Richland County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,491. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Sidney. Richland County was created by the

Montana Legislature The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to t ...

in 1914 from part of Dawson County. An early proposed name for the county was Gate, but Richland was decided upon instead as a way to entice new settlers.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.9%) is water.

Major highways

Montana Highway 16 Montana Highway 16 (MT 16) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Montana. It begins in West Glendive at a Business Loop of Interstate 94 (I-94), and ends at the Port of Raymond on the Saskatchewan border. The northern portion from U.S. Ro ...

* Montana Highway 23 * Montana Highway 200

Adjacent counties

* Roosevelt County – north *

Williams County, North Dakota Williams County is located on the western border of the U.S. state of North Dakota, next to Montana. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 40,950, and was estimated to be 40,763 in 2024, making it the List of coun ...

– northeast *

McKenzie County, North Dakota McKenzie County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 14,704, and was estimated to be 14,782 in 2024, The county seat and largest city is Watf ...

– east * Wibaux County - south * Dawson County – southwest * McCone County - west

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 11,491 people living in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 9,746 people, 4,167 households, and 2,698 families in the county. The population density was . There were 4,550 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.0% white, 1.7% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.8% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 37.8% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 23.1% were Norwegian, 13.0% were Irish, 8.7% were American, and 6.5% were English. Of the 4,167 households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.3% were non-families, and 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 41.3 years. The median income for a household in the county was $52,516 and the median income for a family was $60,236. Males had a median income of $44,788 versus $23,135 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,888. About 10.2% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 16.6% of those under age 18 and 14.4% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Although most of the surface land of the county is devoted to ranching, oil exploration and production became important elements of the county's economy beginning with the discovery in 2000 of Elm Coulee Oil Field, part of the Bakken formation.

Politics

Richland County voters have been reliably Republican, opting only one time for the Democratic Party candidate in national elections since 1948 (as of 2020).

Communities

City

* Sidney (county seat)

Town

* Fairview

Census-designated places

* Crane * Fox Lake * Savage

Other unincorporated places

* Andes * Enid * Lambert * Ludington * Girard * Nohly * Ridgelawn * Sioux Pass''Sioux Pass MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 5, 2019)
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References

External links

Official site
{{Coord, 47.79, -104.56, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MT_source:UScensus1990 1914 establishments in Montana Populated places established in 1914