

• Nez Perce National Historical Park (part)
• Pompeys Pillar National Monument

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	2,065		—
1900	6,212		200.8%
1910	22,944		269.3%
1920	29,600		29.0%
1930	30,785		4.0%
1940	41,182		33.8%
1950	55,875		35.7%
1960	79,016		41.4%
1970	87,367		10.6%
1980	108,035		23.7%
1990	113,419		5.0%
2000	129,352		14.0%
2010	147,972		14.4%
2020	164,731		11.3%
2024 (est.)	171,583	[6]	4.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790–1960[8] 1900–1990[9] 1990–2000[10] 2010–2020[1]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census there were 164,731 people living in the county.^{[citation needed]}

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 147,972 people, 60,672 households, and 38,367 families residing in the county. The population density was 56.2 inhabitants per square mile (21.7/km²). There were 63,943 housing units at an average density of 24.3 per square mile (9.4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.7% white, 4.0% American Indian, 0.6% black or African American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.2% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 32.4% were German, 14.0% were Irish, 11.3% were English, 10.0% were American, and 9.9% were Norwegian.

Of the 60,672 households, 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.8% were non-families, and 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 38.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,641 and the median income for a family was $62,380. Males had a median income of $42,899 versus $30,403 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,152. About 7.9% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Yellowstone County is very conservative for an urban county. Its voters have been reliably Republican for the better part of a century. Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 landslide was the last time that the county voted for a Democratic candidate.

United States presidential election results for Yellowstone County, Montana^[11]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	50,460	62.00%	28,392	34.88%	2,541	3.12%
2020	50,772	60.22%	30,679	36.39%	2,855	3.39%
2016	40,920	58.05%	22,171	31.45%	7,395	10.49%
2012	40,500	58.86%	26,403	38.37%	1,904	2.77%
2008	36,483	51.62%	32,038	45.33%	2,158	3.05%
2004	40,903	61.71%	24,120	36.39%	1,263	1.91%
2000	33,922	59.00%	20,370	35.43%	3,207	5.58%
1996	26,367	47.18%	22,992	41.14%	6,523	11.67%
1992	22,822	40.43%	20,163	35.72%	13,465	23.85%
1988	28,069	55.42%	21,987	43.41%	591	1.17%
1984	34,124	63.01%	19,437	35.89%	592	1.09%
1980	27,332	56.57%	15,272	31.61%	5,709	11.82%
1976	25,201	57.11%	18,329	41.54%	595	1.35%
1972	25,205	62.64%	13,602	33.80%	1,430	3.55%
1968	19,898	58.77%	11,682	34.50%	2,277	6.73%
1964	15,571	46.85%	17,446	52.49%	222	0.67%
1960	19,467	60.82%	12,356	38.61%	183	0.57%
1956	18,664	64.91%	10,088	35.09%	0	0.00%
1952	17,556	66.61%	8,750	33.20%	51	0.19%
1948	10,342	50.74%	9,718	47.67%	324	1.59%
1944	8,706	51.44%	8,140	48.09%	79	0.47%
1940	8,479	48.03%	9,036	51.18%	140	0.79%
1936	5,193	37.05%	8,575	61.18%	248	1.77%
1932	5,386	46.90%	5,777	50.31%	320	2.79%
1928	6,904	68.08%	3,205	31.60%	32	0.32%
1924	4,715	55.91%	1,172	13.90%	2,546	30.19%
1920	5,714	65.08%	2,782	31.69%	284	3.23%
1916	3,281	42.06%	4,259	54.60%	261	3.35%
1912	1,004	26.23%	1,193	31.17%	1,631	42.61%
1908	1,803	56.61%	1,114	34.98%	268	8.41%
1904	1,249	70.41%	436	24.58%	89	5.02%
1900	816	54.51%	654	43.69%	27	1.80%
1896	429	42.52%	575	56.99%	5	0.50%
1892	479	53.88%	369	41.51%	41	4.61%

Communities

Cities

• Billings (county seat)
• Laurel

Town

• Broadview

Census-designated places

• Acton
• Ballantine
• Custer
• Huntley
• Lockwood
• Mountain View Colony
• Nibbe
• Pompeys Pillar
• Shepherd
• Worden

Other unincorporated communities

• Anita^[12]
• Billings Heights^[13]
• Bull Mountain^[14]
• Comanche
• Hesper
• Homewood Park
• Indian Arrow^[15]
• Newton^[16]
• Osborn
• Yegen^[17]

Ghost towns

• Coulson
• Mossmain
• Rimrock
• Waco

Education

School districts include:

K-12 (unified):^[18]

• Custer K-12 Schools
• Huntley Project K-12 Schools
• Lockwood K-12 Schools

High school districts:^[18]

• Billings High School District
• Broadview High School District
• Laurel High School District
• Shepherd High School District

Elementary school districts:^[18]

• Billings Elementary School District
• Blue Creek Elementary School District
• Broadview Elementary School District
• Canyon Creek Elementary School District
• Elder Grove Elementary School District
• Elysian Elementary School District
• Independent Elementary School District
• Laurel Elementary School District
• Molt Elementary School District
• Morin Elementary School District
• Pioneer Elementary School District
• Shepherd Elementary School District
• Yellowstone Academy Elementary School District

See also

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