Phillips 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 4,217. 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 ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. Before February 5, 1915, Phillips County was part of Blaine County, and before 1912 both were part of Chouteau County. It was named for rancher and state senator Benjamin D. Phillips. Its northern boundary is the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

with

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. The

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

defines its southern boundary.

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 (1.4%) is water. It is the second-largest county in Montana by land area and third-largest by total area.

Adjacent counties and rural municipalities

* Blaine County - west * Fergus County - southwest * Petroleum County - south * Garfield County - southeast * Valley County - east * Rural Municipality (RM) of Lone Tree No. 18, Saskatchewan (SK) - north * RM of Val Marie No. 17, SK - north * RM of Mankota No. 45, SK - northeast

National protected areas

Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) located in the north-central region of the U.S. state of Montana. The refuge is northeast of Malta, Montana in the Milk River (Alberta–Montana), Milk River Valley and is man ...

* Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (part) * Hewitt Lake National Wildlife Refuge * UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge * Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument (part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 4,217 people living in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 4,253 people, 1,819 households, and 1,159 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 2,335 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 87.0% white, 8.3% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 4.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 26.2% were Norwegian, 24.3% 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 ...

, 13.4% were Irish, 10.1% were American, and 9.0% were English. Of the 1,819 households, 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.3% were non-families, and 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age was 46.8 years. The median income for a household in the county was $36,453 and the median income for a family was $55,362. Males had a median income of $41,826 versus $26,417 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,227. About 11.4% 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 17.1% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

From its creation until 1964, voters of Phillips County were fairly balanced; they selected Democratic Party candidates in 58% of national elections. After 1964 the Republican presidential candidate has garnered the county's vote in every election.

Communities

City

(county seat)

Towns

* Dodson * Saco

Census-designated places

* East Malta Colony * Landusky * Loring Colony * Sleeping Buffalo *

Whitewater Whitewater forms in the context of rapids, in particular, when a river's Stream gradient, gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that foam, froths, making t ...

* Zortman

Other unincorporated communities

* Bowdoin * Caldwell * Cole * Content * Cree Crossing * Jordan Crossing * Loring * Morgan * Tattnall *

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

''Wagner MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 4, 2019)
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References

External links

Phillips County Sheriff's Office