Sanders County, Montana


Sanders County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,400. Its county seat is Thompson Falls. The county was founded in 1905.
It has an annual county fair with rodeo at Plains.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
Sanders County lies on the state's western border; thus it shares the border with Idaho to the west. It is part of the Coeur d'Alene Mountains in the Bitterroot Range. The Clark Fork River flows southeast to northwest through the middle of the county, with the Bitterroot Mountains to the south and the Cabinet Mountains to the north.
It is partially arid, with the west-facing mountain slopes capturing the most rain: ranging from nearly 40 inches a year in Heron on the Western end of the county to less than 12 inches per year in Dixon on the East end.
During the last ice age, this was the area that dammed the glacial Lake Missoula. When the ice dam broke, the resulting floods created the Scablands in eastern Washington.

Adjacent counties

A variety of birds and other wildlife are found in Sanders County. The Tufted duck has been observed along the Bull River. An amphibian, the Rough-skinned Newt, has a disjunctive population at Thompson Falls which is un-contiguous with the remainder of the Western United States population of this species.
Sanders County is a "destination hunting locale" with trophy specimens of White-tailed Deer, Mule Deer, Rocky Mountain Elk, Shiras Moose, Mountain Goat, and Bighorn Sheep rounding out huntable ungulate species and Black Bear, Cougar and Wolves comprising the huntable carnivores.
Rocky Mountain Bighorns are regularly hunted in the county. Grizzly bear, the Montana state animal, are also found in the county, but as an endangered species, hunting them is prohibited. Montana had the last huntable population of Grizzlies in the lower 48, allowing 10 bears a year as late as the 1990s. Only Alaska allows hunting for Grizzlies at present.
Western Meadowlark, the state bird are found sparsely in the meadow areas of Sanders County along with Redwing Blackbird and Mountain Bluebirds.
The westslope cutthroat trout is native to the drainages of Sanders County. The threatened native bull trout relies on westslopes as a major prey species in its piscivorous diet. Catch and release fishing is required to maintain fishable populations of the two natives, which now compete with introduced rainbow trout, and warm-water species, such as largemouth bass, yellow perch, Northern Pike, and walleyes that have been introduced and thrive in the modified habitat of the Clark Fork River's reservoirs.

Flora

Sanders County is part of the mountainous western third of Montana. It lies entirely on the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains with a mixed coniferous forest dominating the plant community. Douglas fir/Ponderosa pine climax plant community dominate much of the county, but there are numerous other conifers found there as well in pockets of micro-climates suited to their needs. These include Western red cedar, Western Hemlock, Mountain Hemlock, White Spruce, Subalpine Fir, Grand Fir, Western White Pine, Lodgepole Pine and one of the most spectacular, Western larch, one of a handful of deciduous conifers that turn gold in the autumn before dropping their needles.
Numerous broadleaf species proliferate in Sanders County: Rocky Mountain Maple, Red Alder, Paperbark Birch, Chokecherry, cottonwood, and poplar.
Arguably the most popular broad-leaf shrub in Sanders County is the Rocky Mountain huckleberry. Trout Creek, Montana 59874 is considered the "Huckleberry Capital of Montana" and holds an annual huckleberry celebration in August. Though related to the common blueberry very few have managed to grow Rocky Mountain huckleberry in domestic cultivation. It is found in plant communities with beargrass, a perennial found in burned or logged-over areas of the county's mountains.
The bitterroot, the state flower, is found in limited quantities in Sanders County.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 12,400. Of the residents, 17.6% were under the age of 18 and 32.2% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 55.2 years. For every 100 females there were 103.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 103.2 males. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas and 100.0% lived in rural areas.
The racial makeup of the county was 87.8% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 3.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, 1.2% from some other race, and 6.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.8% of the population.
There were 5,533 households in the county, of which 20.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 20.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 6,800 housing units, of which 18.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 78.4% were owner-occupied and 21.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.6%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 11,413 people, 5,121 households, and 3,204 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 6,678 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 91.6% white, 4.4% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.4% from other races, and 3.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 32.2% were German, 16.4% were English, 16.1% were Irish, 9.1% were Norwegian, 6.3% were Swedish, and 3.3% were American.
Of the 5,121 households, 22.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.4% were non-families, and 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.75. The median age was 49.8 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $30,622 and the median income for a family was $37,514. Males had a median income of $32,857 versus $22,274 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,472. About 16.6% of families and 21.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.9% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

The Hot Springs Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located east of Hot Springs.

Politics

Sanders County is a reliable state bellwether, having voted for Montana's statewide winner in every presidential election since 1928. Bill Clinton carried this county in 1992; he lost this county by 10% in 1996 to Republican Bob Dole. Clinton is the only Democratic candidate to win this county in the past 54 years. Republican Donald Trump won the vote here in 2016, 2020, and 2024. In 2024 Trump won the vote with 76.2%, the highest margin by any Presidential candidate ever in Sanders County.

Communities

City