County Maps US

Carter County, Montana

A county in Montana, ranked 50 of 56 by population.

CountyFIPS 30011

Within Montana
Carter County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Ekalaka, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

Download SVGFull Montana map downloads

Population
1,383
-23 (-1.6%) since 2020
Land area
3,340
square miles. A further 0.2% of the total area is water
Population density
0.41
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Ekalaka
Seat of county government.
Established
1917
108 years ago
Largest city
Ekalaka town
Population 398.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Carter County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Carter County, Montana from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 524 by 800 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Carter County ranks

Position among the 56 counties of Montana, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn MontanaNationally
Population1,38350th of 563,085th of 3,144
Land area3,340 sq mi15th of 56151st of 3,144
Population density0.41 per sq mi54th of 563,125th of 3,144
Median household income$54,16748th of 562,523rd of 3,143

Full data for Carter County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population1,383Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 20201,406Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?1,413Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area3,340 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area7.5 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area3,348 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?0.41 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$54,167American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$199,200American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age56.9American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households600American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units829American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-2
14 births, 16 deaths
Net migration
-37
More people moved out than moved in.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 6 areas bordering Carter County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Fallon CountyMontana58 mi2,959
Powder River CountyMontana57 mi1,781
Crook CountyWyoming48 mi7,852
Harding CountySouth Dakota46 mi1,331
Custer CountyMontana29 mi12,034
Butte CountySouth Dakota16 mi10,856

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 56 counties of Montana

Open the interactive Montana county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.