Silver Bow County, Montana Demographics

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

Silver Bow 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
    Better educated than 73% of counties in Montana

Source: Map AI Methodology

Silver Bow County
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Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Silver Bow County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Population 35,793 1,116,812 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 49.8 7.6 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) 0.43% 1.09% 0.59%
Median age 40.7 40.7 37.3
Households 15,419 458,835 130,235,071

Population in Silver Bow County grew by 9.2% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 35,793 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Silver Bow County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Silver Bow County is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 21.6% of residents. That is 0.2 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 48.3% of the people living in Silver Bow County and men 51.7%.

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Economy

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

Metric Silver Bow County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $61,292 $72,476 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 5.66% 5.17% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 4.0% 3.6% 5.2%

The median household income in Silver Bow County is about 15% lower than in Montana.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Silver Bow County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $165,062 $249,140 $248,835
Median rent $863 $1,081 $1,407
Homeownership rate 70.8% 69.2% 65.2%

The median home price in Silver Bow County is about 15.9 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $863 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Silver Bow County spend about 26 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 108 hours, about 4.5 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Silver Bow County Montana Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 13.0 16.0 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 26.0 32.1 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 108 134 187
Estimated yearly cost $3,355 $4,143 $5,790
Work from home 7.6% 12.5% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 2,359 2,162 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 741 403 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 Silver Bow 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

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

Metric Silver Bow County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 24.7% 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

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

Metric Silver Bow County Montana Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 75.7 79.0 78.3
Self-rated poor health 14.3% 14.7% 16.3%
Smokers 18.7% 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 Silver Bow County, Montana.

How many people live in Silver Bow County, Montana?

About 35,793 people live in Silver Bow County, Montana, in 15,419 households of 2.2 people on average. The median age is 40.7, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 3 years.

How densely populated is Silver Bow County, Montana?

Averaged over its land area, Silver Bow County, Montana has 50 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 58% of the U.S. average of 86.

How affordable is housing in Silver Bow County, Montana?

The median home costs 2.7 times the median household income ($165,062 against $61,292), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $863 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 Silver Bow County, Montana?

Unemployment in Silver Bow County, Montana is only 4.0%, well below the U.S. rate of 5.2%, a sign of a tight labor market where employers compete for workers.

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