Rosebud County, Montana

Rosebud County is a county in the state of Montana. It was established February 11, 1901, and has Montana vehicle license plate prefix 29. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,329. Its county seat is Forsyth.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 5027 sqmi, of which 5010 sqmi is land and 17 sqmi (0.3%) is water. It is the fourth-largest county in Montana by land area and fifth-largest by total area. Part of Custer National Forest is located in the county.

Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, most of Rosebud County has a cold semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

2000 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 8,329 people living in the county.

2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 9,233 people, 3,395 households, and 2,318 families residing in the county. The population density was 1.8 PD/sqmi. There were 4,057 housing units at an average density of 0.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 61.3% white, 34.7% American Indian, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.5% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 25.0% were American, 19.0% were German, 6.9% were English, and 6.6% were Irish.

Of the 3,395 households, 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.7% were non-families, and 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.32. The median age was 36.5 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $44,776 and the median income for a family was $56,282. Males had a median income of $52,500 versus $28,306 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,844. About 13.6% of families and 18.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.7% of those under age 18 and 21.3% of those age 65 or over.

Politics
Rosebud County voters have selected the Republican Party candidate in 60% of national elections since 1980 (as of 2020).

Cities

 * Colstrip
 * Forsyth (county seat)

Census-designated places

 * Ashland
 * Birney
 * Lame Deer
 * Rosebud

Unincorporated communities

 * Ahles
 * Angela
 * Bascom
 * Carterville
 * Hathaway
 * Ingomar
 * Jimtown
 * Rock Springs
 * Sumatra
 * Thurlow

Former communities

 * Vananda

Notable people

 * Heather Sharfeddin – novelist, grew up in Rosebud County
 * Frederic Remington (1861-1909) - famous western artist who lived at times, as late as 1901, on the Charles Boals ranch near Birney and the Cheyenne Indian Reservation where he hunted, painted and sketched.