# Lake County, Montana

Lake County is a county located in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,134. Its county seat is Polson.

## Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,654 square miles (4,280 km$^2$), of which 1,490 square miles (3,900 km$^2$) is land and 164 square miles (420 km$^2$) (9.9%) is water. Over two-thirds (67.7%) of the county's land lies within the Flathead Indian Reservation.

### Adjacent counties

* Flathead County - north
* Missoula County - east
* Sanders County - west

### National protected areas

* Bison Range (part)
* Flathead National Forest (part)
* Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge
* Pablo National Wildlife Refuge
* Swan River National Wildlife Refuge

## Demographics
### 2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 31,134 people living in the county.

### 2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 28,746 people, 11,432 households, and 7,770 families living in the county. The population density was 19.3 inhabitants per square mile (7.5/km$^2$). There were 16,588 housing units at an average density of 11.1 per square mile (4.3/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 69.4% white, 22.0% American Indian, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.5% from other races, and 7.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 22.3% were German, 11.6% were English, 11.5% were Irish, 6.9% were Norwegian, and 3.8% were American.
Of the 11,432 households, 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.0% were non-families, and 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age was 41.3 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,274 and the median income for a family was $47,437. Males had a median income of $37,461 versus $26,637 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,164. About 15.4% of families and 21.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.9% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

## Politics

United States presidential election results for Lake County, Montana :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 9,880 | 58.22% | 6,510 | 38.36% | 581 | 3.42% |
| 2020 | 9,322 | 56.07% | 6,916 | 41.60% | 388 | 2.33% |
| 2016 | 7,530 | 57.13% | 4,776 | 36.23% | 875 | 6.64% |
| 2012 | 7,135 | 53.63% | 5,805 | 43.63% | 364 | 2.74% |
| 2008 | 6,498 | 46.56% | 6,766 | 48.48% | 692 | 4.96% |
| 2004 | 7,245 | 57.61% | 4,960 | 39.44% | 371 | 2.95% |
| 2000 | 6,441 | 56.26% | 3,884 | 33.93% | 1,123 | 9.81% |
| 1996 | 4,723 | 43.57% | 4,195 | 38.70% | 1,922 | 17.73% |
| 1992 | 3,596 | 34.08% | 3,938 | 37.32% | 3,018 | 28.60% |
| 1988 | 4,883 | 53.37% | 4,109 | 44.91% | 158 | 1.73% |
| 1984 | 5,754 | 61.55% | 3,473 | 37.15% | 121 | 1.29% |
| 1980 | 5,083 | 59.58% | 2,615 | 30.65% | 834 | 9.77% |
| 1976 | 3,809 | 52.83% | 3,253 | 45.12% | 148 | 2.05% |
| 1972 | 4,172 | 62.09% | 2,260 | 33.64% | 287 | 4.27% |
| 1968 | 3,358 | 55.98% | 1,956 | 32.61% | 685 | 11.42% |
| 1964 | 2,828 | 47.24% | 3,148 | 52.59% | 10 | 0.17% |
| 1960 | 3,240 | 56.75% | 2,462 | 43.12% | 7 | 0.12% |
| 1956 | 3,363 | 59.88% | 2,253 | 40.12% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 3,651 | 65.09% | 1,893 | 33.75% | 65 | 1.16% |
| 1948 | 2,295 | 49.35% | 2,177 | 46.82% | 178 | 3.83% |
| 1944 | 2,265 | 55.80% | 1,750 | 43.11% | 44 | 1.08% |
| 1940 | 2,718 | 52.46% | 2,379 | 45.92% | 84 | 1.62% |
| 1936 | 1,401 | 31.68% | 2,656 | 60.06% | 365 | 8.25% |
| 1932 | 1,361 | 33.34% | 2,514 | 61.59% | 207 | 5.07% |
| 1928 | 1,876 | 59.42% | 1,256 | 39.78% | 25 | 0.79% |
| 1924 | 884 | 28.00% | 340 | 10.77% | 1,933 | 61.23% |

## Communities
### Cities

* Polson (county seat)
* Ronan

### Town

* St. Ignatius

### Census-designated places

* Arlee
* Bear Dance
* Big Arm
* Charlo
* Dayton
* Elmo
* Finley Point
* Jette
* Kerr
* Kicking Horse
* Kings Point
* Lake Mary Ronan
* Lindisfarne
* Niarada
* Pablo
* Ravalli
* Rocky Point
* Rollins
* Swan Lake
* Turtle Lake
* Woods Bay

### Unincorporated communities

* Allentown
* Post Creek
* Proctor
* Round Butte
* Salmon Prairie
* Sipes

## Education

School districts include:
K-12 (Unified):
* Hot Springs K-12 Schools
* St. Ignatius K-12 Schools
High school:
* Arlee High School District
* Bigfork High School District
* Charlo High School District
* Missoula High School District
* Polson High School District
* Ronan High School District
Elementary school:
* Arlee Elementary School District
* Bigfork Elementary School District
* Charlo Elementary School District
* Polson Elementary School District
* Ronan Elementary School District
* Swan Lake-Salmon Elementary School District
* Upper West Shore Elementary School District
* Valley View Elementary School District