Hill County is a county in Montana, United States, on the Hi-Line along the Canadian border. It had a population of 16,309 at the 2020 census and covers 2,916 square miles (7,550 km2) centred near 48°38′N 110°07′W.
Havre is the county seat and its postal code is 59501. The county has one incorporated city, one incorporated town, and roughly twenty unincorporated communities and census-designated places. Hill County observes Mountain Time.
Towns & Villages in Hill County
Havre, the seat and largest place, anchors the county’s northern half; the rest of Hill County is open Hi-Line farm and ranch country dotted with rail-siding hamlets and Hutterite colonies. Only Havre and Hingham are incorporated — everything else below is an unincorporated community or census-designated place (CDP).
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Havre | City · seat | — | 59501 |
| Hingham | Town | — | 59528 |
| Rudyard | CDP | — | 59540 |
| Kremlin | CDP | — | 59559 |
| Gildford | CDP | — | 59525 |
| Gildford Colony | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Inverness | CDP | — | 59530 |
| Box Elder | CDP | — | 59521 |
| Rocky Boy’s Agency | CDP | — | — |
| Rocky Boy West | CDP | — | — |
| Havre North | CDP | — | — |
| West Havre | CDP | — | — |
| Fresno | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Beaver Creek | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Simpson | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sangrey | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Saint Pierre | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Saddle Butte | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Herron | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Goldstone | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Azure | Unincorp. | — | — |
| East End Colony | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hilldale Colony | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Parker School | Unincorp. | — | — |
Rocky Boy’s Agency, on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation held by the federally recognised Chippewa Cree Tribe, is administered separately from Havre’s other CDPs though it shares Hill County’s northern boundary with the reservation. Several of the county’s smaller listings — the old scrape’s “trailer court” entries — are informal mobile-home parks rather than census places and are omitted here.
ZIP Codes
- 59501 — Havre (also serves West Havre and Havre North)
- 59521 — Box Elder
- 59525 — Gildford
- 59528 — Hingham
- 59530 — Inverness
- 59540 — Rudyard
- 59559 — Kremlin
Smaller unincorporated places such as Fresno, Beaver Creek and Simpson share a ZIP code with the nearest post-office town rather than having their own.
Geography
Hill County sits on Montana’s Hi-Line, the open wheat and cattle country that runs along U.S. Route 2 near the Canadian border. The terrain is rolling shortgrass prairie broken by the Bear Paw Mountains’ northern foothills and the Milk River valley; of the county’s 2,916 square miles, 2,899 are land and 17 are water. The Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation occupies part of the county’s southern reach.
Hill County borders Blaine County to the east, Liberty County to the west, and Chouteau County to the south, with the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan across the international line to the north.
Demographics
Hill County’s population was 16,309 at the 2020 census, the great majority concentrated in Havre and its immediate CDPs; Hingham is the county’s second incorporated place but is far smaller. About 23 percent of residents identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, reflecting the Rocky Boy’s Reservation community, against roughly 69 percent White. Median household income runs below the Montana median of $70,804, typical of the Hi-Line’s agricultural counties. Population density is about 5.6 people per square mile.
Economy & Local Life
Wheat and cattle ranching drive the county’s rural economy, alongside the BNSF Railway’s Hi-Line mainline through Havre, historically a major division point. Montana State University-Northern, a public university, is based in Havre and is the county’s largest non-agricultural employer alongside the Northern Montana Hospital. The Rocky Boy’s Reservation supports its own tribal government and college, Stone Child College.
History
Hill County was organized in 1912, carved from Chouteau County and named for James J. Hill, the Great Northern Railway president whose line built Havre into a division-point town in the 1880s and 90s. The Rocky Boy’s Reservation was established in 1916 for the Chippewa Cree, one of the last reservations created in the United States. Havre’s downtown grew around the railroad and later became known for the underground “Havre Beneath the Streets” tourist tunnels used during Prohibition.
Getting There
U.S. Route 2 runs east-west through Havre along the Hi-Line, and Montana Highway 234 runs south toward the Bear Paw Mountains.
- Great Falls — 110 miles south
- Glasgow — 115 miles east
- Shelby — 85 miles west
- Lethbridge, Alberta — 110 miles north
Havre City-County Airport offers limited commercial service; most travellers connect through Great Falls International Airport.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Hill County, Montana?
It is on Montana’s Hi-Line in the north-central part of the state, directly on the Canadian border.
What is the population of Hill County?
16,309 residents at the 2020 census.
How big is Hill County?
2,916 square miles (7,550 km2), of which 17 square miles is water.
What is the county seat of Hill County?
Havre, also the county’s largest city.
How many towns are in Hill County?
One incorporated city (Havre), one incorporated town (Hingham), and about twenty unincorporated communities and CDPs.
What ZIP codes are in Hill County?
Havre uses 59501; other towns include Box Elder (59521), Gildford (59525), Hingham (59528), Inverness (59530), Rudyard (59540) and Kremlin (59559).
Is the Rocky Boy’s Reservation in Hill County?
Part of it is — the Chippewa Cree Tribe’s Rocky Boy’s Reservation extends into southern Hill County.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Montana.