Golden Valley County, Montana

Golden Valley County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 823,^[2] making it the third-least populous county in Montana. Its county seat is Ryegate.^[3]

Golden Valley County, Montana, was created on October 4, 1920, from parts of Musselshell and Sweet Grass counties. The county was formed to accommodate the need for smaller, more manageable county governments in the area. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,176 square miles (3,050 km²), of which 1,175 square miles (3,040 km²) is land and 1.0 square mile (2.6 km²) (0.08%) is water.^[4] It is Montana's fifth-smallest county by area.

• U.S. Highway 12
• Montana Highway 3

• Lewis and Clark National Forest (part)

The county has usually favored Republican candidates. The 2016 Democratic candidate only received 71 county votes, the lowest ever for a major party in the county in a presidential election. The last Democrat to win there was Lyndon Johnson in his 1964 landslide victory.

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 823. Of the residents, 19.7% were under the age of 18 and 28.3% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 53.1 years. For every 100 females there were 106.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 102.1 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 88.0% White, 1.2% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.0% Asian, 2.3% from some other race, and 7.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.3% of the population.^[13]

There were 372 households in the county, of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 22.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[12]

There were 474 housing units, of which 21.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 78.2% were owner-occupied and 21.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 0.0%.^[12]

As of the 2010 census, there were 884 people, 363 households, and 239 families residing in the county. The population density was 0.8 inhabitants per square mile (0.31/km²). There were 476 housing units at an average density of 0.4 per square mile (0.15/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.0% white, 1.0% American Indian, 0.7% Asian, 2.1% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 38.9% were German, 19.5% were English, 18.4% were Irish, 10.1% were Polish, 9.0% were American, 7.3% were Danish, 6.4% were Dutch, and 6.2% were Norwegian.

Of the 363 households, 20.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.2% were non-families, and 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.68. The median age was 48.8 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,726 and the median income for a family was $48,750. Males had a median income of $33,750 versus $27,938 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,319. About 3.4% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.7% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.

• Lavina
• Ryegate (county seat)

• Golden Valley Colony

• List of lakes in Golden Valley County, Montana
• List of mountains in Golden Valley County, Montana
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Golden Valley County, Montana

• Golden Valley County official website

46°23′N 109°10′W / 46.38°N 109.17°W / 46.38; -109.17