84,523 people (2024 Census estimate, +0.1% since 2020)
2,698 square miles of land · 31 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
47 active community water systems list Cascade County in the area they serve, reporting 81,575 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| GREAT FALLS CITY OF surface water · local government · MT0000525 | 60,000 served |
| MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE buys surface water · federal · MT0000515 | 8,850 served |
| SUN PRAIRIE VILLAGE COUNTY groundwater · local government · MT0000521 | 1,800 served |
| BLACK EAGLE CASCADE COUNTY WATER SEWER buys surface water · local government · MT0000157 | 1,233 served |
| PRAIRIE WATER COMPANY buys surface water · private · MT0003539 | 1,000 served |
| CASCADE TOWN OF groundwater · local government · MT0000171 | 650 served |
| BELT TOWN OF groundwater · local government · MT0000138 | 600 served |
| COUNTRYSIDE VILLAGE MHP GRT FLS buys surface water · private · MT0004830 | 600 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 426 people were held in Cascade County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 814 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 476.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
12 school districts have their office in Cascade County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $95.7 million — $85.4 million to run schools, about $12,146 per student, plus $7.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $38.5 million local (mostly property tax), $39.1 million state, $25.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $41.7 million.
Spent $39 million — $32.8 million to run schools, about $10,583 per student, plus $1.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $20.7 million local (mostly property tax), $19.4 million state, $1.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $50.9 million.
Spent $3.4 million — $2.9 million to run schools, about $10,635 per student, plus $378,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.5 million local (mostly property tax), $1.4 million state, $440,000 federal. Long-term debt: $2.3 million.
Spent $3.6 million — $2.6 million to run schools, about $10,945 per student, plus $901,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.2 million local (mostly property tax), $1.5 million state, $283,000 federal. Long-term debt: $3.3 million.
Spent $2.7 million — $2.4 million to run schools, about $10,864 per student, plus $217,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.1 million local (mostly property tax), $1.1 million state, $571,000 federal.
Spent $2.9 million — $2.8 million to run schools, about $15,579 per student, plus $128,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.1 million local (mostly property tax), $1.2 million state, $536,000 federal.
Spent $2.4 million — $2 million to run schools, about $12,708 per student, plus $434,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $557,000 local (mostly property tax), $1.1 million state, $830,000 federal.
Spent $1.5 million — $1.4 million to run schools, about $10,341 per student, plus $33,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $396,000 local (mostly property tax), $914,000 state, $116,000 federal. Long-term debt: $1,000.
And 4 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Cascade County about $55.3 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
185 bridges in Cascade County: 77 in good condition, 97 fair, and 11 poor (5.9%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| US 87 over OTTER CREEK · built 1959 | 2,314 vehicles a day |
| US 87 over OTTER CREEK · built 1959 | 2,314 vehicles a day |
| US 87 over OTTER CREEK · built 1959 | 2,314 vehicles a day |
| SUN RIVER RD over SEP WEST HILL-I 15 127 · built 1967 | 1,364 vehicles a day |
| US 89 FH 32 over BELT CREEK · built 1968 | 833 vehicles a day |
| OLD US 91 over MISSOURI RIVER-RR 069 · built 1931 | 316 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $35.5 million of work in Cascade County in fiscal 2025, about $421 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Montana are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Cascade County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Cascade County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Montana: the state government and every county in Montana.
Nearby counties: Lewis and Clark County (50 mi) · Judith Basin County (53 mi) · Meagher County (54 mi) · Teton County (56 mi) · Chouteau County (58 mi) · Broadwater County (68 mi).