Who is the Flathead County County Attorney?

Travis R. Ahner (Republican) is the County Attorney of Flathead County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.

Who is the Flathead County Clerk and Recorder/Surveyor/Auditor?

Debbie Pierson (Republican) is the Clerk and Recorder/Surveyor/Auditor of Flathead County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.

Who is the Flathead County Clerk of District Court?

Sara Fredenberg Smith (Republican) is the Clerk of District Court of Flathead County, Montana.

Who is the Flathead County Sheriff/Coroner?

Brian Heino (Republican) is the Sheriff/Coroner of Flathead County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.

Who is the Flathead County Superintendent of Schools?

Cal Ketchum (Republican) is the Superintendent of Schools of Flathead County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.

Who is the Flathead County Treasurer/Public Administrator/Assessor?

Adele Krantz (Republican) is the Treasurer/Public Administrator/Assessor of Flathead County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.

Who are the Flathead County commissioners?

Brad Abell (District 1); Pamela J. Holmquist (District 2); Randy Brodehl (District 3).

What is the population of Flathead County?

About 110,695 people, with a median age of 42.2; the median household income is $73,925 and 9.3% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Flathead County?

2.4% in September 2026 (preliminary): 1,458 people unemployed in a labor force of 60,933, against 3.0% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).

How many local governments are there in Flathead County?

74 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 3 municipal, 20 school district and 50 special district governments.

Flathead County, MT elected officials: county commissioners, sheriff, school board and cities

Who holds every elected county, school board, city and special-district office in Flathead County: 9 seats on 7 elected bodies. 6 seats were on the November 3, 2026 ballot; they update once the county certifies its results.

Board of County Commissioners

Flathead County Board of Commissioners

Every member is elected countywide.

Office	Who holds it now	Next term
County Commissioner, District 1	Brad Abell Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
County Commissioner, District 2	Pamela J. Holmquist Republican source
County Commissioner, District 3	Randy Brodehl Republican source

County officers

Office	Who holds it now	Next term
County Attorney	Travis R. Ahner Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
Clerk and Recorder/Surveyor/Auditor	Debbie Pierson Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
Clerk of District Court	Sara Fredenberg Smith Republican source
Sheriff/Coroner	Brian Heino Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
Superintendent of Schools	Cal Ketchum Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
Treasurer/Public Administrator/Assessor	Adele Krantz Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet

How many local governments Flathead County has

The Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments counts 74 local governments in Flathead County. This page lists the ones whose offices are elected.

Kind of government	Census count (2022)	Listed on this page
County government	1	1
Cities, towns, villages and townships	3	0
School districts (school boards)	20	0
Special districts (elected boards)	50	0

Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments: Government Units Listing (census.gov).

About these counts

The Census Bureau counts every independent local government once, in the county it assigns it to: the one it mostly serves or where it's based. A city or district that crosses county lines is counted in only one county, so it may be listed on this page but counted elsewhere, or the other way around. Many special districts, such as housing authorities, have appointed boards, and some places have more than one elected body, so the two columns measure different things. School systems run by a county, city or the state aren't counted as separate governments, though their boards may be listed here; in some states the Bureau counts community or state colleges as school districts. The counts are as of 2022.

Who lives in Flathead County

110,695people

42.2median ageU.S.: 38.9

$73,925 household incomeU.S.: $80,734

9.3%below the U.S.: 12.5%

37.2%of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degreeU.S.: 35.7%

$535,500median home valueU.S.: $332,700

2.9%unemployed (of the labor force)U.S.: 5.2%

2.8%born outside the U.S.U.S.: 14.1%

8.9%of adults are veteransU.S.: 6.2%

10%U.S.: 8.4%

50.7%of renting households pay of income on rentU.S.: 51.1%

30%of homeowners with a mortgage pay of income on housing costsU.S.: 28.1%

Race and Hispanic origin: Hispanic or Latino 3.7% · White 90% · Black 0.2% · Asian 0.8% · Other or more than one race 5.2% (Hispanic or Latino people can be of any race; the other groups are non-Hispanic.)

Census Bureau, 2020–2024 5-year estimates (data.census.gov).

About these figures

The American Community Survey asks about 3.5 million households a year about who lives there, their work, income, schooling and housing. The 5-year estimates pool 2020–2024 answers so that every county and district has enough of them. They're estimates with a (larger for smaller places), and they're different from the once-a-decade census count. "Median" means half are above and half below. Household income is before taxes and includes everyone in the household. The unemployment share here is the survey's five-year average, so it differs from the monthly rate in the BLS jobs report. Race and Hispanic origin are as people describe themselves.

Health insurance means any coverage, private or public (such as Medicaid or Medicare), when people answered; the share is of everyone except people on active military duty and people living in institutions such as prisons and nursing homes. The housing shares are of renting households, and of homeowners with a mortgage, for whom the Census Bureau can compute them (households with no income, or renters who pay no cash rent, are left out). Rent here is gross rent, rent plus utilities; owner costs include the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, utilities and fees.

Jobs in Flathead County

2.4%September 2026, preliminary. A year earlier: 3.0%. Montana: 2.5%.

1,458people unemployedSeptember 2026, preliminary.

59,475people employedSeptember 2026, preliminary. Counted where they live, not where they work.

60,933in the September 2026, preliminary.

Yearly average unemployment rate, 2016–2025.

Every month, last two years

Month	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
September 2026 (preliminary)	2.4%	1,458	59,475	60,933
August 2026	2.7%	1,734	61,543	63,277
July 2026	2.5%	1,632	62,553	64,185
June 2026	3.1%	1,909	59,946	61,855
May 2026	3.0%	1,808	59,069	60,877
April 2026	3.2%	1,916	58,661	60,577
March 2026	4.5%	2,699	57,935	60,634
February 2026	4.7%	2,838	58,166	61,004
January 2026	5.2%	3,140	57,663	60,803
December 2025	4.3%	2,625	58,238	60,863
November 2025	3.8%	2,311	58,403	60,714
October 2025	not collected (2025 federal shutdown)
September 2025	3.0%	1,825	59,545	61,370
August 2025	3.0%	1,903	61,148	63,051
July 2025	2.8%	1,775	62,011	63,786
June 2025	3.1%	1,918	60,022	61,940
May 2025	3.2%	1,903	58,344	60,247
April 2025	3.5%	2,075	57,281	59,356
March 2025	4.1%	2,399	56,823	59,222
February 2025	4.2%	2,510	56,911	59,421
January 2025	4.1%	2,417	56,490	58,907
December 2024	3.4%	2,051	57,515	59,566
November 2024	3.0%	1,757	57,421	59,178
October 2024	2.5%	1,473	58,629	60,102

Yearly averages

Year	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
2025 (11 months)	3.5%	2,151	58,656	60,807
2024	3.2%	1,948	58,644	60,592
2023	3.0%	1,773	57,656	59,429
2022	2.9%	1,631	54,945	56,576
2021	3.7%	2,045	53,148	55,193
2020	7.1%	3,849	50,050	53,899
2019	4.3%	2,300	50,743	53,043
2018	4.4%	2,315	50,081	52,396
2017	4.9%	2,498	48,625	51,123
2016	5.3%	2,651	47,437	50,088

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, : BLS publishes county figures only that way, so they rise and fall with the seasons; compare a month with the same month a year earlier rather than with the month before. Montana's figure above is on the same basis; seasonally adjusted, as in BLS's monthly state release, it was 3.1% in September 2026. The latest month is preliminary and is revised the next month, and BLS revises earlier years each spring. People are counted where they live. October 2025 wasn't collected during the 2025 federal government shutdown, so 2025's yearly average covers 11 months.

Crime reported in Flathead County

303.9 per 100,0002025. Montana: 419.1.

1,093.5 per 100,0002025. Montana: 1,448.5.

4murders2025, 354 violent crimes in all.

Earlier years

Year	Violent	Rate	Property	Rate
2025	354	303.9	1,274	1,093.5
2024	356	307.9	1,549	1,339.8
2023	394	343.9	1,650	1,440.0
2022	409	364.3	1,826	1,626.5
2021	373	342.7	1,513	1,390.0
2020	321	304.0	1,602	1,517.3
2019	364	352.4	2,014	1,949.7
2018	288	283.4	1,818	1,788.7
2017	286	288.2	2,152	2,168.7
2016	306	314.4	2,986	3,068.0

By police agency (4)

Agency	Year	Violent	Property	People served
Flathead County Sheriff's Office	2025	195	528	68,046
Kalispell Police Department	2025	134	566	33,020
Whitefish Police Department	2025	17	119	9,640
Columbia Falls Police Department	2025	8	61	5,796

Crimes to the county's city and county police agencies (FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Return A), per 100,000 people they serve. Years with incomplete reporting are left out. Crime in Montana · the U.S.

Police staffing

1.21 per 1,000 residents2025, 4 agencies serving 116,502 people.

141sworn officers2025, full-time, as of October 31.

75civilian staff2025, full-time.

Agencies counted (4), 2025

Agency	Officers	Civilians	People served
Flathead County Sheriff's Office	60	60	68,046
Kalispell Police Department	52	11	33,020
Whitefish Police Department	18	3	9,640
Columbia Falls Police Department	11	1	5,796

Earlier years

Year	Officers	Per 1,000	Civilians	Agencies
2025	141	1.21	75	4
2024	138	1.19	72	4
2023	129	1.13	72	4
2022	123	1.10	67	4
2021	123	1.13	68	4
2020	128	1.21	65	4
2019	121	1.17	65	4
2018	123	1.21	66	4
2017	121	1.22	73	4
2016	119	1.22	71	4

Full-time employees of the county's city police departments and sheriff's office, as each reported them to the FBI (Uniform Crime Reporting, Law Enforcement Employees), per 1,000 people in the areas those agencies serve (the FBI's population figures). A year is shown only when every one of these agencies sent a count; a count under half or over double the agency's own counts in nearby years is treated as not sent. Towns policed under contract by another agency are counted through that agency. State police, campus and other agencies aren't included. Sheriffs' offices often also run the county jail and courthouse security, so their staff counts include those jobs.

Quick answers

Who is the Flathead County County Attorney?: Travis R. Ahner (Republican) is the County Attorney of Flathead County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who is the Flathead County Clerk and Recorder/Surveyor/Auditor?: Debbie Pierson (Republican) is the Clerk and Recorder/Surveyor/Auditor of Flathead County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who is the Flathead County Clerk of District Court?: Sara Fredenberg Smith (Republican) is the Clerk of District Court of Flathead County, Montana.
Who is the Flathead County Sheriff/Coroner?: Brian Heino (Republican) is the Sheriff/Coroner of Flathead County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who is the Flathead County Superintendent of Schools?: Cal Ketchum (Republican) is the Superintendent of Schools of Flathead County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who is the Flathead County Treasurer/Public Administrator/Assessor?: Adele Krantz (Republican) is the Treasurer/Public Administrator/Assessor of Flathead County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who are the Flathead County commissioners?: Brad Abell (District 1); Pamela J. Holmquist (District 2); Randy Brodehl (District 3).
What is the population of Flathead County?: About 110,695 people, with a median age of 42.2; the median household income is $73,925 and 9.3% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Flathead County?: 2.4% in September 2026 (preliminary): 1,458 people unemployed in a labor force of 60,933, against 3.0% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).
How many local governments are there in Flathead County?: 74 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 3 municipal, 20 school district and 50 special district governments.

Officeholders as of November 7, 2026, from each county's own website (its elected-officials or department pages, read November 7, 2026), or a county's certified canvass; offices no county page names are left out; each name links to its source. Officials change between elections (appointments, resignations), and the body's own website is the authority. Party is shown only for offices elected on a partisan ballot.

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