Counties in Montana by population, 2025

Yellowstone County had the highest population of 56 counties in 2025, at 172,692. Petroleum County had the lowest, at 548. The median was 7,819 and the figure for Montana was 1.14 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest172,692Yellowstone County
Median7,81956 counties
Montana1,144,694History

All counties, 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

Yellowstone CountyYellowstone County: 172,692 persons172,692Gallatin CountyGallatin County: 128,740 persons128,740Missoula CountyMissoula County: 123,513 persons123,513Flathead CountyFlathead County: 115,429 persons115,429Cascade CountyCascade County: 85,029 persons85,029Lewis and Clark CountyLewis and Clark County: 75,331 persons75,331Ravalli CountyRavalli County: 48,582 persons48,582Silver Bow CountySilver Bow County: 36,118 persons36,118Lake CountyLake County: 33,392 persons33,392Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 22,328 persons22,328Park CountyPark County: 18,214 persons18,214Hill CountyHill County: 16,167 persons16,167Sanders CountySanders County: 14,062 persons14,062Glacier CountyGlacier County: 13,463 persons13,463Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 13,329 persons13,329Big Horn CountyBig Horn County: 12,752 persons12,752Custer CountyCuster County: 12,034 persons12,034Fergus CountyFergus County: 11,825 persons11,825Carbon CountyCarbon County: 11,466 persons11,466Richland CountyRichland County: 11,377 persons11,377Roosevelt CountyRoosevelt County: 10,242 persons10,242Beaverhead CountyBeaverhead County: 10,043 persons10,043Madison CountyMadison County: 10,026 persons10,026Deer Lodge CountyDeer Lodge County: 9,709 persons9,709Stillwater CountyStillwater County: 9,445 persons9,445Dawson CountyDawson County: 8,692 persons8,692Broadwater CountyBroadwater County: 8,493 persons8,493Rosebud CountyRosebud County: 8,253 persons8,253Valley CountyValley County: 7,385 persons7,385Powell CountyPowell County: 7,157 persons7,157Blaine CountyBlaine County: 6,860 persons6,860Teton CountyTeton County: 6,496 persons6,496Pondera CountyPondera County: 6,072 persons6,072Chouteau CountyChouteau County: 5,865 persons5,865Musselshell CountyMusselshell County: 5,582 persons5,582Toole CountyToole County: 5,211 persons5,211Mineral CountyMineral County: 5,185 persons5,185Phillips CountyPhillips County: 4,203 persons4,203Sweet Grass CountySweet Grass County: 3,762 persons3,762Granite CountyGranite County: 3,658 persons3,658Sheridan CountySheridan County: 3,436 persons3,436Fallon CountyFallon County: 2,959 persons2,959Judith Basin CountyJudith Basin County: 2,162 persons2,162Meagher CountyMeagher County: 2,137 persons2,137Wheatland CountyWheatland County: 2,100 persons2,100Liberty CountyLiberty County: 1,957 persons1,957Powder River CountyPowder River County: 1,781 persons1,781McCone CountyMcCone County: 1,720 persons1,720Daniels CountyDaniels County: 1,612 persons1,612Carter CountyCarter County: 1,383 persons1,383Garfield CountyGarfield County: 1,148 persons1,148Prairie CountyPrairie County: 1,112 persons1,112Wibaux CountyWibaux County: 885 persons885Golden Valley CountyGolden Valley County: 844 persons844Treasure CountyTreasure County: 728 persons728Petroleum CountyPetroleum County: 548 persons548
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2025
persons
Change on 2024
1Yellowstone County172,692+0.7%
2Gallatin County128,740+1%
3Missoula County123,513+0.9%
4Flathead County115,429+0.9%
5Cascade County85,029+0.4%
6Lewis and Clark County75,331+0.3%
7Ravalli County48,582+1.1%
8Silver Bow County36,118+0.1%
9Lake County33,3920%
10Lincoln County22,328+0.8%
11Park County18,214+0.2%
12Hill County16,167+0.3%
13Sanders County14,062+1.2%
14Glacier County13,463-0.4%
15Jefferson County13,329+0.7%
16Big Horn County12,752-0.7%
17Custer County12,034+0.5%
18Fergus County11,825-0%
19Carbon County11,466-0.3%
20Richland County11,377+2.8%
21Roosevelt County10,242+0.3%
22Beaverhead County10,043+0.5%
23Madison County10,026+2.6%
24Deer Lodge County9,709-0.6%
25Stillwater County9,445+0.2%
26Dawson County8,692-0.5%
27Broadwater County8,493+2.5%
28Rosebud County8,253+0.4%
29Valley County7,3850%
30Powell County7,157+0.5%
31Blaine County6,860-0.2%
32Teton County6,496+0.9%
33Pondera County6,072+0.1%
34Chouteau County5,865+0.2%
35Musselshell County5,582+2.4%
36Toole County5,211+1.1%
37Mineral County5,185-0%
38Phillips County4,203+0.2%
39Sweet Grass County3,762-1.5%
40Granite County3,658+0.5%
41Sheridan County3,436-1.2%
42Fallon County2,959-0%
43Judith Basin County2,162+2.2%
44Meagher County2,137+2%
45Wheatland County2,100+2%
46Liberty County1,957+0.3%
47Powder River County1,781+1.3%
48McCone County1,720+0.3%
49Daniels County1,612-1.9%
50Carter County1,383-2.7%
51Garfield County1,148-2.3%
52Prairie County1,112+0.4%
53Wibaux County885-3%
54Golden Valley County8440%
55Treasure County728-1%
56Petroleum County548+1.9%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (PadrĂ³n). United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

For Denmark, Statistics Denmark counts the registered resident population on 1 January. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are excluded. The annual series selects the first-quarter reference date from FOLK1A. The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Montana by population using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"population","level":"province","within":"Montana","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=population&level=province&within=Montana&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest population?

Yellowstone County, with 172,692 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Petroleum County, with 548 in 2025.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Population: other rankings

Counties in Montana: more rankings