Liberty County, Montana

Adjacent counties

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,959. Of the residents, 23.8% were under the age of 18 and 23.5% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 42.1 years. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.3 males. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas and 100.0% lived in rural areas.^[12]

The racial makeup of the county was 94.7% White, 0.1% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% from some other race, and 4.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 0.7% of the population.^[13]

There were 732 households in the county, of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 24.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[14]

There were 933 housing units, of which 21.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.0% were owner-occupied and 29.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.8%.^[14]

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 2,339 people, 822 households, and 537 families living in the county. The population density was 1.6 inhabitants per square mile (0.62/km²). There were 1,043 housing units at an average density of 0.7 units per square mile (0.27 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.2% white, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 55.4% were German, 24.1% were Norwegian, 14.5% were Irish, 9.9% were English, and 1.4% were American.

Of the 822 households, 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.5% were married couples living together, 4.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.7% were non-families, and 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age was 44.6 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,212 and the median income for a family was $44,957. Males had a median income of $35,788 versus $30,714 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,097. About 12.4% of families and 19.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.6% of those under age 18 and 15.6% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census record

Researchers William P. O'Hare and Kenneth M. Johnson described the county as typical of the northern Great Plains in being very thinly settled, almost fully dependent on agriculture, and lacking in urban areas. They noted that income can fluctuate substantially from year to year, depending on rainfall (which affects harvest yields) as well as grain and cattle prices, and that the 2000 Census recorded low incomes in 1999 after several years of drought. Also, the presence of Hutterite colonies in the county depresses per capita incomes because Hutterite families have significantly more children than the general population.^[15]

Town

• Chester (county seat)

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities