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Census counts growth in county, reservation

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The numbers are in, and according to the 2010 U.S. Census, Montana’s largest Indian reservation grew 8 percent larger over the past decade, to a population of 28,359.
The Flathead fits right in with a population growth trend that increased on four of Montana’s seven reservations, with Rocky Boy Indian Reservation showing the most growth at a 24 percent increase. Rocky Boy, the state’s smallest reservation, expanded by 647 people to bring the total population to 3,323.

Fort Belknap experienced a 4 percent population decrease, and Fort Peck Indian Reservation had a 3 percent drop. The Blackfeet Indian Reservation grew by 3 percent — 305 people — to make its total population 10,405 people, the Census found. The Northern Cheyenne Reservation grew by 7 percent, adding 319 people to reach 4,789, and the neighboring Crow Reservation saw no growth, losing 31 people.

But unlike other reservations, Native Americans on the Flathead are outnumbered by non-Indians by more than two to one.

In keeping with the Flathead Reservation rate of change, Lake County’s population grew by 8.4 percent to 28,746, an increase of 2,239 people.

The 2010 Census showed the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2010, was 308,745,538, and Montana had 989,415 residents, an increase of 9.7 percent for the state.

Twelve seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were reassigned according to census apportionment figures, but Montana remains one of the seven states with only one House seat.

Montana’s census response rate of 68 percent was one percentage point above the national average, putting the state 20th in the rankings. But Montana’s neighbors to the east, South Dakota and North Dakota, were ranked fifth and sixth respectively, according to census numbers.

Montana ended up the eighth worst nationally in terms of the undercount rate — the percent of the adjusted population. In a U.S. Census Monitoring Board report on the “Effect of Census 2000 undercount on Federal Funding to States and Selected Counties, 2002 – 2012,” it was estimated that 14,390 Montanans were not counted in the 2000 census. The national average of federal funding per individual for Census 2000 was $300 per person per year for 10 years, according to the report. That means Montana potentially lost $43.2 million due to undercount in 2000.

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