Silver Bow 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 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 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 35,133.
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
Butte
In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...
. 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 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 an area of , of which is land and (0.08%) is water. It is Montana's smallest county by area.
Major highways
*
Interstate 15
*
Interstate 90
*
Interstate 115
*
U.S. Highway 10 (Former)
*
U.S. Highway 91 (Former)
*
Montana Highway 2
*
Montana Highway 41
*
Montana Highway 43
*
Montana Highway 55
Transit
*
Jefferson Lines
*
Salt Lake Express
Adjacent counties
*
Deer Lodge County - northwest
*
Jefferson County - east
*
Madison County - south
*
Beaverhead County - southwest
National protected areas
Beaverhead–Deerlodge National Forest (part)
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 census, there were 35,133 people living in the county.
2010 census
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
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 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
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
, 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 (
Marc Racicot during the
1996 election).
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 (represented by Republican Jeffrey Welborn), 37 (represented by Democrat Ryan Lynch), 38 (represented by Democrat Edith McClafferty), and 39 (represented by Republican Terry Vermeire). In the Montana House of Representatives, the county is in districts 71 (represented by Republican Kenneth Walsh), 72 (represented by Republican Tom Welch), 73 (represented by Democrat Jennifer Lynch), 74 (represented by Democrat Derek J. Harvey), 76 (represented by Democrat Donavon Hawk), and 78 (represented by Republican Gregory Frazer).
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
* Butte
In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...
(county seat)
Town
* Walkerville
Unincorporated communities
* Divide
* High View
* Melrose
* Ramsay
* Rocker
* Silver Bow
* Williamsburg
Education
Butte Public Schools 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.[ ]
Text list
/ref>
See also
* List of lakes in Silver Bow County, Montana
* List of mountains in Silver Bow County, Montana
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Silver Bow County, Montana
References
External links
Official website
{{Coord, 45.90, -112.66, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MT_source:UScensus1990
1881 establishments in Montana Territory
Populated places established in 1881
Consolidated city-counties