U.S. Census: Gallatin, Flathead County add most residents in Montana
Gallatin and Flathead were the fastest growing counties in Montana between 2023 and 2024, while the city of Kalispell has grown nearly 25% since 2020, adding more residents than any Montana city, according to the latest population growth data from the U.S. Census
The federal government last week released the latest population counts for the nation's more than 3,000 counties, as well as all incorporated cities and towns.
In Montana, 32 of the state's 56 counties saw a population increase, concentrated in the state's western counties, while the mostly eastern counties that saw population declines did so by just over a thousand cumulative residents.
As a whole, Montana added 5,931 new residents between July 1, 2023 and July 1, 2024, for a total state population of 1,137,233. The state's growth rate of .52% was slower than the national growth rate of 1%, partly due to a last-in-the-nation level of international migration, and far lower than in recent years. Between 2020 and 2021, Montana added a whopping 19,000 new residents.
The United States has added 3,304,757 people between 2023 and 2024.
In the last release of census data, Gallatin and Flathead counties added 1,055 and 1,032 new residents, respectively, the first time since the population boom began in 2020 Flathead County hasn't led in raw numbers. But the northwest county had a higher rate of change at .91% compared to Gallatin's .84%.
Broadwater County had the highest percentage population increase in the last year, 2.96%, and over the last four years, with 22.2%, but the county's 8,302 residents makes it just the 27th most inhabited in Montana.
Since 2020, however, Flathead County has led the state in sheer number of additional residents, adding more than 10,100 to Gallatin's just over 8,000 and Yellowstone County's 6,800.
Meanwhile, Kalispell, the county seat of the Flathead, added 1,125 new residents between 2023 and 2024 for a population of 31,296, a nearly 4% increase stemming from the city's annexation of new developments and migration into the area.
Bozeman added the second most residents, 788, followed by Billings (686), Missoula (557) and Helena (360). Of the state's most populous cities, Great Falls, Havre and Sidney all lost residents.
Kalispell's growth is even more drastic over the last four years. Between 2020 and 2024, the city added 6,218 new residents, a 24.8% increase that ranked the city 39th in the nation for growth among cities with more than 20,000 residents.
Helena, which grew by 8.2%, and Bozeman, which grew by 8.1%, ranked in the 260s.
Kalispell City Manager Doug Russell said seeing the actual numbers isn't a big surprise for the people who have been working to accommodate the rising population.
'We've experienced that large growth in person over the years,' Russel said.
Russell said that planning for increased growth is key to keeping city services and infrastructure at a level to handle the demands of a rapidly growing population.
'Our public works department has done a really great job updating facilities plans on a routine basis and updating growth models to to anticipate where we'll need to prioritize infrastructure projects,' Russel said.
Among the major infrastructure projects Kalispell has prioritized in recent years are construction of a new water tower to bolster the municipal water storage and working with the state transportation department to address potential bottlenecks along major transit corridors, such as W. Reserve Drive, along the city's north end.
Russell said the city is currently updating its land use policy, which will allow city officials to prepare for the next round of anticipated growth.
If Kalispell's growth trend continues, it could soon overtake Helena and Butte-Silver Bow in size.
Just north of Kalispell, Whitefish has also grown by nearly 20% since 2020, adding 1,481 residents, while nearby Polson and Columbia Falls have grown 9.6% and 7.4%.
Belgrade, a suburb of Bozeman, one of the state's least affordable cities, is the only other large city in Montana to exceed 20% growth, adding 2,265 residents since 2020.
On the other end of the spectrum, Montana's smallest incorporated town, Ismay, has stayed exactly the same, with 21 residents since 2020, according to Census data.
A call placed to the only publicly listed phone number in Ismay, the Ismay Community Church, did not get a response on Tuesday to verify the town's 21 residents.
Two other incorporated towns in Montana showed flat growth rates since 2020, both on the Hi-Line in Phillips County — Dodson, which increased from 126 residents to 127 in 2023, but then returned to 126 in 2024, and Malta, which has fluctuated around 1,853 residents for several years.
Nationally, of the 10 fastest growing cities in the country, six are in Texas, and one each is in Florida, Utah, South Carolina and North Carolina.
Forney, Texas, added 15,079 residents between 2020 and 2024, a 62.2% increase.
The nation's fastest shrinking city was Big Spring, Texas, which lost 14% of its population.
The U.S. Census Bureau data breaks out changes to county population by natural change — the difference due to birth rates and death rates — and net migration into and out of a county.
While Flathead and Gallatin counties each grew by roughly the same 1,000 residents between 2023 and 2024, they did so in vastly different ways.
A quarter of Gallatin County's increase was due to a younger population. The county's birth rate was 1,141 people while only 686 individuals died during the year of record.
Meanwhile Flathead, Missoula, and Yellowstone counties had almost equal numbers of births and deaths in their communities, trends that extend back to 2020.
Flathead County's primary source of growth is new residents moving to the county. Ninety-nine percent of new residents between 2020 and 2024 relocated to the area, while just three-quarters of new Gallatin County residents did.
Both on the eastern side of the state, Montana's two least populous counties, Treasure and Petroleum, with 739 and 535 residents respectively, saw the largest population percentage decline in residents.
Petroleum lost 18 residents in 2024, six from a higher death rate than birth rate, and 12 who moved out of the county. Treasure County dropped by 28 residents, gaining two from natural change, but losing 30 to relocation.
The state's largest county, Yellowstone, with 171,583 residents, is more populous than the state's 36 least inhabited combined.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
7 hours ago
- CNBC
Homebuyers have lost thousands of dollars in spending power since 2019—here's how much
A typical U.S. homebuyer's spending power has dropped by $27,000 since 2019, a new report finds. For a household earning the national median income, the maximum affordable home price has fallen to $298,000 in 2025 from $325,000 in 2019, even though wages have increased 16% in that time, the study says. As a result, the share of affordable listings for median earners has fallen from 55.7% to 28%. That drop comes as the median home price has climbed to $439,450, per listings data. The decline reflects the impact of rising home prices and mortgage rates, combined with only modest wage growth, the study says. The analysis used U.S. Census income data for 2019, and 2025 estimates from analytics firm Claritas, which relies on Census figures. All data is reported on a calendar-year basis, covering Jan. 1 through Dec. 31. The calculations assume a 20% down payment, a 4% mortgage rate in 2019 and a 6.74% rate in 2025. Affordability is measured by the 30% rule of thumb, which assumes households can devote up to 30% of their gross income to housing costs. On a national level, buying power has dropped by 8.3% since 2019. The study also examined changes in buying power across the 50 largest U.S. metros. The steepest declines, ranked by percentage loss since 2019, were concentrated in these five markets: In contrast, only six metros posted gains in buying power, according to data. The Cleveland metro area saw the biggest increase, up 4.4% or $11,000. With fewer homes available for median earners, today's housing market is widening the gap between the haves and have-nots, with younger Americans less likely to buy a home, the study says. As a result, the share of first-time buyers has fallen to historic lows. And those who do purchase are increasingly wealthier, older and more likely to rely on family for financial help. Homeowners currently hold nearly 43 times the wealth of renters, up from 39 times in 2022, per data. That growing imbalance underscores how the market favors those with existing equity, making it even harder for less affluent buyers to compete.
Axios
a day ago
- Axios
"Hippies" and "communists": Trump team dismisses blowback to D.C. takeover
Top Trump administration officials, surrounded by Shake Shack burgers, scorned protests against the federal takeover of D.C. during a Wednesday press conference meant to celebrate National Guard troops. Why it matters: Rhetoric from Vice President Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and top Trump aide Stephen Miller drew on dated stereotypes and dismissed D.C. residents' dismay about President Trump's policies. Protesters loudly chanted "Free D.C." throughout the press conference. What they're saying: "And by the way most of the citizens that live in Washington D.C. are Black," Miller said. "This is not a city that has had any safety for its Black citizens for generations." Miller went on to call protesters "elderly white hippies." "The voices that you hear out there, those crazy communists, they have no roots, they have no connection to the city," Miller said. "They have no families that they're raising in the city." Reality check: Black residents represented just more than 40% of the D.C. population, according to U.S. Census figures. D.C. residents overwhelmingly opposed Trump's takeover of the D.C. police and deployment of federal law enforcement and the National Guard to the capital city, according to polling out Wednesday from the Washington Post-Schar School. By the numbers: 65% said they don't think his actions will make the city safer from violent crime. Vance dismissed the polling: "I don't know what poll you're talking about," he said. "Maybe the same polls that said Kamala Harris would win the popular vote by 10 points." He earlier said, referencing protests during the press conference: "You hear these guys outside? They appear to hate the idea that Americans can enjoy their communities."
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
N.J. town's property taxes soar as school district struggles with ‘nothing left' in reserves
Old Bridge homeowners are facing nearly a 10% increase in their property tax bills this year, and township officials say the schools are largely to blame. The Township Council held a meeting Aug. 12 after fielding weeks of calls and letters from residents upset over the spike. For a home assessed at the township average of $157,373, the total property tax bill rose about $900 to $9,950. The largest factor, officials said, was the school tax levy, which jumped 13.87% and added more than $728 to the average bill. Mayor Debbie Walker said the township has been unfairly blamed for the increase, even though it only controls the municipal tax rate — which rose just 1.58% this year compared to the school district's double-digit hike. 'Some people just don't have that money to put out, and it's not only senior citizens this tax increase is affecting. It's affecting young families that just bought their homes,' Walker said. 'The only thing we can control is our municipal tax. And I hate that we're taking the blame for this very large increase because I wouldn't do this to residents,' the mayor added. The median household income in the town was about $106,900 in 2023, according to the latest U.S. Census data. Tensions rose at the council's tax presentation meeting, with some members blaming the school district for shifting the burden onto taxpayers. But Old Bridge Public School officials say they've been forced into difficult decisions of their own — weighing steep tax hikes against deep cuts to programs and services. Before approving their $185 million budget for the 2025-26 school year in May, school officials warned they were staring at an $18 million deficit fueled by state aid reductions. Since New Jersey revised its school funding formula in 2018, the district has lost millions in aid, forcing the district to sell property, close an elementary school and eliminate about 85 staff positions. 'There's nothing left. We've been able to plug holes with reserves, but there are no more reserves,' board member Marjorie Jodrey said at the district's May budget hearing. 'We're already operating on reduced staff and programs, and we still need to give Old Bridge students a good education.' Rising expenses including salaries, benefits, energy and transportation have only deepened the gap, alongside this year's 3% cut in state aid, the board said. Old Bridge will receive about $23.6 million in state funding for the upcoming school year — $730,000 less than last year, according to state Department of Education figures. Without raising taxes, the district's shortfall could have forced drastic cuts — including eliminating full-day kindergarten, closing schools, reducing elementary art programs and scaling back security coverage, officials said. To help close this year's gap, the district applied for the state's Tax Levy Incentive Aid program, which provides additional funding to districts that increase their local tax levy. The application was approved earlier this month. New Jersey's school funding law, fully implemented for the first time last year, was intended to shift aid from districts deemed 'overfunded' to those historically underfunded. But the Old Bridge Board of Education argues the formula unfairly penalizes their community, leaving them little choice but to raise the school tax levy. Student enrollment in Old Bridge has steadily declined over the past six years to about 8,000 across its 14 public schools — a drop officials say is another factor affecting funding. Across New Jersey, districts grappling with steep faid cuts have resorted to similar drastic measures, from raising property taxes to laying off staff and closing schools. Recently, the Jackson School District in Ocean County filed a lawsuit blaming the loss of two schools, 385 jobs and major program cuts on what officials called the state's 'systemic and unconstitutional underfunding.' Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to Nyah Marshall may be reached at nmarshall@ Solve the daily Crossword
