Wheatland County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,069. Its county seat is Harlowton. Wheatland County was established on February 22, 1917, with areas partitioned from Meagher and Sweet Grass counties. It was named for the abundant wheat-growing areas across the center portion of the new county's area.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water.
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 2,069. Of the residents, 22.2% were under the age of 18 and 26.1% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 47.2 years. For every 100 females there were 102.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 101.2 males. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas and 100.0% lived in rural areas.
The racial makeup of the county was 90.7% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Asian, 0.5% from some other race, and 7.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.3% of the population.
There were 799 households in the county, of which 21.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 23.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 38.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 1,114 housing units, of which 28.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 69.3% were owner-occupied and 30.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.4%.
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 2,168 people, 887 households, and 538 families in the county. The population density was . There were 1,197 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.8% white, 0.6% Asian, 0.5% American Indian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.4% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 35.2% were American, 22.7% were German, 14.1% were English, 11.5% were Irish, and 6.6% were Norwegian.
Of the 887 households, 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.3% were non-families, and 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.99. The median age was 44.9 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $30,321 and the median income for a family was $41,161. Males had a median income of $30,769 versus $17,083 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,474. About 5.1% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.8% of those under age 18 and 27.6% of those age 65 or over.
Wheatland County voters have selected the Republican Party candidate in every national election since 1964 (as of 2020).