County Maps US

Sanders County, Montana

A county in Montana, ranked 13 of 56 by population.

CountyFIPS 30089

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

Download SVGFull Montana map downloads

Population
14,062
+1,608 (+12.9%) since 2020
Land area
2,760
square miles. A further 1.1% of the total area is water
Population density
5.1
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Thompson Falls
Seat of county government.
Established
1905
120 years ago
Largest city
Thompson Falls city
Population 1,543.

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 Sanders 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 Sanders 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 800 by 737 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 Sanders 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
Population14,06213th of 562,158th of 3,144
Land area2,760 sq mi20th of 56188th of 3,144
Population density5.1 per sq mi19th of 562,771st of 3,144
Median household income$57,47645th of 562,301st of 3,143

Full data for Sanders County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population14,062Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202012,454Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?12,395Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area2,760 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area29.5 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area2,790 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?5.1 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$57,476American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$359,000American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age54.6American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households5,451American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units6,808American 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
-35
132 births, 167 deaths
Net migration
+206
More people moved in than moved out.

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

The 7 areas bordering Sanders 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
Lincoln CountyMontana100 mi22,328
Lake CountyMontana77 mi33,392
Mineral CountyMontana57 mi5,185
Shoshone CountyIdaho55 mi14,130
Missoula CountyMontana39 mi123,513
Flathead CountyMontana35 mi115,429
Bonner CountyIdaho17 mi54,420

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.