Cascade County, Montana

Cascade County, Montana
Aerial view of Cascade County and Sun River
Location in the state of Montana
Montana's location in the U.S.
Founded	1887
Seat	Great Falls
Largest city	Great Falls
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	2,712 sq mi (7,024 km²) 2,698 sq mi (6,988 km²) 14 sq mi (36 km²), 0.51%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	81,327 31/sq mi (12/km²)
Website	www.co.cascade.mt.us

Cascade County (cascade means waterfall in French) is a county located in the state of Montana, United States. As of 2010, the population was 81,327. It is part of the Great Falls, Montana, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Cascade County. Its county seat is Great Falls.

History

At the time of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Cascade County was the territory of the Blackfeet. The county was named for the falls on the Missouri River.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,712 square miles (7,024.0 km²). 2,698 square miles (6,987.8 km²) is land and 14 square miles (36.3 km²) (0.51%) is water. The Missouri River and the Sun River flow through the county, and meet at the city of Great Falls. A portion of the Adel Mountains Volcanic Field‎ is in the southwest corner of the county. The Rocky Mountains are in the western part of the county with the Little Belt and Highwood Mountains in the southeast.

Adjacent Counties

• Teton County - northwest
• Choteau County - northeast
• Judith Basin County - east
• Meagher County - south
• Lewis and Clark County - west

National protected areas

• Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge
• Lewis and Clark National Forest (part)

Economy

Malmstrom Air Force Base is a driving force in the regional economy. As of 2009 Benefis, Great Falls Clinic, National Electronics Warranty and Walmart were the largest private employers.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1890	8,755		—
1900	25,777		194.4%
1910	28,833		11.9%
1920	38,836		34.7%
1930	41,146		5.9%
1940	41,199		0.1%
1950	53,027		28.7%
1960	73,418		38.5%
1970	81,804		11.4%
1980	80,696		−1.4%
1990	77,691		−3.7%
2000	80,357		3.4%
2010	81,327		1.2%
sources:

As of the census of 2010, there were 81,327 people, 33,809 households, and 21,403 families residing in the county. The population density was 12/km² (30/sq mi). There were 37,276 housing units at an average density of 5/km² (13/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 89.20% (72,584) White, 1.2% (1,010) Black or African American, 4.3% (3,487) Native American, 0.8% (684) Asian,

    Asian Indian       53
    Burmese             1
    Cambodian           1       
    Chinese             64      
    Filipino           272
    Hmong               5
    Japanese            77      
    Korean             100
    Laotian            13
    Malaysian           2
    Nepalese            3
    Pakistani           2
    Taiwanese           4
    Thai                33      
    Vietnamese          21      
    Other Asian [1]     18      

0.1% (89) Pacific Islander,

    Native Hawaiian            31  
    Guamanian or Chamorro       39      
    Samoan                       9      
    Other Pacific Islander [2]  10      

0.6% (526) from other races, and 3.6% (2,947) from two or more races, the Asian population doubles when taking two or more races into consideration. 3.3% (2,711) of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 22.5% were of German, 11.1% Irish, 10.2% Norwegian, 8.8% English and 7.7% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 95.4% spoke English, 1.7% Spanish and 1.1% German as their first language.

There were 32,547 households out of which 32.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.30% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.10% were non-families. 28.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.00% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,971, and the median income for a family was $39,949. Males had a median income of $28,993 versus $20,970 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,566. About 10.40% of families and 13.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.60% of those under age 18 and 8.40% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

• Great Falls

Towns

• Belt
• Cascade
• Neihart

Census-designated places

• Black Eagle
• Fort Shaw
• Malmstrom AFB
• Simms
• Sun Prairie
• Sun River
• Ulm
• Vaughn

Education

The University of Great Falls and the MSU College of Technology - Great Falls are both located in Great Falls.

See also

• List of cemeteries in Cascade County, Montana
• List of lakes in Cascade County, Montana
• List of mountains in Cascade County, Montana
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Cascade County, Montana

External links

• Cascade County official website