Carbon County, Montana Demographics

Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.

Carbon County, MT Population Density Map and Area Scores

Area Score

Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.

  • B
    Health Around average
    Healthier than 85% of counties in Montana
  • B
    Income Around average
    Wealthier than 80% of counties in Montana
  • C
    Education Below average
    Better educated than 84% of counties in Montana

Source: Map AI Methodology

Carbon County
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Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Carbon County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Population 11,116 1,116,812 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 5.4 7.6 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) 0.91% 1.09% 0.59%
Median age 50.5 40.7 37.3
Households 4,664 458,835 130,235,071

Population in Carbon County grew by 14.1% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 11,116 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Carbon County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Carbon County is Boomers, aged 61–79, at 27.2% of residents. That is 7.8 points above Montana as a whole.

Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Montana, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.

Male and female share

Women are 49.1% of the people living in Carbon County and men 50.9%.

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11,116

100% of everyone living in Carbon County

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Economy

Carbon County has a the economy index of B, which means it is quite prosperous.

Metric Carbon County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $79,608 $72,476 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 5.14% 5.17% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 4.4% 3.6% 5.2%

The median household income in Carbon County is about 10% higher than in Montana.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Carbon County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $436,315 $249,140 $248,835
Median rent $844 $1,081 $1,407
Homeownership rate 78.0% 69.2% 65.2%

The median home price in Carbon County is about 43.1 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $844 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Carbon County spend about 35 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 147 hours, about 6.1 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Carbon County Montana Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 17.7 16.0 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 35.3 32.1 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 147 134 187
Estimated yearly cost $4,562 $4,143 $5,790
Work from home 11.0% 12.5% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 3,169 2,162 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 329 403 1,355

Fastest commutes among counties in Montana: Treasure County (7.2 min), Rosebud County (8.2 min), Fallon County (8.4 min).
Slowest: Broadwater County (30.3 min), Stillwater County (27.8 min), Granite County (23.3 min).

The average commute time in Carbon County is 18 minutes, longer than the 16 minutes in Montana.

Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.

Commute and transport details →

Education & Households

Carbon County has a education index of C, which means it is somewhat educated.

Metric Carbon County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 29.7% 31.3% 31.6%
Average household size 2.36 2.37 2.53

Highest education index among counties in Montana: Gallatin County (0.4), Missoula County (0.3), Lewis and Clark County (0.3).
Lowest: Liberty County (0.2), Toole County (0.2), Wheatland County (0.2).

Health

Carbon County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.

Metric Carbon County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 79.5 79.0 78.3
Self-rated poor health 12.5% 14.7% 16.3%
Smokers 16.0% 18.8% 19.0%

Highest health index among counties in Montana: Gallatin County (0.8), Missoula County (0.8), Granite County (0.8).
Lowest: Glacier County (0.7), Big Horn County (0.8), Roosevelt County (0.8).

Full health data →

Carbon County, MT Compared With Nearby Counties

How Carbon County, MT compares with the 2 counties closest to it.

Area Population Median household income Median home price Commute
Carbon County, MT 11,116 $79,608 #1/3 $436,315 #1/3 17.7 min #3/3
Park County, WY 30,448 $73,221 $268,750 11.6 min
Yellowstone County, MT 168,956 $77,024 $232,715 16.9 min

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Carbon County, Montana.

How big is Carbon County, Montana by population?

About 11,116 people live in Carbon County, Montana, in 4,664 households of 2.4 people on average. The median age is 50.5, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 13 years.

Is Carbon County, Montana mostly urban or rural?

Averaged over its land area, Carbon County, Montana has 5 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 6% of the U.S. average of 86.

How affordable is housing in Carbon County, Montana?

The median home costs 5.5 times the median household income ($436,315 against $79,608), compared with 3.1 times nationally. A ratio of about 3 is traditionally considered affordable. Median rent of $844 a month takes about 13% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

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