Cascade County is a county in Montana, United States, centred on the city of Great Falls and the falls of the Missouri River that give it its name. It had a population of 84,414 at the 2020 census and covers 2,711 square miles (7,020 km2), of which 2,698 square miles (6,990 km2) is land, centred near 47°19′N 111°21′W.
Great Falls is the county seat, and its postal code is 59401. The county contains one city, three incorporated towns, twenty census-designated places (CDPs), and dozens of smaller unincorporated communities. Cascade County runs on Mountain Time.
Towns & Villages in Cascade County
Cascade County has one incorporated city — Great Falls, the seat — plus the towns of Belt, Cascade, and Neihart. The rest of the county’s named places are Census Bureau CDPs or unincorporated localities with no city government of their own; several began as railroad sidings, coal camps, or Hutterite colonies. «CDP» below means census-designated place; «Unincorp.» means an unincorporated locality that is not a CDP.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Falls | City · seat | — | 59401 |
| Belt | Town | — | 59412 |
| Cascade | Town | — | 59421 |
| Neihart | Town | — | 59465 |
| Black Eagle | CDP | — | 59414 |
| Fort Shaw | CDP | — | 59443 |
| Malmstrom AFB | CDP | — | 59402 |
| Monarch | CDP | — | 59463 |
| Sand Coulee | CDP | — | 59472 |
| Simms | CDP | — | 59477 |
| Stockett | CDP | — | 59480 |
| Sun River | CDP | — | 59483 |
| Ulm | CDP | — | 59485 |
| Vaughn | CDP | — | 59487 |
| Big Stone Colony | CDP | — | — |
| Cascade Colony | CDP | — | — |
| Centerville | CDP | — | — |
| Fair Haven Colony | CDP | — | — |
| Gibson Flats | CDP | — | — |
| Hardy | CDP | — | — |
| Pleasant Valley Colony | CDP | — | — |
| Riceville | CDP | — | — |
| Sun Prairie | CDP | — | — |
| Tracy | CDP | — | — |
| Adel | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Armington | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Armington Junction | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Belt Creek | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Blythe | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Calvert | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Castner Falls | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cooper | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Countryside Village | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Eden | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Emerson Junction | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Evans | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fields | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fife | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Garrett MH Park | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Gerber | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Giffen | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Gordon | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Highwoods MH Park | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lowry | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Manchester | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mid Canon | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Millegan | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Missouri Meadows Trailer Park | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Number Seven | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Olson Place | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pleasant Park MH Court | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Portage | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Rainbow | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Riverdale | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Rivershore MH Park | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Rogers | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Saint Peter | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Salem | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sheffels | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Smelter Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Truly | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Wayne | Unincorp. | — | — |
Several colonies share near-identical names with unrelated places elsewhere in Montana — Big Stone Colony, Fair Haven Colony, and Pleasant Valley Colony are all Hutterite agricultural communities inside Cascade County and are not to be confused with any similarly named colonies in neighbouring counties.
ZIP Codes
- 59401, 59403, 59404, 59405, 59406 — Great Falls
- 59402 — Malmstrom AFB
- 59412 — Belt
- 59414 — Black Eagle
- 59421 — Cascade
- 59443 — Fort Shaw
- 59463 — Monarch
- 59465 — Neihart
- 59472 — Sand Coulee
- 59477 — Simms
- 59480 — Stockett
- 59483 — Sun River
- 59485 — Ulm
- 59487 — Vaughn
Smaller CDPs and unincorporated localities without their own post office, including the county’s Hutterite colonies, use the ZIP code of the nearest listed town.
Geography
Cascade County sits on the Great Plains where they meet the Rocky Mountain Front, spanning open prairie in the east and foothills of the Little Belt and Highwood Mountains toward the south and southeast. The Missouri River crosses the county from southwest to northeast, dropping over the Great Falls of the Missouri near the city of Great Falls; the Sun River and Belt Creek are its principal tributaries in the county. Of the county’s 2,711 square miles, 13 square miles (34 km2), about 0.5 percent, is water.
Cascade County borders Teton County to the north, Chouteau County to the northeast, Judith Basin County to the east, Meagher County to the southeast, and Lewis and Clark County to the south and southwest.
Demographics
Cascade County had a population of 84,414 at the 2020 census, Montana’s fifth-highest county total. Great Falls is by far the largest community; Black Eagle, a CDP just east of the city on the Missouri River, is the county’s second-largest population center. Median household income across Montana was the state median of $70,804 as of the 2023 American Community Survey; Cascade County’s mix of military, health-care, and agricultural employment tracks close to that figure. Population density is roughly 31 people per square mile of land, concentrated overwhelmingly in and around Great Falls, with the rural two-thirds of the county sparsely settled ranch and farm land.
Economy & Local Life
Malmstrom Air Force Base, home to a wing of the 341st Missile Wing’s Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile force, is one of the county’s largest employers. Benefis Health System, the region’s main hospital network, and Walmart are also major employers in Great Falls. Outside the city, the economy runs on wheat and barley farming, cattle ranching, and rail freight along the BNSF line that follows the Missouri River corridor. Great Falls hosts the annual Montana State Fair each summer and is home to the C.M. Russell Museum, dedicated to the Western artist Charles M. Russell, who lived and painted in the city for much of his life.
History
Cascade County was organized in 1887, named for the Great Falls of the Missouri River — “cascade” is French for waterfall. Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition reached the falls on June 13, 1805, and the expedition spent nearly a month portaging around them before continuing west. Great Falls itself was founded in 1883 by Paris Gibson, who chose the site for its hydroelectric potential at the falls, and the city grew through the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a smelting and railroad center built on copper and silver ore shipped in from Butte.
Getting There
Interstate 15 and U.S. Highways 87 and 89 all run through Cascade County and converge at Great Falls. Great Falls International Airport (GTF) offers regional and connecting commercial flights.
- Helena — about 90 miles south
- Billings — about 225 miles southeast
- Missoula — about 200 miles west
- Havre — about 115 miles northeast
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Cascade County, Montana?
It sits in central Montana along the Missouri River, on the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountain Front, roughly 90 miles north of Helena.
What is the population of Cascade County?
84,414 at the 2020 census, Montana’s fifth-most populous county.
How big is Cascade County?
2,711 square miles (7,020 km2) in total, of which 2,698 square miles is land.
What is the county seat of Cascade County?
Great Falls is the county seat.
How many towns are in Cascade County?
One city (Great Falls), three incorporated towns (Belt, Cascade, and Neihart), twenty census-designated places, and dozens of smaller unincorporated localities.
What ZIP codes are in Cascade County?
ZIP codes include 59401 and 59404 (Great Falls), 59412 (Belt), 59421 (Cascade), and 59465 (Neihart), among others listed above.
What is Malmstrom Air Force Base?
A U.S. Air Force base just east of Great Falls that hosts part of the nation’s Minuteman III missile force and is one of the county’s largest employers.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Montana.