county

Lake County, MT

Demographic and economic profile of Lake County, MT, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Lake County is a small rural county of 32,073 residents with an economy rooted in agriculture and natural-resource-based industries, reflected in a GDP per capita of $31,274 and median worker earnings of $34,035. The labor force is relatively constrained—participation sits at 55.9% with a 6.4% unemployment rate—though 93.0% hold a high school diploma and 30.5% have a bachelor's degree or higher. The county posted 7.7% population growth over five years, and housing costs remain moderate relative to Montana broadly, with a median gross rent of $884/month, though a 17.7% poverty rate signals persistent income pressure alongside a median household income of $63,360.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

32,073

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$63,360

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

44.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+7.7% since 2018

Lake County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone21,367 (65.6%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone6,608 (20.3%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races3,106 (9.5%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race846 (2.6%)
  • Some Other Race Alone287 (0.9%)
  • Asian Alone218 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish628
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic247
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)112
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)87
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island53

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

53.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

23.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,418

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$31,274

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$33,786

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

17.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance3,199
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,689
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,435
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,225
  5. 5.Construction (Group)1,097

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations5,467
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations2,697
  3. 3.Service Occupations2,596
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,517
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,426

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.05×)654
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.53×)971
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.18×)1,098
  4. 4.Information (LQ 1.15×)290
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.11×)1,628

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$369,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$884/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

75.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $500,000 to $749,9991,990 (21.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9991,218 (12.9%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9991,213 (12.9%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999760 (8.1%)
  • $750,000 to $999,999737 (7.8%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999599 (6.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

30.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

93.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

55.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$34,035

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

22.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone9,224 (69.4%)
  • Worked At Home1,759 (13.2%)
  • Carpooled1,654 (12.4%)
  • Walked380 (2.9%)
  • Other165 (1.2%)
  • Bicycle81 (0.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.