Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1870 | 20,595 |
|
|
| 1880 | 39,159 | 90.1% | |
| 1890 | 142,924 | 265.0% | |
| 1900 | 243,329 | 70.3% | |
| 1910 | 376,053 | 54.5% | |
| 1920 | 548,889 | 46.0% | |
| 1930 | 537,606 | −2.1% | |
| 1940 | 559,456 | 4.1% | |
| 1950 | 591,024 | 5.6% | |
| 1960 | 674,767 | 14.2% | |
| 1970 | 694,409 | 2.9% | |
| 1980 | 786,690 | 13.3% | |
| 1990 | 799,065 | 1.6% | |
| 2000 | 902,195 | 12.9% | |
| 2010 | 989,415 | 9.7% | |
| Source: 1910–2010 | |||
The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Montana was 998,199 on July 1, 2011, a 0.89% increase since the 2010 United States Census. On January 3, 2012, Governor Schweitzer announced that the Census and Economic Information Center (CEIC) at the Montana Department of Commerce estimated Montana had hit the one million mark sometime between November and December, 2011.
The 2010 census put Montana's population at 989,415 which is an increase of 87,220 people, or 9.7 percent, since the year 2000. Growth is mainly concentrated in Montana's seven largest counties, with the heaviest percentile growth in Gallatin County, which saw a 32% increase in its population since 2000. The city seeing the largest percentile growth was Kalispell with 40.1%. The city with the largest actual growth was Billings with an increase in population of 14,323 since 2000.
According to the 2010 Census, 89.4% of the population was White (87.8% Non-Hispanic White Alone), 0.4% Black or African American, 6.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 0.6% from Some Other Race, and 2.5% from Two or More Races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race made up 2.9% of the population.
The largest European ancestry groups in Montana are: German (29.3%), Irish (16.4%), English (13.1%), and Norwegian (10%). In addition, 5.9% of the people identified their ancestry as "American".
According to 2010 U.S. Census the population of Montana's seven most populous areas are Billings, Missoula, Great Falls, Bozeman, Butte, Helena and Kalispell.
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 94.8 percent of the population aged 5 and older speak English at home.
The center of population of Montana is located in Meagher County, in the city of White Sulphur Springs.
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