2025

Counties in Montana ranked by White Population

This list ranks the 55 counties in Montana based on their White population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these counties over the past five years.
Updated Feb 10, 2025

Top 5 counties with the largest White population in Montana

View All
  • 1
    Yellowstone County
    White population in Yellowstone County is 154,489
    86.90% of Yellowstone County population is White
  • 2
    Gallatin County
    White population in Gallatin County is 116,462
    89.93% of Gallatin County population is White
  • 3
    Missoula County
    White population in Missoula County is 112,695
    87.95% of Missoula County population is White
  • 4
    Flathead County
    White population in Flathead County is 105,023
    91.21% of Flathead County population is White
  • 5
    Cascade County
    White population in Cascade County is 77,679
    84.82% of Cascade County population is White

List of 55 counties in Montana by White Population

View Methodology
-
Rank by White Population
County
White Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total Montana White Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Yellowstone County 154,489 86.90% 15.43%
2 Gallatin County 116,462 89.93% 11.63%
3 Missoula County 112,695 87.95% 11.25%
4 Flathead County 105,023 91.21% 10.49%
5 Cascade County 77,679 84.82% 7.76%
6 Lewis and Clark County 70,397 91.33% 7.03%
7 Ravalli County 44,701 90.63% 4.46%
8 34,140 89.96% 3.41%
9 24,653 68.59% 2.46%
10 20,190 91.82% 2.02%
11 16,971 92.23% 1.69%
12 12,388 89.88% 1.24%
13 12,178 92.95% 1.22%
14 12,043 69.94% 1.20%
15 11,599 91.55% 1.16%
16 11,065 93.04% 1.11%
17 10,873 90.97% 1.09%
18 10,572 93.03% 1.06%
19 9,290 91.83% 0.93%
20 8,877 92.63% 0.89%
21 8,738 92.97% 0.87%
22 8,576 93.13% 0.86%
23 7,139 90.22% 0.71%
24 6,777 85.29% 0.68%
25 6,446 88.42% 0.64%
26 6,034 91.31% 0.60%
27 4,976 79.59% 0.50%
28 4,886 56.09% 0.49%
29 4,879 78.74% 0.49%
30 4,771 88.94% 0.48%
31 4,666 93.00% 0.47%
32 4,607 32.36% 0.46%
33 4,469 84.88% 0.45%
34 4,339 31.26% 0.43%
35 4,248 37.01% 0.42%
36 3,890 84.58% 0.39%
37 3,568 92.29% 0.36%
38 3,534 90.99% 0.35%
39 3,434 46.20% 0.34%
40 3,273 92.56% 0.33%
41 2,735 93.06% 0.27%
42 1,978 95.69% 0.20%
43 1,932 96.02% 0.19%
44 1,910 91.83% 0.19%
45 1,901 94.25% 0.19%
46 1,706 88.99% 0.17%
47 1,703 91.46% 0.17%
48 1,442 90.07% 0.14%
49 1,335 92.64% 0.13%
50 1,140 89.91% 0.11%
51 1,114 93.85% 0.11%
52 923 97.78% 0.09%
53 827 91.79% 0.08%
54 719 92.42% 0.07%
55 398 99.25% 0.04%

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks counties in Montana by their White population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines White Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as White, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as White alone, while others identify as White along with another race (such as White and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and White .
  • We’ve used the “White alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the White population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as White alone or in combination in counties. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as White .
  2. % of Total Montana White Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. White population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small White populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • Counties that don’t have any reported White population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where White populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.