Silver Bow County, Montana


Silver Bow County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,133. Its county seat is Butte. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the single entity of Butte-Silver Bow. Additionally, the town of Walkerville is a separate municipality from Butte and is within the county.
Silver Bow County comprises the Butte-Silver Bow, MT Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has an area of, of which is land and is water. It is Montana's smallest county by area.

Major highways

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 35,133; 20.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.6% were 65 years of age or older, and the median age was 41.8 years. For every 100 females there were 103.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 101.5 males. 86.1% of residents lived in urban areas and 13.9% lived in rural areas.
Race % 2010% 2000Pop 2010Pop 2000
White alone 88.5%92.1%93.7%31,08131,51532,410
Black alone 0.4%0.3%0.1%12610345
American Indian alone 1.4%1.7%1.8%480587619
Asian alone 0.6%0.5%0.4%214161147
Pacific Islander alone 0.1%0.1%0.1%202220
Other race alone 0.4%0%0.1%1341318
Multiracial 4.1%1.6%1.1%1,440546397
Hispanic/Latino 4.7%3.7%2.7%1,6381,253950

The racial makeup of the county was 90.5% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 1.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, 1.0% from some other race, and 5.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.7% of the population.
There were 15,450 households in the county, of which 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 27.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 17,247 housing units, of which 10.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 65.7% were owner-occupied and 34.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.2%.
The most reported ancestries in 2020 were:
As of the 2010 census, there were 34,200 people, 14,932 households, and 8,651 families living in the county. The population density was. There were 16,717 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 94.4% white, 1.9% American Indian, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.7% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 32.6% were Irish, 23.3% were German, 16.1% were English, 8.3% were Italian, 6.9% were Norwegian, and 3.2% were American.
Of the 14,932 households, 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 42.1% were non-families, and 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 41.3 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,986 and the median income for a family was $52,288. Males had a median income of $41,491 versus $28,132 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,357. About 11.6% of families and 17.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.1% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Since 1977, Butte and Silver Bow County have been consolidated into one governmental body under the leadership of the chief executive and the council of commissioners. Elected in November 2020, J.P. Gallagher is the incumbent Chief Executive of Butte-Silver Bow, a nonpartisan office.
A Democratic bastion, Silver Bow County is, along with neighboring Deer Lodge County, one of the two most consistently Democratic-voting counties in Montana in presidential elections, having last voted Republican in 1956 for Dwight D. Eisenhower. In 2024, Donald Trump, though still losing the county, became the first Republican to get within ten percent of carrying it since the aforementioned 1956 election.
Over the last century, Silver Bow County has voted only once for a Republican gubernatorial candidate. Silver Bow County has not supported any Republican at all for the U.S. Senate since at least 1928.
Silver Bow County is in Montana Senate districts 36, 37, 38, and 39. In the Montana House of Representatives, the county is in districts 71, 72, 73, 74, 76, and 78.
From 2024 to 2032, Silver Bow County will be in State Senate districts 35, 36, and 37, as well as State House of Representatives districts 70, 71, 72, 73, and 74. Two of the three Senate districts are expected to be favorable to Democrats as well as four of the five House districts.

Communities

City

has two components: Butte Elementary School District and Butte High School District. Whitehall Public Schools has two components: Whitehall Elementary School District and Whitehall High School District.
The consolidated city-county is covered by multiple school districts. High school districts include Butte High School District and Whitehall High School District. There are five elementary school districts: Butte Elementary School District, Divide Elementary School District, Melrose Elementary School District, Ramsay Elementary School District, and Whitehall Elementary School District.