Languages Spoken in Montana: Map and County Data
Languages Spoken Across Montana Counties
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011–2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, about 39,200 people age 5 and older in Montana speak a language other than English at home, representing 4.1% of the state’s population age 5+. Spanish is the most spoken non-English language, with about 14,200 speakers, followed by other Native North American languages and German.
Most Spoken Non-English Languages in Montana
The most spoken non-English languages in Montana are Spanish, other Native North American languages, and German. Spanish is spoken at home by about 14,200 people, or roughly 1.5% of the state’s population age 5+.
Key Language Findings for Montana
About 39,200 people in Montana speak a language other than English at home, representing 4.1% of residents age 5 and older.
The most spoken non-English languages in Montana are Spanish, other Native North American languages, and German.
Spanish is the most spoken non-English language in Montana, with about 14,200 speakers, representing roughly 1.5% of residents age 5 and older.
Yellowstone County has the largest Spanish-speaking population in Montana, with about 2,200 speakers.
Yellowstone County has the largest population speaking a language other than English at home, with more than 5,200 residents.
While Spanish is the most spoken non-English language statewide, another language leads in 25 of the 56 Montana counties, including other Native North American languages in Big Horn County.
How Language Use Varies Across Montana Counties
Language patterns differ sharply by county. Spanish is the leading non-English language across most of Montana, but county-level rankings show large local communities speaking other Native North American languages, German, French, Chinese, other West Germanic languages, Scandinavian languages, Japanese, and other languages.
Yellowstone County has the largest number of residents speaking a language other than English at home, while Big Horn County has the highest share relative to its age-5+ population, at 32.9%. In Big Horn County, other Native North American languages are the leading non-English language, showing how statewide rankings can differ substantially at the local level.
English Proficiency and Language Access in Montana
Speaking a language other than English at home does not necessarily mean someone has limited English proficiency. Census table B16001 also separates language groups by whether residents report speaking English "very well" or less than "very well," providing additional context for organizations planning language access services. For a broader look at limited English proficiency across the country, explore Boostlingo's LEP State Map.
Plan Language Access Around the Communities You Serve
Boostlingo helps healthcare, government, education, legal, and business organizations connect people with interpreting and translation services across hundreds of languages.
Explore Interpreter ServicesSearch or sort the full county dataset to compare the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home and the six most spoken non-English languages in each county.
| County | % Other Language | Other-Language Speakers | #1 Language | #2 Language | #3 Language | #4 Language | #5 Language | #6 Language | Population Age 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Horn County | 3,872 | Other Native North American 3,475 | Spanish 341 | German 24 | Navajo 18 | French 13 | Other West Germanic 1 | 11,776 | |
| Liberty County | 489 | German 483 | French 4 | Italian 2 | — | — | — | 2,235 | |
| Wheatland County | 339 | German 304 | Spanish 32 | Navajo 2 | Other Native North American 1 | — | — | 1,989 | |
| Rosebud County | 805 | Other Native North American 536 | Spanish 149 | German 46 | Navajo 31 | Tagalog / Filipino 20 | French 12 | 8,572 | |
| Glacier County | 977 | Other Native North American 634 | German 159 | Spanish 90 | Navajo 45 | Korean 20 | Italian 14 | 12,398 | |
| Toole County | 375 | German 241 | Spanish 62 | Chinese 50 | Other Native North American 15 | Greek 7 | — | 4,921 | |
| Treasure County | 55 | Spanish 44 | Korean 6 | Portuguese 3 | German 2 | — | — | 785 | |
| Musselshell County | 280 | German 159 | Other Native North American 51 | Tagalog / Filipino 23 | Japanese 13 | Russian 12 | Spanish 8 | 4,513 | |
| Pondera County | 334 | German 112 | Other Native North American 103 | Spanish 46 | French 20 | Italian 13 | Portuguese 13 | 5,790 | |
| Blaine County | 347 | Other Native North American 188 | German 77 | Spanish 63 | Tagalog / Filipino 12 | African languages 5 | French 2 | 6,049 | |
| Carbon County | 471 | Spanish 179 | German 129 | Italian 37 | French 34 | Chinese 27 | Scandinavian 25 | 9,812 | |
| Daniels County | 79 | Spanish 52 | Scandinavian 16 | German 4 | Other Asian 4 | Other Native North American 3 | — | 1,650 | |
| Richland County | 496 | Spanish 390 | French 51 | German 38 | Scandinavian 12 | Other / unspecified 5 | — | 10,381 | |
| Lake County | 1,236 | Spanish 416 | Other Native North American 405 | Other West Germanic 140 | German 84 | Korean 47 | French 29 | 27,216 | |
| Fergus County | 478 | German 135 | Spanish 107 | Other West Germanic 60 | Scandinavian 56 | Other Indo-European 45 | French 29 | 10,833 | |
| Missoula County | 4,649 | Spanish 1,957 | German 499 | French 305 | Chinese 275 | Korean 251 | Japanese 161 | 105,992 | |
| Beaverhead County | 376 | Spanish 238 | German 62 | French 18 | Italian 13 | Scandinavian 9 | Russian 8 | 8,891 | |
| Deer Lodge County | 361 | Spanish 108 | German 100 | French 40 | Tagalog / Filipino 34 | Navajo 28 | Japanese 26 | 8,863 | |
| Gallatin County | 3,627 | Spanish 1,648 | German 370 | French 237 | Tagalog / Filipino 156 | Arabic 144 | Japanese 124 | 89,562 | |
| Lincoln County | 695 | German 288 | Spanish 149 | Chinese 42 | Russian 39 | Scandinavian 32 | Other West Germanic 30 | 18,461 | |
| Judith Basin County | 71 | German 53 | Spanish 11 | French 7 | — | — | — | 1,939 | |
| Yellowstone County | 5,289 | Spanish 2,221 | Other Native North American 893 | German 747 | Chinese 409 | French 156 | Arabic 99 | 143,758 | |
| Hill County | 514 | Other Native North American 187 | German 160 | Spanish 79 | Japanese 15 | Vietnamese 13 | Tagalog / Filipino 12 | 15,147 | |
| Silver Bow County | 1,117 | Spanish 416 | German 251 | French 81 | Chinese 70 | Italian 47 | Hebrew 46 | 32,692 | |
| Broadwater County | 179 | Spanish 160 | German 10 | French 5 | Scandinavian 4 | — | — | 5,414 | |
| Cascade County | 2,526 | Spanish 789 | German 570 | Chinese 206 | French 183 | Tagalog / Filipino 94 | Other Native North American 88 | 76,573 | |
| Park County | 495 | Spanish 240 | Scandinavian 109 | Portuguese 31 | German 30 | Other West Germanic 29 | French 22 | 14,946 | |
| Flathead County | 2,773 | Spanish 1,475 | German 287 | French 179 | Russian 143 | Other Asian 97 | Other Native North American 84 | 87,788 | |
| Chouteau County | 173 | Spanish 57 | Other Native North American 49 | German 27 | French 20 | Tagalog / Filipino 8 | Other West Germanic 4 | 5,561 | |
| Custer County | 349 | Spanish 160 | German 57 | Other Native North American 27 | Chinese 22 | Japanese 18 | French 12 | 11,193 | |
| Madison County | 229 | Spanish 175 | Portuguese 12 | Other Pacific Island 12 | Chinese 9 | Navajo 9 | German 6 | 7,475 | |
| Prairie County | 39 | German 30 | Russian 8 | Spanish 1 | — | — | — | 1,305 | |
| Ravalli County | 1,156 | Spanish 570 | German 212 | French 79 | Tagalog / Filipino 63 | Japanese 51 | Yiddish 42 | 38,908 | |
| Powell County | 193 | Spanish 86 | Other Native North American 43 | German 24 | Other West Germanic 16 | French 15 | Other Pacific Island 4 | 6,700 | |
| Stillwater County | 259 | Spanish 223 | French 24 | German 9 | Other Native North American 3 | — | — | 8,867 | |
| Lewis and Clark County | 1,699 | Spanish 912 | German 182 | French 90 | Other Native North American 60 | Italian 47 | Other West Germanic 44 | 61,555 | |
| Sanders County | 299 | Spanish 104 | Other West Germanic 76 | German 35 | Scandinavian 25 | Other Native North American 17 | Tagalog / Filipino 13 | 10,837 | |
| Sheridan County | 96 | Spanish 59 | German 22 | Other Native North American 8 | French 3 | Scandinavian 2 | Other Slavic 2 | 3,443 | |
| Valley County | 188 | German 86 | Spanish 58 | Other Pacific Island 17 | Other Native North American 10 | Chinese 5 | Scandinavian 4 | 7,186 | |
| Roosevelt County | 250 | Other Native North American 149 | Spanish 30 | German 17 | Chinese 14 | Navajo 12 | French 9 | 10,066 | |
| Teton County | 143 | German 103 | Spanish 25 | Scandinavian 9 | French 3 | Chinese 3 | — | 5,715 | |
| Granite County | 70 | German 25 | French 18 | Spanish 14 | Italian 4 | Scandinavian 3 | Chinese 3 | 3,033 | |
| Jefferson County | 239 | Spanish 62 | German 58 | Japanese 27 | French 17 | Italian 17 | Scandinavian 14 | 11,010 | |
| Phillips County | 74 | Spanish 44 | German 15 | Other Native North American 6 | French 4 | Scandinavian 3 | Russian 2 | 3,924 | |
| Dawson County | 157 | Japanese 46 | Spanish 43 | German 26 | Other West Germanic 18 | Other Native North American 13 | French 6 | 8,808 | |
| Sweet Grass County | 60 | Russian 20 | Scandinavian 14 | Portuguese 8 | French 7 | Spanish 6 | Japanese 5 | 3,424 | |
| Carter County | 18 | French 9 | Chinese 4 | Spanish 2 | Other Slavic 2 | Other Native North American 1 | — | 1,165 | |
| Meagher County | 26 | Spanish 17 | Chinese 9 | — | — | — | — | 1,786 | |
| Powder River County | 24 | Russian 9 | Japanese 9 | German 4 | Spanish 2 | — | — | 1,637 | |
| Fallon County | 38 | Spanish 20 | German 15 | Other Native North American 3 | — | — | — | 2,786 | |
| Golden Valley County | 8 | Other West Germanic 4 | Russian 3 | German 1 | — | — | — | 728 | |
| McCone County | 16 | Spanish 5 | Other Pacific Island 4 | German 3 | Scandinavian 2 | Japanese 2 | — | 1,640 | |
| Mineral County | 32 | German 15 | Tagalog / Filipino 7 | Spanish 6 | Other Native North American 3 | Navajo 1 | — | 3,975 | |
| Garfield County | 6 | French 2 | German 2 | Scandinavian 1 | Russian 1 | — | — | 959 | |
| Petroleum County | 2 | Spanish 1 | German 1 | — | — | — | — | 421 | |
| Wibaux County | 4 | Spanish 4 | — | — | — | — | — | 949 |
About the Data
Data on this page comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2011–2015 5-Year Estimates, table B16001, Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over. Statewide and county estimates use the same Census table so the figures can be compared consistently across the page.
The estimates describe languages spoken at home among residents age 5 and older. Census estimates include margins of error, particularly for smaller counties and less common language groups.