Prairie County, Montana Demographics

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

Prairie 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
  • C
    Income Below average
  • D
    Education Well below average
    Less educated than 73% of counties in Montana

Source: Map AI Methodology

Prairie County
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Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Prairie County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Population 1,249 1,116,812 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 0.7 7.6 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) -1.42% 1.09% 0.59%
Median age 56.5 40.7 37.3
Households 545 458,835 130,235,071

Population in Prairie County grew by 24.4% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 1,249 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Prairie County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Prairie County is Boomers, aged 61–79, at 31.0% of residents. That is 11.6 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 48.6% of the people living in Prairie County and men 51.4%.

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1,249

100% of everyone living in Prairie County

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Economy

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

Metric Prairie County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $53,163 $72,476 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 2.60% 5.17% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 1.0% 3.6% 5.2%

The median household income in Prairie County is about 27% lower than in Montana.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Prairie County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $200,000 $249,140 $248,835
Median rent $627 $1,081 $1,407
Homeownership rate 83.9% 69.2% 65.2%

The median home price in Prairie County is about 26.6 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $627 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Prairie 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 114 hours, about 4.8 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Prairie County Montana Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 13.7 16.0 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 27.5 32.1 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 114 134 187
Estimated yearly cost $3,548 $4,143 $5,790
Work from home 36.4% 12.5% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 1,091 2,162 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 80 403 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 Prairie County is 14 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

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

Metric Prairie County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 21.5% 31.3% 31.6%
Average household size 2.24 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

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

Metric Prairie County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 77.9 79.0 78.3
Self-rated poor health 16.8% 14.7% 16.3%
Smokers 18.5% 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 Prairie County, Montana.

How many people live in Prairie County, Montana?

About 1,249 people live in Prairie County, Montana, in 545 households of 2.2 people on average. The median age is 56.5, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 19 years.

Is Prairie County, Montana mostly urban or rural?

Averaged over its land area, Prairie County, Montana has 1 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 1% of the U.S. average of 86.

Is Prairie County, Montana an affordable place to live?

The median home costs 3.8 times the median household income ($200,000 against $53,163), compared with 3.1 times nationally. A ratio of about 3 is traditionally considered affordable. Median rent of $627 a month takes about 14% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

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

Unemployment in Prairie County, Montana is only 1.0%, 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 Prairie County, Montana have a college degree?

21.5% of adults in Prairie 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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