# Rosebud County, Montana

Rosebud County is a county in the state of Montana. It was established February 11, 1901, and has Montana vehicle license plate prefix 29. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,329. Its county seat is Forsyth.

## Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 5,027 square miles (13,020 km$^2$), of which 5,010 square miles (13,000 km$^2$) is land and 17 square miles (44 km$^2$) (0.3%) is water. It is the fourth-largest county in Montana by land area and fifth-largest by total area. Part of Custer National Forest is located in the county.

## Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, most of Rosebud County has a cold semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.
Climate data for Brandenberg, Montana, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1956–present :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 70 (21) | 72 (22) | 86 (30) | 91 (33) | 101 (38) | 111 (44) | 112 (44) | 111 (44) | 105 (41) | 98 (37) | 81 (27) | 70 (21) | 112 (44) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 56.4 (13.6) | 58.6 (14.8) | 72.7 (22.6) | 82.1 (27.8) | 87.9 (31.1) | 96.4 (35.8) | 103.0 (39.4) | 102.1 (38.9) | 97.5 (36.4) | 84.3 (29.1) | 68.9 (20.5) | 56.4 (13.6) | 104.7 (40.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 35.2 (1.8) | 38.8 (3.8) | 50.2 (10.1) | 60.0 (15.6) | 69.5 (20.8) | 79.3 (26.3) | 89.8 (32.1) | 89.1 (31.7) | 77.2 (25.1) | 61.0 (16.1) | 46.5 (8.1) | 36.0 (2.2) | 61.1 (16.1) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 22.9 (−5.1) | 26.3 (−3.2) | 36.4 (2.4) | 45.6 (7.6) | 55.1 (12.8) | 64.4 (18.0) | 72.4 (22.4) | 70.8 (21.6) | 60.3 (15.7) | 46.7 (8.2) | 33.9 (1.1) | 24.2 (−4.3) | 46.6 (8.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 10.7 (−11.8) | 13.9 (−10.1) | 22.6 (−5.2) | 31.3 (−0.4) | 40.7 (4.8) | 49.4 (9.7) | 55.1 (12.8) | 52.6 (11.4) | 43.5 (6.4) | 32.4 (0.2) | 21.2 (−6.0) | 12.5 (−10.8) | 32.2 (0.1) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −18.0 (−27.8) | −12.0 (−24.4) | −1.6 (−18.7) | 14.9 (−9.5) | 25.1 (−3.8) | 37.2 (2.9) | 44.6 (7.0) | 39.8 (4.3) | 29.0 (−1.7) | 14.3 (−9.8) | −2.4 (−19.1) | −11.7 (−24.3) | −26.7 (−32.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −42 (−41) | −40 (−40) | −41 (−41) | −2 (−19) | 16 (−9) | 28 (−2) | 34 (1) | 30 (−1) | 19 (−7) | −12 (−24) | −32 (−36) | −44 (−42) | −44 (−42) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.55 (14) | 0.61 (15) | 0.91 (23) | 1.71 (43) | 3.12 (79) | 2.55 (65) | 1.44 (37) | 0.91 (23) | 1.21 (31) | 1.37 (35) | 0.54 (14) | 0.55 (14) | 15.47 (393) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 7.5 (19) | 8.0 (20) | 6.9 (18) | 4.0 (10) | 0.5 (1.3) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 1.7 (4.3) | 4.4 (11) | 7.4 (19) | 40.4 (102.6) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 7.3 | 6.9 | 7.4 | 9.0 | 11.0 | 10.0 | 7.1 | 5.4 | 6.1 | 7.1 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 89.7 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 6.2 | 5.8 | 3.8 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 3.6 | 5.6 | 28.4 |
| Source 1: NOAA ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service ||||||||||||||

## Demographics
### 2000 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 8,329 people living in the county.

### 2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 9,233 people, 3,395 households, and 2,318 families residing in the county. The population density was 1.8 inhabitants per square mile (0.69/km$^2$). There were 4,057 housing units at an average density of 0.8 per square mile (0.31/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 61.3% white, 34.7% American Indian, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.5% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 25.0% were American, 19.0% were German, 6.9% were English, and 6.6% were Irish.
Of the 3,395 households, 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.7% were non-families, and 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.32. The median age was 36.5 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $44,776 and the median income for a family was $56,282. Males had a median income of $52,500 versus $28,306 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,844. About 13.6% of families and 18.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.7% of those under age 18 and 21.3% of those age 65 or over.

## Politics

Rosebud County leans Republican, though less so than most surrounding rural Montana counties. The Northern Cheyenne Reservation in the southern part of the county, which includes the communities of Ashland and Lame Deer, traditionally votes Democratic, while the northern part of the county, including Forsyth and Colstrip, vote solidly Republican. The county has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in only 4 elections since 1964, the last being 2008. The county has seen strong Republican trends in more recent elections, with Donald Trump's performances in the county in 2020 and 2024 being the strongest Republican victories there since 1952.
United States presidential election results for Rosebud County, Montana :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 2,466 | 66.77% | 1,095 | 29.65% | 132 | 3.57% |
| 2020 | 2,486 | 65.70% | 1,199 | 31.69% | 99 | 2.62% |
| 2016 | 2,253 | 65.25% | 987 | 28.58% | 213 | 6.17% |
| 2012 | 2,004 | 56.88% | 1,422 | 40.36% | 97 | 2.75% |
| 2008 | 1,768 | 46.40% | 1,919 | 50.37% | 123 | 3.23% |
| 2004 | 1,982 | 55.29% | 1,520 | 42.40% | 83 | 2.32% |
| 2000 | 1,826 | 53.35% | 1,394 | 40.72% | 203 | 5.93% |
| 1996 | 1,413 | 38.37% | 1,681 | 45.64% | 589 | 15.99% |
| 1992 | 1,130 | 28.84% | 1,669 | 42.60% | 1,119 | 28.56% |
| 1988 | 1,822 | 48.05% | 1,869 | 49.29% | 101 | 2.66% |
| 1984 | 2,413 | 54.82% | 1,920 | 43.62% | 69 | 1.57% |
| 1980 | 1,875 | 54.46% | 1,167 | 33.89% | 401 | 11.65% |
| 1976 | 1,538 | 51.16% | 1,413 | 47.01% | 55 | 1.83% |
| 1972 | 1,486 | 63.23% | 777 | 33.06% | 87 | 3.70% |
| 1968 | 1,190 | 56.42% | 711 | 33.71% | 208 | 9.86% |
| 1964 | 1,105 | 47.61% | 1,212 | 52.22% | 4 | 0.17% |
| 1960 | 1,386 | 57.77% | 1,002 | 41.77% | 11 | 0.46% |
| 1956 | 1,516 | 63.01% | 890 | 36.99% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 1,734 | 67.92% | 805 | 31.53% | 14 | 0.55% |
| 1948 | 1,106 | 50.71% | 1,031 | 47.27% | 44 | 2.02% |
| 1944 | 1,154 | 50.15% | 1,114 | 48.41% | 33 | 1.43% |
| 1940 | 1,252 | 46.77% | 1,399 | 52.26% | 26 | 0.97% |
| 1936 | 866 | 32.43% | 1,624 | 60.82% | 180 | 6.74% |
| 1932 | 1,027 | 36.63% | 1,646 | 58.70% | 131 | 4.67% |
| 1928 | 1,519 | 59.38% | 1,025 | 40.07% | 14 | 0.55% |
| 1924 | 1,115 | 49.12% | 259 | 11.41% | 896 | 39.47% |
| 1920 | 2,239 | 68.22% | 873 | 26.60% | 170 | 5.18% |
| 1916 | 1,337 | 43.95% | 1,608 | 52.86% | 97 | 3.19% |
| 1912 | 392 | 33.91% | 313 | 27.08% | 451 | 39.01% |
| 1908 | 515 | 66.03% | 235 | 30.13% | 30 | 3.85% |
| 1904 | 460 | 75.66% | 134 | 22.04% | 14 | 2.30% |

## Communities
### Cities

* Colstrip
* Forsyth (county seat)

### Census-designated places

* Ashland
* Birney
* Lame Deer
* Rosebud

### Unincorporated communities

* Ahles
* Angela
* Bascom
* Carterville
* Hathaway
* Ingomar
* Jimtown
* Rock Springs
* Sumatra
* Thurlow

### Former communities

* Vananda

## Notable people

* Heather Sharfeddin – novelist, grew up in Rosebud County
* Frederic Remington (1861-1909) - famous western artist who lived at times, as late as 1901, on the Charles Boals ranch near Birney and the Cheyenne Indian Reservation where he hunted, painted and sketched.