Official Federal Data
Big Horn County, Montana
FIPS 30003 · Population 12,891
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$58,750 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
5.8% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$1.3B ▲
GDP
17.8% ▼
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Small population: 12,891 residents. These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-year estimates, which carry a wide margin of error for places under 20,000 people. Read each value as an approximate range, and treat year-over-year changes as indicative rather than exact. A small shift can reflect survey sampling, not a real change on the ground.
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$58,750 ▲
Per Capita
$22,861 ▲
Mean Household
$73,453 ▲
Poverty Rate
22.1% ▼approx.
Median Income Comparison
Big Horn County$58,750
Montana$72,509
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 31.3%
18-34 · 21.9%
35-54 · 20.9%
55-64 · 11.8%
65+ · 14.1%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
89.7%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +0.1 pts
17.8%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 17.9 pts
5.5%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 8.6 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
12,891
Population
5,417
Labor Force
Employed
4,700
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
5.8% ▲ +1.3 pts YoY
Mean Commute 7 min below national avg
19.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
10.4%
Key Takeaways
- Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
- Elevated poverty: At 22.1%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 17.9 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
- Young population: Median age of 32 is materially below the U.S. norm, a workforce pipeline asset.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Retail Trade employs 379 workers (22.9% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $34,198.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $1.3B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction averages $95,725 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $21,213, a 4.5x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
101
Cluster Employment
15.86x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Animal Production and Aquaculture
15.86x 101
Utilities
4.50x 64
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.46x
Food Services and Drinking Places
132 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Animal Production and Aquaculture concentrates at 15.86x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Attraction whitespace: 6 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$143,400 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$697 ▲
Rent/Mo
66.7% ▲
Owner-Occ
15.5% ▼
Vacancy
2.4x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$976/mo
1 Bedroom
$992/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,302/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,657/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,115/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,469/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.4x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
- Elevated vacancy: 15.5% vacancy rate. In resort, rural, and seasonal markets much of this is recreational/seasonal (second homes), not available supply; confirm the vacancy-by-reason split before treating it as a redevelopment opportunity.
- Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,469/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
7,036 ▼
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 7 min below national avg
19.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
10.4%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
65.6%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
17.8% ▼
HS Diploma+
89.7% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
8,624/yr
3,536/yr
3,194/yr
795/yr
425/yr
381/yr
293/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
21.6%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
37%
Service
19.4%
Sales & Office
19%
Construction / Maint.
14.9%
Production / Transport
9.8%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 4,700 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Short commutes: 19.6-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 7,525 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Big Horn County shows strong potential for animal production and aquaculture attraction, with a 15.86x concentration and 101 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Big Horn County, Montana, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Big Horn County, Montana?
12,891 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Big Horn County, Montana?
$58,750 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Big Horn County, Montana?
5.8% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Big Horn County, Montana?
$1.3B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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