Cooke City-Silver Gate, Montana


Cooke City-Silver Gate is a census-designated place in Park County, Montana, United States. The population was 140 at the 2000 census. It sits toward the northeast of Yellowstone National Park on a road remaining open during the winter connecting through Tower Junction to Mammoth and north to Livingston, Montana. During the summer the road opens eastward to connect to Red Lodge, Montana via the Beartooth Highway on a scenic route climbing to 10,947 feet in elevation through the Beartooth Mountains and across the Beartooth Plateau. Its chief industry is tourism, which during the winter includes skiing and snowmobiling.

Geography

Cooke City-Silver Gate is located at , at an elevation of 7,608 feet.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of, all of it land.

Climate


Cooke City has a subarctic climate or subalpine climate due its extremely high elevation, at 7,608 feet, with only 2 months averaging above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Summers consist of mild to warm days with crisp, cool mornings, and winters are long and very cold, with many nights falling below zero. Snowfall is abundant, with most of it falling between the months of October to May, but snow does occasionally fall in the months of June and September, though snowfall is still possible at any time of the year.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 140 people, 79 households, and 27 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 14.0 people per square mile. There were 247 housing units at an average density of 24.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.86% White, 0.71% African American, 0.71% Native American, and 0.71% from two or more races.
There were 79 households, out of which 11.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.1% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 65.8% were non-families. 40.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.77 and the average family size was 2.44.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 8.6% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 42.1% from 25 to 44, 35.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 122.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.3 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $25,000, and the median income for a family was $50,625. Males had a median income of $38,125 versus $17,813 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $31,618. There were 7.4% of families and 15.8% of the population living below the poverty line, including 18.2% of under eighteens and 10.5% of those over 64.