About one in eight people with a credit file in Montrose County, Colorado, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Montrose County, 13.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Montrose County's score
In Montrose County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 72.4. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 22.2. People with a car or retail loan behind: 3.1%, August 2025, lower than in 84% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Montrose 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.
Even so, Montrose County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (13.3%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (24.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 72.4 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent24.0% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.9% · fiscal year 202762nd percentile
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- 50.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202651st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.5% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
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- 49.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.9% · 202447th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.1% · 202450th percentile
- People with a disability14.1% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- People without health insurance13.3% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,338 · 202434th percentile
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- 27.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.2% · August 202512th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people111 · 202541st percentile
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- 22.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.2% · August 202528th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.1% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.2% · second quarter of 202623rd percentile
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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 Montrose 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 Montrose County, 26.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Montrose County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Montrose County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 27.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Montrose County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Montrose County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 8.7% in 2011 to 10.8% in 2012.
The share of households in Montrose County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 5.6% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Montrose County, Colorado.
How Montrose County has changed
Montrose County's population more than doubled to 44,806, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 41,535. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Montrose County, Colorado.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Montrose County doubled to 17,492, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 17,492. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Montrose County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.3% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.6% | 2024 12.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,496 | 2024 $72,338 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Montrose County's history
1909
Gunnison Tunnel completed by U.S. government providing irrigation from Gunnison River to Uncompahgre Valley. Wikipedia
2004
Lightning in May 2004 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
Lightning in September 2006 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 42,679, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
Russell Stover Candies plant closed in spring 2021, 400 jobs eliminated. Wikipedia
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Since 1970
8 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Montrose County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Montrose County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Montrose County, in Colorado and Utah, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Montrose County ranks 3rd of the seven; Delta County is highest, at 31.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta County, CO | 63 | 13.0% | 31.9% |
| San Juan County, UT | 62 | 19.5% | 29.6% |
| Montrose County, CO | 40 | 12.9% | 27.2% |
| Mesa County, CO | 37 | 10.3% | 25.2% |
| Ouray County, CO | 15 | 7.1% | 15.8% |
| San Miguel County, CO | 10 | 8.0% | 5.3% |
| Gunnison County, CO | 9 | 11.0% | 12.9% |
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 Montrose County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Montrose County's poverty rate was 12.9% in 2024, 26th 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, Montrose County ranks 27th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Montrose 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.
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Colorado Legal Services
Legal aid
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Colorado Bar Association — Find a Lawyer directory
Find a lawyer
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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 Montrose 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 Montrose County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.