| Whitefish, Montana | |||
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| — City — | |||
| Looking north in downtown Whitefish | |||
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| Location of Whitefish, Montana | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Montana | ||
| County | Flathead | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 4.5 sq mi (11.5 km2) | ||
| • Land | 4.4 sq mi (11.4 km2) | ||
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 3,028 ft (923 m) | ||
| Population (2000) | |||
| • Total | 5,032 | ||
| • Density | 1,138.5/sq mi (439.6/km2) | ||
| Time zone | Mountain (MST) (UTC-7) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) | ||
| ZIP code | 59937 | ||
| Area code(s) | 406 | ||
| FIPS code | 30-79825 | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0793219 | ||
Whitefish is a city in Flathead County, Montana, United States. The population was 5,032 at the 2000 census. It is home to a ski resort on Big Mountain called Whitefish Mountain Resort. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer hails from Whitefish.
Whitefish High School is home to numerous state championship teams; the most recent is the girls' cross country team. They have won four consecutive titles.
The Great Northern Railway was built through what is now Whitefish in 1904, which sparked development of the town. Early employers were the railroad and nearby logging industries. By the late 1940s, with the successful construction of a ski resort on Big Mountain (a collaboration between outside developers and local businessmen) the tourism sector was becoming increasingly important.
In 2006, over 68,000 passengers embarked and disembarked through the historic Whitefish Depot, a stop on Amtrak's Empire Builder line,[1] with some percentage of those being headed to the ski resort on Big Mountain. Whitefish was also called Stumptown as the area was cleared for the train station.
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Whitefish is located at (48.411772, -114.339865),[2] at an altitude of 3,028 feet (923 m).[3] It is on the western side of the continental divide, near Glacier National Park.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11 km2), of which, 4.4 square miles (11 km2) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) of it (0.67%) is water.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1910 | 1,479 |
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| 1920 | 2,867 | 93.8% | |
| 1930 | 2,803 | −2.2% | |
| 1940 | 2,602 | −7.2% | |
| 1950 | 3,263 | 25.4% | |
| 1960 | 2,965 | −9.1% | |
| 1970 | 3,349 | 13.0% | |
| 1980 | 3,703 | 10.6% | |
| 1990 | 4,368 | 18.0% | |
| 2000 | 5,032 | 15.2% | |
| Est. 2007 | 8,083 | 60.6% | |
| source:[4][5] | |||
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 5,032 people, 2,229 households, and 1,203 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,138.5 people per square mile (439.6/km²). There were 2,652 housing units at an average density of 600.0 per square mile (231.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.97% White, 0.14% African American, 1.11% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.72% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.93% of the population.
There were 2,229 households out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.2% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.0% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,038, and the median income for a family was $41,009. Males had a median income of $36,298 versus $19,583 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,098. About 13.8% of families and 18.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.9% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.
Some long-time residents of the town have expressed dissatisfaction with the changing of the name of the local ski resort from "Big Mountain Ski and Summer Resort" to "Whitefish Mountain Resort". The name was changed in June 2007, after Bill Foley, chairman of Fidelity National Financial, Inc., joined the board of directors for the resort. Foley began to buy commercial property in Whitefish around 2006, including several of the town's most popular restaurants, the private jet facility at the local airport, and a voting majority of shares in Winter Sports, Inc., the private company which runs Whitefish Mountain Resort on Big Mountain. Wealthy investors like Foley and others who have taken an interest in Whitefish have encountered a negative reaction from some local residents who fear that the town will be irreversibly changed by outsiders. However, Whitefish's economy is heavily influenced by tourism.
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