Wibaux, MT

The town of Wibaux’s population was listed as 567 in the 2000 census. It’s gone nothing but down since then. Genny Archdale, town clerk said there were 119 deaths last year and only about a third of that in births. “The sad part is I was at almost every one of those funerals,” she lamented. The population is aging with the population over 65 at 26.8% according to the 2000 census compared to 12.4% nationally. The county poverty level is 15.3% and $16,162 per capita income. 113 of the 243 households had an income under $25,000 in 2000.

NOTE: To correct an earlier posting error in this entry, regarding Wibaux’s population, the Montana Department of Commerce’s Census and Economic Information Center has a good web site with lots of information on state and local population estimates. It is http://ceic/mt.gov/Demog/estimate/pop/County/CO-EST2007-04-30.xls. According to that website, Wibaux County lost 170 people between April 1, 2000 and July 1, 2007. It had 118 deaths and 47 births for a net natural increase of minus 71, and a net migration loss of 96. I would suppose that most of the net migration loss is due to high school seniors graduating and leaving home.

82 houses or 25% of the housing were vacant, mostly uninhabitable or undesirable by the families they hope would settle here and populate the schools. Wibaux is a great place to raise a family with schools and churches and friendly folks and a great football tradition listed as strengths, but without housing, or lots with infrastructure, it’s near impossible to draw in families. They hope to use Horizons funds to hire experienced help to apply for housing grants.