McCone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,729. Its county seat is Circle. The county was created in 1919. It was named for State Senator George McCone, who had been one of the first county commissioners of Dawson County.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2683 sqmi, of which 2643 sqmi is land and 40 sqmi (1.5%) is water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 1,729 people living in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,734 people, 774 households, and 514 families living in the county. The population density was 0.7 /mi2, the 10th lowest in the United States. There were 1,008 housing units at an average density of 0.4 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 98.0% white, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 44.5% were German, 23.1% were Norwegian, 12.7% were American, 12.0% were Irish, and 8.8% were English. Of the 774 households, 23.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were married couples living together, 3.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.6% were non-families, and 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.77. The median age was 48.9 years. The median income for a household in the county was $48,167 and the median income for a family was $56,406. Males had a median income of $33,185 versus $26,454 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,265. About 5.9% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.3% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Town

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Politics

McCone county is a solid Republican county. In the 2004 Presidential Election McCone County gave 69.6% of its votes to President George W. Bush and 28.1% to Senator John Kerry. In the 2012 presidential election Governor Mitt Romney received 75.0% of the county's votes, while President Barack Obama only received 22.5% of the votes.