Who is the Lake County County Attorney?

James Lapotka (Republican) is the County Attorney of Lake County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.

Who is the Lake County Clerk and Recorder/Auditor/Public Administrator/Surveyor?

Kendra Steele (Republican) is the Clerk and Recorder/Auditor/Public Administrator/Surveyor of Lake County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.

Who is the Lake County Clerk of District Court?

Mary Rensvold (Republican) is the Clerk of District Court of Lake County, Montana.

Who is the Lake County Sheriff/Coroner?

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

Who is the Lake County Superintendent of Schools?

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

Who is the Lake County Treasurer/Assessor?

Rebecca Maso (Republican) is the Treasurer/Assessor of Lake County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.

Who are the Lake County commissioners?

William "Bill" Barron (District 1); Chris Adler (District 2); Gale L. Decker (District 3).

What is the population of Lake County?

About 32,561 people, with a median age of 44.3; the median household income is $63,360 and 17.2% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Lake County?

2.8% in September 2026 (preliminary): 415 people unemployed in a labor force of 14,715, against 3.7% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).

How many local governments are there in Lake County?

39 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 3 municipal, 8 school district and 27 special district governments.

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

Who holds every elected county, school board, city and special-district office in Lake 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

Lake County Board of Commissioners

Every member is elected countywide.

Office	Who holds it now	Next term
County Commissioner, District 1	William "Bill" Barron Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
County Commissioner, District 2	Chris Adler Republican source
County Commissioner, District 3	Gale L. Decker Republican source

County officers

Office	Who holds it now	Next term
County Attorney	James Lapotka Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
Clerk and Recorder/Auditor/Public Administrator/Surveyor	Kendra Steele Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
Clerk of District Court	Mary Rensvold Republican source
Sheriff/Coroner	Don Bell Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
Superintendent of Schools	Carolyn Hall Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet
Treasurer/Assessor	Rebecca Maso Republican source	On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot: count not certified yet

How many local governments Lake County has

The Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments counts 39 local governments in Lake 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)	8	0
Special districts (elected boards)	27	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 Lake County

32,561people

44.3median ageU.S.: 38.9

$63,360 household incomeU.S.: $80,734

17.2%below the U.S.: 12.5%

31.5%of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degreeU.S.: 35.7%

$421,800median home valueU.S.: $332,700

5.7%unemployed (of the labor force)U.S.: 5.2%

2.3%born outside the U.S.U.S.: 14.1%

9.5%of adults are veteransU.S.: 6.2%

14.5%U.S.: 8.4%

41.3%of renting households pay of income on rentU.S.: 51.1%

39.5%of homeowners with a mortgage pay of income on housing costsU.S.: 28.1%

Race and Hispanic origin: Hispanic or Latino 4.3% · White 64.6% · Black 0.2% · Asian 0.7% · Other or more than one race 30.2% (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 Lake County

2.8%September 2026, preliminary. A year earlier: 3.7%. Montana: 2.5%.

415people unemployedSeptember 2026, preliminary.

14,300people employedSeptember 2026, preliminary. Counted where they live, not where they work.

14,715in the September 2026, preliminary.

Yearly average unemployment rate, 2016–2025.

Every month, last two years

Month	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
September 2026 (preliminary)	2.8%	415	14,300	14,715
August 2026	3.3%	494	14,464	14,958
July 2026	3.4%	517	14,586	15,103
June 2026	3.7%	553	14,461	15,014
May 2026	3.2%	473	14,110	14,583
April 2026	3.5%	509	14,073	14,582
March 2026	5.0%	724	13,852	14,576
February 2026	5.3%	776	13,784	14,560
January 2026	5.6%	820	13,710	14,530
December 2025	4.6%	674	13,856	14,530
November 2025	4.2%	615	14,058	14,673
October 2025	not collected (2025 federal shutdown)
September 2025	3.7%	549	14,127	14,676
August 2025	4.2%	626	14,247	14,873
July 2025	3.9%	579	14,331	14,910
June 2025	3.6%	539	14,386	14,925
May 2025	3.4%	507	14,282	14,789
April 2025	3.7%	538	14,195	14,733
March 2025	4.2%	618	13,960	14,578
February 2025	4.6%	665	13,827	14,492
January 2025	4.4%	634	13,856	14,490
December 2024	3.7%	537	14,043	14,580
November 2024	2.9%	435	14,318	14,753
October 2024	2.8%	417	14,335	14,752

Yearly averages

Year	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
2025 (11 months)	4.0%	595	14,102	14,697
2024	3.7%	544	14,253	14,797
2023	3.3%	489	14,165	14,654
2022	3.1%	440	13,966	14,406
2021	3.8%	532	13,508	14,040
2020	6.0%	837	13,025	13,862
2019	4.2%	570	13,016	13,586
2018	4.2%	563	12,786	13,349
2017	4.5%	598	12,710	13,308
2016	4.9%	641	12,557	13,198

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 Lake County

461.6 per 100,0002025. Montana: 419.1.

1,056.3 per 100,0002025. Montana: 1,448.5.

2murders2025, 156 violent crimes in all.

Earlier years

Year	Violent	Rate	Property	Rate
2025	156	461.6	357	1,056.3
2024	151	447.8	509	1,509.4
2023	209	625.2	583	1,743.9
2022	189	575.8	635	1,934.4
2021	230	727.6	565	1,787.4
2018	138	451.4	477	1,560.4
2017	144	481.8	691	2,311.7
2016	134	452.5	756	2,552.8

By police agency (4)

Agency	Year	Violent	Property	People served
Lake County Sheriff's Office	2025	75	139	24,963
Polson Police Department	2025	60	141	5,756
Ronan Police Department	2025	14	42	2,238
St. Ignatius Police Department	2025	7	35	841

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

1.27 per 1,000 residents2025, 4 agencies serving 33,798 people.

43sworn officers2025, full-time, as of October 31.

22civilian staff2025, full-time.

Agencies counted (4), 2025

Agency	Officers	Civilians	People served
Lake County Sheriff's Office	24	21	24,963
Polson Police Department	12	1	5,756
Ronan Police Department	5	0	2,238
St. Ignatius Police Department	2	0	841

Earlier years

Year	Officers	Per 1,000	Civilians	Agencies
2025	43	1.27	22	4
2024	43	1.28	20	4
2023	46	1.38	20	4
2022	43	1.31	25	4
2021	48	1.52	18	4
2018	44	1.44	22	4
2017	46	1.54	22	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 Lake County County Attorney?: James Lapotka (Republican) is the County Attorney of Lake County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who is the Lake County Clerk and Recorder/Auditor/Public Administrator/Surveyor?: Kendra Steele (Republican) is the Clerk and Recorder/Auditor/Public Administrator/Surveyor of Lake County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who is the Lake County Clerk of District Court?: Mary Rensvold (Republican) is the Clerk of District Court of Lake County, Montana.
Who is the Lake County Sheriff/Coroner?: Don Bell (Republican) is the Sheriff/Coroner of Lake County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who is the Lake County Superintendent of Schools?: Carolyn Hall (Republican) is the Superintendent of Schools of Lake County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who is the Lake County Treasurer/Assessor?: Rebecca Maso (Republican) is the Treasurer/Assessor of Lake County, Montana. The seat was on the November 3, 2026 ballot; the count isn't certified yet.
Who are the Lake County commissioners?: William "Bill" Barron (District 1); Chris Adler (District 2); Gale L. Decker (District 3).
What is the population of Lake County?: About 32,561 people, with a median age of 44.3; the median household income is $63,360 and 17.2% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Lake County?: 2.8% in September 2026 (preliminary): 415 people unemployed in a labor force of 14,715, against 3.7% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).
How many local governments are there in Lake County?: 39 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 3 municipal, 8 school district and 27 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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