More Land than People, Part 2

I discussed the easternmost and southernmost United States counties with fewer than a single resident per square mile in the first installment. That was Kenedy County, Texas. Now, let’s review the map of fractional county population densities once again and take a closer look. There aren’t very many; only 63 out of 3,143 counties or equivalents fall into that category. I’ve provided a complete list at the bottom of this post for those who want the full set of details.

County Population Densities Less Than One. Map by howderfamily.com; (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

First, I’m impressed by the complete lack of representation throughout the entire eastern half of the nation. A line begins to emerge along the western edge of the Great Plains with clusters in eastern Montana, western Nebraska, southeastern Oregon plus smatterings in various other western states. Alaska, as expected, contributes the bulk of empty acreage.

Texas

Texas certainly lays claim to a number of counties. Not far from Kenedy, McMullen Co. represents the second easternmost and second southernmost on the list. I feel sorry for McMullen, an also-ran two different ways.

Nebraska

Then things get interesting. What is the third easternmost county? It’s Blaine Co., Nebraska by my estimates. That’s the little nob sticking out from the Nebraska cluster. However it’s further east than Edwards or King Counties in Texas by maybe two or three miles at most. I like Blaine because Weed Superintendent is an elected office. I’m going to assume it has to do with the abatement of invasive plants in an area dependent upon agriculture but it still sounds really funny. No disrespect to Jason Hunt, weed superintendent for Blaine Co. is intended. I’m sure he does a fine job.

Alaska

The Bethel Census Area in Alaska provides another fascinating point of trivia. It’s the only county equivalent with a population density below one that also has a total population above 10,000. It’s not even close. Bethel had 17,013 residents in 2010. However that doesn’t make much of a dent in an area of forty thousand square miles.

Utah

Garfield Co., Utah barely squeaks by with 5,172 people on 5,175 square miles. A single family could move here over the next decade and push it off my density map. That’s likely to happen. Garfield has gained population for the last forty years and it’s about to pass its historic high established all the way back in 1940. Nobody know how that may impact the Miss Garfield County contest.


A Tad on the Wrong Side

Of course there also has to be a “biggest loser,” a county that comes closest to making the list but falls tragically short. That dubious distinction goes to Roberts Co., Texas with 929 residents on 924 square miles. It’s a dry county so residents can’t even console themselves. I can’t say if Roberts Co. will rejoin the list or not. It’s would have been on the list in 2000 and it’s lost population historically. However Roberts gained forty-something people over the last decade which pushed it back over the line. The county economy depends heavily upon oil and natural gas extraction and we’re in a boom right now so their status could change as prices fluctuation.

One other county that did not make the list deserves a mention: Issaquena Co., Mississippi. It is a complete outlier in that part of the nation. One might think it would be unusual to consider a county with 1,406 people on 413 square miles — all the way down at number 259 on my list — but this poor Mississippi Delta county bled people at an astounding rate. More than 10,000 people lived here a century ago. It lost another 40% of its population just over the last decade. I don’t think it will happen in 2020, however it’s possible a little red dot may jump all the way over to Mississippi someday.

Remember in the last installment that I mentioned a trendsetting musician born in Kenedy County? Apparently isolated, impoverished counties have a way of doing that. Issaquena was the birthplace of an even more famous musician: McKinley Morganfield. He was better known as Muddy Waters.


The Data

The 63 counties or equivalents with a population density below one person per square mile as based on the 2010 United States Census, sorted from the lowest to highest density.

County or Equivalent    Land sq. mi.    2010 pop    pop/sq. mi.
				
Yukon-Koyukuk, AK        145504.8        5588         0.0384
Lake and Peninsula, AK    23652.0        1631         0.0690
Yakutat, AK                7649.5         662         0.0865
North Slope, AK           88695.4        9430         0.1063
Loving, TX                  668.9          82         0.1226
Denali, AK                12751.4        1826         0.1432
Northwest Arctic, AK      35572.6        7523         0.2115
Esmeralda, NV              3581.9         783         0.2186
Garfield, MT               4675.4        1206         0.2579
Dillingham, AK            18568.8        4847         0.2610
Valdez-Cordova, AK        34239.9        9636         0.2814
Southeast Fairbanks, AK   24768.8        7029         0.2838
Kenedy, TX                 1458.3         416         0.2853
Hoonah-Angoon, AK          7524.9        2150         0.2857
Petroleum, MT              1654.9         494         0.2985
King, TX                    910.9         286         0.3140
Harding, NM                2125.4         695         0.3270
Carter, MT                 3340.8        1160         0.3472
Nome, AK                  22961.8        9492         0.4134
Terrell, TX                2358.0         984         0.4173
Bethel, AK                40570.0       17013         0.4193
Wade Hampton, AK          17081.4        7459         0.4367 -- renamed Kusilvak in 2015
Aleutians East, AK         6981.9        3141         0.4499
Harding, SD                2671.4        1255         0.4698
Eureka, NV                 4175.7        1987         0.4759
Lincoln, NV               10633.2        5345         0.5027
Powder River, MT           3297.3        1743         0.5286
Catron, NM                 6923.7        3725         0.5380
Clark, ID                  1764.2         982         0.5566
Slope, ND                  1214.9         727         0.5984
McMullen, TX               1139.4         707         0.6205
McPherson, NE               859.0         539         0.6275
Culberson, TX              3812.8        2398         0.6289
Sioux, NE                  2066.7        1311         0.6343
Arthur, NE                  715.4         460         0.6430
McCone, MT                 2643.2        1734         0.6560
Blaine, NE                  710.9         478         0.6724
Prairie, MT                1736.7        1179         0.6789
Billings, ND               1148.9         783         0.6815
Borden, TX                  897.4         641         0.7143
Harney, OR                10133.2        7422         0.7324
Treasure, MT                977.4         718         0.7346
Golden Valley, MT          1175.3         884         0.7521
Hinsdale, CO               1117.3         843         0.7545
Hudspeth, TX               4571.0        3476         0.7604
Meagher, MT                2391.9        1891         0.7906
Kiowa, CO                  1767.8        1398         0.7908
Grant, NE                   776.2         614         0.7910
Mineral, CO                 875.7         712         0.8131
Phillips, MT               5140.0        4253         0.8274
Wheeler, OR                1714.7        1441         0.8404
Jackson, CO                1613.7        1394         0.8638
De Baca, NM                2322.6        2022         0.8706
Custer, ID                 4920.9        4368         0.8876
Kent, TX                    902.5         808         0.8953
Thomas, NE                  713.2         647         0.9071
Banner, NE                  746.1         690         0.9248
Wrangell, AK               2541.5        2369         0.9321
Edwards, TX                2117.9        2002         0.9453
Niobrara, WY               2626.0        2484         0.9459
Cherry, NE                 5960.4        5713         0.9585
Lake, OR                   8139.0        7895         0.9700
Garfield, UT               5175.1        5172         0.9994

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2 responses to “More Land than People, Part 2”

  1. Phil Sites Avatar

    Meagher County, MT (pronounced “Marr”, though “meager” might make more sense in this instance) is named for Thomas Meagher and irishman who ended up being the first Governor of the Montana Territory. He has quite an interesting story himself. I’ve been through the county and visited a Hutterite colony in the community of Martinsdale (the locals there pronounce it “Martins Dolly”). Their beer could knock you out in two seconds…

  2. Cory Avatar
    Cory

    My dad lives in Garfield County. A fun picture op in that county is the US highway sign that says “not 89.” http://www.fun-family-vacations.com/images/this-is-not-route-89-sign.jpg

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