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.
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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