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Montana lags in Census response with one month left until count ends

Kate Radford, Contributing writer | Last updated Aug 25, 2020 12:25pm0
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A flyer encourages Montanans to fill out the census

The 2020 decennial Census count started on Apr. 1. With the final day to be counted scheduled for September 30, Montana lags behind nearly every other state with a completion rate on Aug. 21 of 66.4 percent. That puts Montana in fourth to last place, above Puerto Rico, New Mexico, and South Carolina.

Census data is used for a variety of purposes. The U.S. Census estimates that for every Montana resident counted (including children), the state receives approximately $2,000 in funding each year. Over the course of the ten years until the next Census, this equals $20,000 in funding. This funding supports educational programs, medical assistance, highway planning and hundreds of other programs.

Currently, Montana receives federal funds based on data from the previous Census. In 2017, the Montana received $3 billion of federal funds, which accounted for 40 percent of the state's budget. This includes more than $500 million for education. In 2016, $441 million supported highway construction and planning in Montana.

Census data is also used to determine legislative districts, establish school districts, and apportion seats across the country to the U.S. House of Representatives. The U.S. Census cites Montana as a state poised to gain another Representative with a complete count.

Medical and health related programs that receive funding based at least in part on Census data include the National School Lunch Program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Medicaid and Medicare. In addition to free and reduced lunches, funding for educational programs like Head Start and teacher training programs are also based in part on Census data.

The Census also affects state and local economics. Census data can impact job creation, community revitalization efforts and housing. Grants, such as business enterprise grants and state wildlife grants, likewise rely on Census data.

 

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Montana 100 Years Ago: A Census Snapshot

A century ago, Montana looked considerably different.

Kate Radford, Contributing writer

The 1920 Montana Census counted 548,889 people, with an average of 3.8 people per square mile in the state. Lewis and Clark County claimed 18,660 of those residents, while Lincoln had just 119 people counted by the Census.

The rural population of Montana made up more than 68 percent of state with a count of 376,878 people. This included anyone living outside an incorporated place with 2,500 inhabitants or more. The state included nearly 50,000 more men than women. Six cities had 10,000 or more people: Butte, Great Falls, Billings, Missoula, Helena, and Anaconda.

Occupations included a variety of agriculture, mining, and steam railway-related positions, along with dozens of other jobs from teachers to office workers to salespeople.

Some occupations had nearly as many women as men, such as postmistresses (193) and postmasters (204). Other occupations are listed as only having men, such as sheriffs (203).

Other jobs included shoemakers and cobblers (302); boiler washers and engine hostlers (320); draymen, teamsters, and expressmen (2,107); switchmen and flagmen for steam railroad (768); and telegraph operators (588).

The agricultural landscape of Montana changed drastically between the 1910 and 1920 Census. Farms more than doubled in those ten years, due in large part to the wide promotion of Montana as a drylands farming .paradise by major railroads like the Milwaukee Road.

The 1920 Census counted 57,677 farms composed of more than 35 million acres valuing more than $985 million. The Census also counted livestock including horses (53,019), mules (3,453), cattle (45,475), sheep (5,037), swine (26,065), poultry (44,629), and beehives (1,199).

At the beginning of 1920, Montana had five fewer counties that it does today. Daniels, Golden Valley, and Judith Basin Counties were districted in late 1920. Lake County was created in 1923 and Petroleum County followed in 1925.

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