Montana · county 30091

Sheridan County, Montana: public records at a glance

What national public records say about Sheridan County — people, schools, health, drinking water, bridges, disaster risk, the jail, federal grants and how to vote — each with its source. A full County Commons site (the budget line by line, your tax bill, audits, local offices) isn't built for Sheridan County yet — not gathered, never hidden.

3,448 people (2024 Census estimate, −2.5% since 2020)
1,677 square miles of land · 2 people per square mile

How Sheridan County compares — against the other counties in Montana

“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.

Drinking water — public water systems serving Sheridan County

5 active community water systems list Sheridan County in the area they serve, reporting 2,627 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).

PLENTYWOOD WATER DEPARTMENT
buys surface water · local government · MT0000306
1,700 served
MEDICINE LAKE TOWN OF
buys surface water · local government · MT0000289
600 served
WESTBY TOWN OF
buys surface water · local government · MT0000355
172 served
OUTLOOK COUNTY SEWER AND WATER
groundwater · local government · MT0003312
96 served
ANTELOPE COUNTY WATER AND SEWER
buys surface water · local government · MT0003203
59 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.

The jail — people held in the county jail

About 1 people were held in Sheridan County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 47 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 2.

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.

Public schools — district budgets, fiscal 2023

3 school districts have their office in Sheridan County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.

PLENTYWOOD K-12 SCHOOL DISTRICT371 students

Spent $5.9 million — $5.3 million to run schools, about $14,367 per student, plus $349,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.2 million local (mostly property tax), $2.6 million state, $639,000 federal. Long-term debt: $3.3 million.

MEDICINE LAKE K-12 SCHOOL DISTRICT84 students

Spent $3.6 million — $3.1 million to run schools, about $36,702 per student, plus $425,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.9 million local (mostly property tax), $1.2 million state, $249,000 federal.

WESTBY K-12 SCHOOL DISTRICT50 students

Spent $1.7 million — $1.7 million to run schools, about $34,040 per student. Money in: $920,000 local (mostly property tax), $1.3 million state, $62,000 federal.

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.

Health, money and internet at home — Sheridan County beside Montana

Life expectancy76.6 years · Montana 76.9 years
Adults under 65 without health insurance12.4% · Montana 10.5%
Children in poverty15.2% · Montana 12.8%
Households without enough food (food insecurity)10.7% · Montana 11.7%
Households with broadband internet86.5% · Montana 88.2%
Households with severe housing problems11.4% · Montana 13.8%
Residents per primary care doctor3,527 · Montana 1,200
Residents per mental health provider500 · Montana 250
Unemployment2.3% · Montana 2.9%
Median household income$58,094 · Montana $70,939

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.

Disaster risk — FEMA's National Risk Index

Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Sheridan County about $5 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.

The costliest hazards here

Cold wave$2.9 million a year · Relatively Moderate
River and inland flooding$1.4 million a year · Very Low
Winter weather$151,141 a year · Relatively Moderate
Tornado$134,992 a year · Very Low
Strong wind$134,469 a year · Relatively Low

Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.

Bridges — condition of every public bridge, 2025

66 bridges in Sheridan County: 11 in good condition, 52 fair, and 3 poor (4.5%). “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.

Busiest bridges rated poor

S 5
over DAHL CREEK · built 1939
309 vehicles a day
S 5
over MAIN CREEK · built 1939
309 vehicles a day
W LAKE RD
over BIG MUDDY CREEK 046 · built 1950
79 vehicles a day

Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.

Federal grants — the money that came in, and what's open now

Federal grants paid for $2.2 million of work in Sheridan County in fiscal 2025, about $617 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.

Open now: federal grants county governments can apply for

F26AS00062: Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act FY 2026
Fish and Wildlife Service · F26AS00062
closes 2026-10-13
OVC FY 2026 Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking
Office for Victims of Crime · O-OVC-2026-172699
closes 2026-10-14
BJA FY 2026 Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Program
Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172661
closes 2026-10-15
FY26 Bureau of Land Management Youth Conservation Corps - Bureau wide
Bureau of Land Management · L26AS00064
closes 2026-10-16
FY 2027 Notice of Funding Opportunity: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) FAA Contract Tower (FCT) Competitive Grant Program
Airport Improvement Program Discretionary Grants · DOT-FAA-26-0117-002
closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Service Area Competition (SAC)
Health Resources and Services Administration · HRSA-27-005
closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP Competition
AmeriCorps · AC-08-20-2026
closes 2026-10-20
DOJ FY 2026 Assisting Neighborhoods and Governments with Enforcement of Laws (ANGEL) Grant Program
Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172778
closes 2026-10-20
Long-term health outcomes of people living with spina bifida
Centers for Disease Control - NCBDDD · CDC-RFA-DD-26-0222
closes 2026-10-26
OJJDP FY 2026 Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Program
Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention · O-OJJDP-2026-172741
closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Veterans Treatment Court Program
Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172714
closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA
Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172708
closes 2026-10-29

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.

Voting

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.

Not here yet

The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Sheridan 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 Sheridan County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.

More of Montana: the state government and every county in Montana.

Nearby counties: Roosevelt County (36 mi) · Daniels County (46 mi) · Divide County, ND (47 mi) · Williams County, ND (53 mi) · Richland County (63 mi) · McKenzie County, ND (84 mi).