Richland County, Montana
Richland County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,491. Its county seat is Sidney.

Richland County was created by the Montana Legislature in 1914 from part of Dawson County. An early proposed name for the county was Gate, but Richland was decided upon instead as a way to entice new settlers.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which  is land and  (0.9%) is water.

Major highways
  Montana Highway 16
  Montana Highway 23
  Montana Highway 200

Adjacent counties

 Roosevelt County – north
 Williams County, North Dakota – northeast
 McKenzie County, North Dakota – east
 Wibaux County - south
 Dawson County – southwest
 McCone County - west

Demographics

2020 census
As of the census of 2020, there were 11,491 people.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 9,746 people, 4,167 households, and 2,698 families in the county. The population density was . There were 4,550 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.0% white, 1.7% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.8% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 37.8% were German, 23.1% were Norwegian, 13.0% were Irish, 8.7% were American, and 6.5% were English.

Of the 4,167 households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.3% were non-families, and 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 41.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $52,516 and the median income for a family was $60,236. Males had a median income of $44,788 versus $23,135 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,888. About 10.2% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.6% of those under age 18 and 14.4% of those age 65 or over.

Economy
Although most of the surface land of the county is devoted to ranching, oil exploration and production became important elements of the county's economy beginning with the discovery in 2000 of Elm Coulee Oil Field, part of the Bakken formation.

Politics
Richland County voters have been reliably Republican, opting only one time for the Democratic Party candidate in national elections since 1948 (as of 2020).

Communities

City
 Sidney (county seat)

Town
 Fairview

Census-designated places
 Crane
 Fox Lake
 Savage

Other unincorporated places

 Andes
 Enid
 Lambert
 Ludington
 Nohly
 Ridgelawn
 Sioux Pass

See also
 List of lakes in Richland County, Montana
 List of mountains in Richland County, Montana
 National Register of Historic Places listings in Richland County MT

References

 
1914 establishments in Montana
Populated places established in 1914