Lake County is a county located in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,134. Its county seat is Polson.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1654 sqmi, of which 1490 sqmi is land and 164 sqmi (9.9%) is water. Over two-thirds (67.7%) of the county's land lies within the Flathead Indian Reservation.

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 31,134 people living in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 28,746 people, 11,432 households, and 7,770 families living in the county. The population density was 19.3 PD/sqmi. There were 16,588 housing units at an average density of 11.1 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 69.4% white, 22.0% American Indian, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.5% from other races, and 7.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 22.3% were German, 11.6% were English, 11.5% were Irish, 6.9% were Norwegian, and 3.8% were American. Of the 11,432 households, 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.0% were non-families, and 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age was 41.3 years. The median income for a household in the county was $37,274 and the median income for a family was $47,437. Males had a median income of $37,461 versus $26,637 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,164. About 15.4% of families and 21.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.9% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Communities

Cities

Town

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Education

School districts include: K-12 (Unified): High school: Elementary school: