county

Lincoln County, MT

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

AI Overview

Lincoln County's economy centers on resource-based industries typical of rural northwestern Montana, with a small workforce of roughly 20,600 residents and a labor force participation rate of just 46.2%, reflecting the county's median age of 52.8 years. Educational attainment skews toward trade-level credentials—only 18.0% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, though 91.9% have a high school diploma—and median worker earnings of $34,627 sit below the state average. Housing costs remain relatively accessible at a median home value of $258,700 and median rent of $810/month, and the county posted 6.7% population growth over five years, though a 16.2% poverty rate and 5.4% unemployment signal ongoing economic stress.

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

Population

20,656

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$47,143

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

52.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+6.7% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone19,142 (90.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races818 (3.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race782 (3.7%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone240 (1.1%)
  • Some Other Race Alone92 (0.4%)
  • Asian Alone61 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish446
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic366
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)50
  4. 4.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)20
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)18

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

18.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

52.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

29.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,154

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$30,646

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$29,864

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

16.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,437
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,104
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services936
  4. 4.Construction (Group)883
  5. 5.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining628

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,637
  2. 2.Service Occupations1,505
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,352
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,107
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations795

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 5.51×)670
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 1.45×)763
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.45×)1,200
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.38×)921
  5. 5.Information (LQ 1.37×)196

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$258,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$810/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

77.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9991,003 (14.2%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999920 (13.0%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999816 (11.6%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999807 (11.4%)
  • $500,000 to $749,999763 (10.8%)
  • $750,000 to $999,999502 (7.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

18.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

91.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

46.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$34,627

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

18.5 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone4,299 (59.7%)
  • Carpooled1,210 (16.8%)
  • Worked At Home1,114 (15.5%)
  • Walked267 (3.7%)
  • Other211 (2.9%)
  • Bicycle62 (0.9%)

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.