County profile

Musselshell County

Montana · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
5,152
Median household income
$58,920
People below poverty
17%
Median home value
$235,000

Income

The median income of households in Musselshell County, Montana was $58,920. An estimated 7% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 6.3% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Musselshell County, Montana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 7
$10,000 to $14,999 3.4
$15,000 to $24,999 13.2
$25,000 to $34,999 9.6
$35,000 to $49,999 9.8
$50,000 to $74,999 16.9
$75,000 to $99,999 19
$100,000 to $149,999 11
$150,000 to $199,999 3.7
$200,000 or more 6.3

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Musselshell County, Montana in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 57083
Female 37077

An estimated 65.4% of households received earnings. An estimated 46.4% of households received Social Security and an estimated 22.6 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $22,361. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Musselshell County, Montana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 65.4
Social Security 46.4
Retirement income 22.6
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 8.8
Cash public assistance income 2.9

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 17 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 23% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 19.9% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 13.3% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Musselshell County, Montana in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 17
Children under 18 years below poverty 23
People 65 years old and over below poverty 19.9
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 13.3

In 2020-2024, 10.2 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 25.9% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 58.6% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 12.3% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Musselshell County, Montana in 2020-2024, 89.9% had health insurance coverage and 10.1% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 54.5% and public coverage was 53.9%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 21.6%.


In 2020-2024, Musselshell County, Montana had a total population of 5,152 - 2,500 (48.5%) females and 2,652 (51.5%) males. The median age was 51.3 years. An estimated 19.4% of the population was under 18 years, 21.6% was 19 to 44 years, 27.4% was 45 to 64 years, and 29 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Musselshell County, Montana in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 139 78
5 to 9 155 145
10 to 14 158 138
15 to 19 228 98
20 to 24 125 59
25 to 29 56 112
30 to 34 111 100
35 to 39 87 171
40 to 44 170 116
45 to 49 131 171
50 to 54 185 126
55 to 59 212 144
60 to 64 194 249
65 to 69 251 220
70 to 74 188 297
75 to 79 131 110
80 to 84 67 132
85 and over 64 34

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 87.2% were White; 0% were Black or African American; 11.1% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 0% were Asian; 0% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 5.3% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 4.3% of the people in Musselshell County, Montana were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 86.6% of the people in Musselshell County, Montana were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 2,148 households in Musselshell County, Montana. The average household size was 2.37 people.

Married-couple households made up 52.5% of the households in Musselshell County, Montana while cohabiting couple households made up 3.7% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 26.3% of all households, while 17.6% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 13.9% of households were male householders living alone, and 17.3% were female householders living alone, for a total of 31.2% of all households.

In Musselshell County, Montana, 20.3% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 47.8% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Musselshell County, Montana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 52.5
Cohabiting Couples 3.7
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
17.6
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
26.3

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 55.3% of males and 56% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 25.1 14.6
Now married, except separated 55.3 56
Separated 4 0
Widowed 3.3 13.5
Divorced 12.2 16

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Musselshell County, Montana, 161 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 89.4% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 98.3% of the people living in Musselshell County, Montana were U.S. natives. 40.9% of the Musselshell County, Montana population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 1.7% of Musselshell County, Montana residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 32.2% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 95.6 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Musselshell County, Montana come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Musselshell County, Montana.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Musselshell County, Montana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 0
Asia 0
Europe 100
Africa 0
Northern America 0
Oceania 0

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Musselshell County, Montana in 2020-2024, 5 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 0.7% of people at least five years old; 1.5% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Musselshell County, Montana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 0.7
Other Indo-European languages 2.4
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0
Other languages 1.8

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 89.5 % of the people at least one year old living in Musselshell County, Montana were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Musselshell County, Montana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 89.5
Different house, same county 2.9
Different county, same state 3.6
Different state 4
Abroad 0

Education

In 2020-2024, 89.3 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 22.4% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 10.7% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Musselshell County, Montana was 955 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 61 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 769. College or graduate school enrollment was 125.

Educational Attainment of People in Musselshell County, Montana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 10.7
High school diploma or equivalency 32
Some college, no degree 26.6
Associate's degree 8.3
Bachelor's degree 16.6
Graduate or professional degree 5.8

Disability

In Musselshell County, Montana, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 23.1 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 11.8% of people under 18 years old, to 18.9% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 38.2% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Musselshell County, Montana, 49.8 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 45.2% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 75.4% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 13% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 8.4 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 1,603 75.4
Federal, state, or local government workers 276 13
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 178 8.4

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Musselshell County, Montana worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Musselshell County, Montana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 12.6
Construction 8.4
Manufacturing 2.2
Wholesale trade 1.1
Retail trade 13.1
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 8.6
Information 0.6
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 4.2
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 12.5
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 23.4
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 3.7
Other Services, except public administration 4.7
Public administration 4.9

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Musselshell County, Montana in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 576 27.1
Service occupations 466 21.9
Sales and office occupations 528 24.8
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 341 16
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 215 10.1

Commuting to Work

An estimated 59.1% of Musselshell County, Montana workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 8.8% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 25.3 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Musselshell County, Montana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 59.1
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 8.8
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0
Walked 5.8
Other means 3.5
Worked from home 22.8

In 2020-2024, Musselshell County, Montana had a total of 2,663 housing units. Of these housing units, 79.8% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 2.2% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 18% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Musselshell County, Montana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 79.8
Apartments in multi-unit structures 2.2
Mobile homes 18
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

9.2% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 19.9% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Musselshell County, Montana was 5.7 rooms, and of these housing units 57% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Musselshell County, Montana had 2,148 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 515 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 85.1% while renters occupied 14.9%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.32 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.64.

3% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 12.2% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 5.9% and another 39.3% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Musselshell County, Montana:

House Heating Fuel Used in Musselshell County, Montana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 54.9
Electricity 10.8
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 8.8
All other fuels 25.6
No fuel used 0

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Musselshell County, Montana was $235,000.

Of the owner-occupied households, 43.1 % had a mortgage. 56.9% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,382 and for owners without a mortgage it was $517.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Musselshell County, Montana was $1,138. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.