Carter County, Montana Demographics

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

Carter 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
    Less healthy than 87% of counties in Montana
  • C
    Income Below average
  • D
    Education Well below average

Source: Map AI Methodology

Carter County
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Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Carter County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Population 1,308 1,116,812 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 0.4 7.6 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) 0.15% 1.09% 0.59%
Median age 57.3 40.7 37.3
Households 600 458,835 130,235,071

Population in Carter County grew by 3.8% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 1,308 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Carter County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Carter County is Boomers, aged 61–79, at 28.1% of residents. That is 8.7 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 49.8% of the people living in Carter County and men 50.2%.

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1,308

100% of everyone living in Carter County

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Economy

Carter County has a the economy index of C, which means it is somewhat prosperous.

Metric Carter County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $57,567 $72,476 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 2.73% 5.17% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 2.8% 3.6% 5.2%

The median household income in Carter County is about 21% lower than in Montana.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Carter County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $162,500 $249,140 $248,835
Median rent $823 $1,081 $1,407
Homeownership rate 62.2% 69.2% 65.2%

The median home price in Carter County is about 16.4 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $823 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Carter County spend about 27 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 112 hours, about 4.7 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Carter County Montana Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 13.4 16.0 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 26.9 32.1 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 112 134 187
Estimated yearly cost $3,469 $4,143 $5,790
Work from home 39.5% 12.5% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 1,401 2,162 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 38 403 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 Carter County is 13 minutes, shorter 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

Carter County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.

Metric Carter County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 20.3% 31.3% 31.6%
Average household size 2.14 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

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

Metric Carter County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 78.7 79.0 78.3
Self-rated poor health 14.2% 14.7% 16.3%
Smokers 16.5% 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 →

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Carter County, Montana.

How big is Carter County, Montana by population?

About 1,308 people live in Carter County, Montana, in 600 households of 2.1 people on average. The median age is 57.3, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 20 years.

Is Carter County, Montana mostly urban or rural?

Averaged over its land area, Carter County, Montana has 0 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 0% of the U.S. average of 86.

How affordable is housing in Carter County, Montana?

The median home costs 2.8 times the median household income ($162,500 against $57,567), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $823 a month takes about 17% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

How strong is the job market in Carter County, Montana?

Unemployment in Carter County, Montana is only 2.8%, well below the U.S. rate of 5.2%, a sign of a tight labor market where employers compete for workers.

What share of adults in Carter County, Montana have a college degree?

20.3% of adults in Carter County, Montana hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 5), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.

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