Census: Columbia Falls population tops 5,300
Nucleus Avenue at night.
The City of Columbia Falls population went up to 5,308, according to preliminary 2020 census data released last week.
That’s an increase of 620 people from 2010, or 13.2%.
The city has about 2,414.2 people per square mile. Almost all of them are white — 88.7%. About 7.8% are two or more races, 3.5% Hispanic, 1.3% Native American and 0.3% black.
Flathead County saw an increase 13,429 residents for a total of 104,357. That’s a 15% increase.
Other cities in the county saw greater increases.
Whitefish is now at 7,751, an increase of 1,394 residents, or an increase of 22%. Kalispell had the most growth.In 2020 it had an estimated population of 24,558. That’s an increase of 23%.
The population of the county, and Columbia Falls, will almost certainly grow even further in the next few years, as subdivisions and building projects come to fruition.
Flathead County, with vast tracts of public land, still only has about 20.5 people per square mile. If you’re really looking to get away from people, try Garfield or Petroleum counties in eastern Montana. They have just 0.3 people per square mile.
Statewide, Montana’s population eclipsed 1 million and now stands at 1.084 million, enough of an increase to add a House seat in Congress.
Montana is now the 44th least populated state in the country. Wyoming has the lowest population at 576,851.