It's not really surprising that Montana has plenty of rural areas. We're the 4th biggest state in the Nation, yet we are ranked #43 when it comes to population. That's a lot of land and not a lot of people.

So what makes a county a rural county?

According to the US Census Bureau, land is considered rural if it's not an urban area. So then what makes something urban? That might surprise you. To be considered urban, you only need 2,500 people living in one area. I don't know if I'd consider Conrad to be "urban," but with their 2,758 population, they would be.

In America, there are 702 counties that are considered 100% rural using the criteria from the US Census Bureau. Montana has thirty-four of our fifty-six counties considered to be 100% rural. What's even more amazing is just how much is considered rural when you talk about the most populated county, Yellowstone County. They are considered 97.7% rural. If they were the size of Silver Bow County, Montana's smallest county by land size, that number would be much lower.

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That's how Stacker.com was able to rank the Montana counties by how rural they were.

Take the number of people in a county and the size of land in the county, and then you get how rural they are. The results are kind of surprising.I figured Petroleum County would be the most rural considering there are only 496 people there, but they didn't come in at number 1.

So check out the gallery below to see the top 10 most rural counties in Montana.

These 10 Counties Are Easily The Most Rural In All Of Montana

Thanks to Stacker.com we're able to rank the top 10 most rural counties in Montana. All statistics credited to Stacker.

Gallery Credit: Nick Northern

KEEP READING: The Top 5 Most Rural Post Offices Of Small Town Montana

Some of Montana's rural post offices don't even make it onto Google Street View, but they're incredibly important hubs in rural parts of the state. We did a little digging and found a few hidden gems. Take a look...

Gallery Credit: mwolfe

LOOK: 10 Great Tips If You're Moving To Rural Montana

If you plan on living in rural Montana, there are some unique tips you'll want to know.

Gallery Credit: Will Gordon

Phillips County Courthouse Malta by J. B. ChandlerCC BY-SA 3.0 (No Changes Made)

Yucca theatre hysham by Larry D. MooreCC BY-SA 3.0 (No Changes Made)

Broadus MT Powder River County Courthouse by J. B. ChandlerCC BY-SA 3.0 (No Changes Made)

Ekalaka MT Carter County Courthouse by J. B. ChandlerCC BY-SA 3.0 (No Changes Made)

Winnett MT Petroleum County Courthouse by J. B. ChandlerCC BY-SA 3.0 (No Changes Made)

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