• county
  • FIPS 30047
  • Largest town: Polson

Lake County, Montana

Lake County had 33,403 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 1,490.5 square miles of land. It ranks 9th of 56 in Montana by population and 46th by land area.

Population
33,403
#9 of 56 in Montana · #1,357 in US
Area
1,490.5 sq mi
#46 of 56 in Montana · #404 in US
Density
22 / sq mi
#7 of 56 in Montana · #2,148 in US
Median household income
$60,882
#25 of 56 in Montana · #1,747 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Lake County within Montana. Pin: Helena.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Lake County

Lake County population, land area and income

Lake County had 33,403 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 1,490.5 square miles of land. It ranks 9th of 56 in Montana by population and 46th by land area. That works out to 22.4 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and below the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in Montana has 7,814 residents, so Lake County is 4.3 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $60,882 is below the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

33,403

3144th1st

1357th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

1,490 sq mi

3144th1st

404th of 3,144 (US)

Density

22.4 / sq mi

3144th1st

2148th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$60,882

3143rd1st

1747th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Montana (56)

Population

33,403

56th1st

9th of 56 (MT)

Land area

1,490 sq mi

56th1st

46th of 56 (MT)

Density

22.4 / sq mi

56th1st

7th of 56 (MT)

Median household income

$60,882

56th1st

25th of 56 (MT)

How Lake County's population changed since 2020

Lake County gained 2,156 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 6.9%. That ranks 13th of 56 in Montana for growth. The median Montana county changed by +2.8%, and the state as a whole by +4.6%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Lake County recorded 1,235 births and 1,540 deaths, a natural change of -305. Net international migration added +19 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +2,555. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 2,555 people.

31.2k202032.1k202132.8k202233.3k202333.4k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
1,235
Deaths
1,540
Net international migration
+19
Net domestic migration
+2,555
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+148

Where Lake County is

The Census internal point of Lake County is at 47.642900, -114.083700. It sits in UTM zone 11N. The map shades Montana's 56 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Lake County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Liberty County: -1.2%Golden Valley County: +5.1%Dawson County: -2.1%Flathead County: +9.2%Beaverhead County: +6.7%Prairie County: +2.0%Garfield County: +0.9%Lewis and Clark County: +5.5%Sweet Grass County: +2.4%Wheatland County: -0.7%Ravalli County: +8.5%Jefferson County: +9.6%Carter County: -0.6%Chouteau County: -0.6%Custer County: +0.9%Teton County: +3.1%Granite County: +9.0%Deer Lodge County: +4.1%Cascade County: +0.1%Powder River County: +2.4%Meagher County: +7.3%Daniels County: -1.7%Glacier County: -1.8%Wibaux County: -2.7%Fallon County: -2.7%McCone County: -0.7%Sheridan County: -2.5%Missoula County: +3.5%Toole County: +3.7%Sanders County: +11.5%Roosevelt County: -5.6%Rosebud County: -1.3%Treasure County: -2.5%Yellowstone County: +3.9%Blaine County: -1.4%Musselshell County: +14.8%Broadwater County: +21.0%Powell County: +2.6%Fergus County: +3.4%Phillips County: +0.1%Gallatin County: +6.2%Silver Bow County: +2.6%Madison County: +12.6%Richland County: -4.4%Lake County: +6.9%Valley County: -1.7%Judith Basin County: +4.3%Hill County: -1.2%Big Horn County: -2.2%Stillwater County: +5.0%Carbon County: +9.4%Mineral County: +13.7%Petroleum County: +4.6%Pondera County: +3.4%Park County: +4.9%Lincoln County: +12.4%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -1.4%
  2. < +0.9%
  3. < +3.9%
  4. < +7.3%
  5. ≥ +7.3%
no data

Orange pin: Lake County internal point. Dark pin: Helena.

Internal point

Decimal
47.642900, -114.083700
DMS
47°38'34.44"N 114°05'1.32"W
UTM
11N 719031.3E 5280732.1N
Geohash
c2qz5cnu1
Plus code
85V7JWV8+5G

Towns in Lake County

2 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Lake County, 7,813 people together, or 23% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Lake County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Polson with 5,631.

  1. 01Polson5,631
  2. 02Ronan2,182
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Lake County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 3 neighbors for Lake County. The most populous is Missoula County, MT, with 122,546 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Helena and the nearest big city

Helena is 121.5 miles SE of Lake County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Spokane Valley, WA (population 108,267), 146.6 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Kalispell, MT (population 31,296), 41.2 miles away.

Lake County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Lake County is 30047: state code 30 for Montana plus county code 047. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $60,882.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Lake County, Montana?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 33,403. That is up 2,156 people (6.9%) from the July 2020 estimate of 31,247.

What is the FIPS code of Lake County?

30047. The first two digits (30) are Montana; the last three (047) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Lake County?

Polson, with 5,631 residents inside Lake County in 2024.

Which counties border Lake County?

3 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Missoula County, MT; Flathead County, MT; Sanders County, MT.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.