Unemployment in Montezuma County, Colorado, is higher than in 82% of U.S. counties
In Montezuma County, 5.1% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is higher than in 82% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 60% of U.S. counties.
What drives Montezuma County's score
In Montezuma County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 75.0. Housing costs come next, at 72.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Montezuma County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Montezuma County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (49, 2025) and people with a disability (14.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202680th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.1% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
-
- 72.0 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent21.9% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.1% · fiscal year 202771st percentile
-
- 59.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.8% · 202463rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.8% · 202475th percentile
- People with a disability14.6% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- People without health insurance11.1% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,611 · 202450th percentile
-
- 54.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.7% · August 202537th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.0% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.3% · second quarter of 202638th percentile
-
- 24.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.2% · August 202538th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people49 · 20259th percentile
-
Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Montezuma County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Montezuma County, 25.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Montezuma County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Montezuma County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 29.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Montezuma County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Montezuma County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.0% in 2011 to 11.3% in 2012.
The share of households in Montezuma County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 11.9%
High on the chart: 12.8% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Montezuma County, Colorado.
How Montezuma County has changed
Montezuma County's population doubled to 26,841, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 19,275. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Montezuma County, Colorado.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Montezuma County rose by about half to 9,321, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 8,094. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Montezuma County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.3% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.9% | 2024 14.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,359 | 2024 $66,611 |
The table uses 5.0% for 2025; the score uses 5.1% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Montezuma County's history
2003
Hail in August 2003 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 25,849, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1970
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Montezuma County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Montezuma County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Montezuma County, in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Montezuma County ranks 2nd of the five; Dolores County is highest, at 31.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan County, NM | 80 | 18.2% | 29.5% |
| San Juan County, UT | 62 | 19.5% | 29.6% |
| Montezuma County, CO | 60 | 14.8% | 29.9% |
| Dolores County, CO | 40 | 15.2% | 31.4% |
| La Plata County, CO | 21 | 10.4% | 15.2% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Montezuma County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Montezuma County's poverty rate was 14.8% in 2024, 17th highest of 64 in Colorado (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Crowley County, at 39.0%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Montezuma County ranks 13th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Montezuma County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
-
Colorado Legal Services
Legal aid
-
Colorado Bar Association — Find a Lawyer directory
Find a lawyer
-
HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Montezuma County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Montezuma County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.