McCone County, Montana

McCone County, Montana
County
Gladstone Hotel (Circle, Montana)
Location within the U.S. state of Montana
Coordinates: 47°39′N 105°48′W / 47.65°N 105.8°W / 47.65; -105.8
Country	United States
State	Montana
Founded	1919
Seat	Circle
Largest town	Circle
Area
• Total	2,683 sq mi (6,950 km2)
• Land	2,643 sq mi (6,850 km2)
• Water	40 sq mi (100 km2)  1.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,729
• Estimate  (2024)	1,717
• Density	0.6542/sq mi (0.2526/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	mcconecountymt.com
Montana county number 41

McCone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,729.[1] Its county seat is Circle.[2]

The county was created in 1919. It was named for State Senator George McCone,[3] who had been one of the first county commissioners of Dawson County.[4]

Typical McCone County landscape.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,683 square miles (6,950 km2), of which 2,643 square miles (6,850 km2) is land and 40 square miles (100 km2) (1.5%) is water.[5]

• Montana Highway 13
• Montana Highway 24
• Montana Highway 200

• Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1920	4,747		—
1930	4,790		0.9%
1940	3,744		−21.8%
1950	3,258		−13.0%
1960	3,321		1.9%
1970	2,875		−13.4%
1980	2,702		−6.0%
1990	2,276		−15.8%
2000	1,977		−13.1%
2010	1,734		−12.3%
2020	1,729		−0.3%
2024 (est.)	1,717	[6]	−0.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790–1960,[8] 1900–1990,[9] 1990–2000,[10] 2010–2020[1]

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,729. Of the residents, 21.7% were under the age of 18 and 23.6% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 46.2 years. For every 100 females there were 104.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 106.9 males. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas and 100.0% lived in rural areas.[11][12][13]

The racial makeup of the county was 92.9% White, 0.1% Black or African American, 1.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, 0.9% from some other race, and 4.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.9% of the population.[13]

There were 747 households in the county, of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 18.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[12]

There were 1,025 housing units, of which 27.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 80.6% were owner-occupied and 19.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 14.7%.[12]

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 inhabitants per square mile (0.27 inhabitants/km2), the 10th lowest in the United States. There were 1,008 housing units at an average density of 0.4 units per square mile (0.15 units/km2). 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.

Looking south on MT 13 toward Vida.

• Circle (county seat)

• Brockway
• Prairie Elk Colony
• Vida

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.

United States presidential election results for McCone County, Montana[16]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
1920	1,177	62.01%	537	28.29%	184	9.69%
1924	494	38.18%	143	11.05%	657	50.77%
1928	946	61.87%	554	36.23%	29	1.90%
1932	456	26.34%	1,020	58.93%	255	14.73%
1936	332	19.09%	1,366	78.55%	41	2.36%
1940	529	35.24%	928	61.83%	44	2.93%
1944	526	39.85%	763	57.80%	31	2.35%
1948	518	37.78%	702	51.20%	151	11.01%
1952	900	56.32%	674	42.18%	24	1.50%
1956	752	45.83%	889	54.17%	0	0.00%
1960	743	49.04%	764	50.43%	8	0.53%
1964	615	40.81%	891	59.12%	1	0.07%
1968	733	52.17%	589	41.92%	83	5.91%
1972	854	58.29%	562	38.36%	49	3.34%
1976	730	48.70%	749	49.97%	20	1.33%
1980	1,000	67.98%	349	23.73%	122	8.29%
1984	1,015	67.80%	459	30.66%	23	1.54%
1988	814	58.18%	567	40.53%	18	1.29%
1992	528	39.00%	424	31.31%	402	29.69%
1996	615	48.96%	390	31.05%	251	19.98%
2000	827	72.42%	267	23.38%	48	4.20%
2004	791	69.57%	320	28.14%	26	2.29%
2008	726	66.54%	321	29.42%	44	4.03%
2012	745	75.03%	223	22.46%	25	2.52%
2016	862	78.72%	154	14.06%	79	7.21%
2020	956	84.75%	155	13.74%	17	1.51%
2024	931	86.04%	129	11.92%	22	2.03%

• List of lakes in McCone County, Montana
• List of mountains in McCone County, Montana
• National Register of Historic Places listings in McCone County MT

• McCone County Official website
• Circle, MT Official website

47°39′N 105°48′W / 47.65°N 105.80°W / 47.65; -105.80