In Montgomery County, Maryland, benefit checks make up only 10 cents of every dollar of income
In Montgomery County, 9.7% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Montgomery County's score
In Montgomery County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 68.8. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 12.2. The typical household earns $138,870 a year (2024), more than in 99% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Montgomery 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, Montgomery County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (24.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 68.8 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 rent24.1% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.1% · fiscal year 202754th percentile
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- 31.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202647th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.7% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
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- 23.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.4% · August 202516th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people90.2 · 202531st percentile
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- 22.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.9% · August 202524th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.1% · August 202533rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.5% · second quarter of 20269th percentile
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- 12.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.5% · 20245th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.2% · 20249th percentile
- People with a disability9.4% · 2020 to 20242nd percentile
- People without health insurance7.0% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$138,870 · 20240th 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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County, 17.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Montgomery County
Maryland
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Montgomery County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 9.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about seven times as much as benefit checks
In Montgomery County, Maryland, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 9.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Montgomery County getting SNAP food aid rose most from 3.4% in 2010 to 5.2% in 2013, 0.6 points each year.
The share of households in Montgomery County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 7.4%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2012 to 2013, reaching 5.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Montgomery County, Maryland.
How Montgomery County has changed
Montgomery County's population had its largest rise, from 632,915 in 1984 to 749,638 in 1989.
Montgomery County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 1,082,273, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 581,782. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Montgomery County, Maryland.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Montgomery County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 456,358, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 459,667 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Montgomery County, Maryland.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.4% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 4.3% | 2024 7.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $52,687 | 2024 $138,870 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Montgomery County's history
1776
September 6, 1776, created from Frederick County by Thomas Sprigg Wootton during the Maryland Constitutional Convention. Wikipedia
1997
A thunderstorm in June 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
Heavy rain in October 2005 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A thunderstorm in October 2019 did $1,500,000 in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 1,062,061, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A flash flood in September 2021 did $1 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Montgomery County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Montgomery County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Montgomery County, in Maryland, District of Columbia and Virginia, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Montgomery County ranks 5th of the seven; Prince George's County is highest, at 17.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince George's County, MD | 78 | 10.4% | 17.8% |
| District of Columbia, DC | 56 | 16.4% | 12.6% |
| Frederick County, MD | 19 | 5.3% | 13.0% |
| Montgomery County, MD | 18 | 7.5% | 9.7% |
| Howard County, MD | 8 | 5.5% | 9.8% |
| Fairfax County, VA | 6 | 6.0% | — |
| Arlington County, VA | 4 | 8.0% | 5.5% |
| Loudoun County, VA | 3 | 4.3% | 6.5% |
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 Montgomery County the poorest county in Maryland?
No, Montgomery County's poverty rate was 7.5% in 2024, 16th highest of 24 in Maryland (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Somerset County, at 20.3%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Montgomery County ranks 20th of 24 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Montgomery 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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Housing Initiative Partnership, INC.(HIP)
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Housing Initiative Partnership, INC.(HIP)
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Latino Economic Development Corporation
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Maryland Legal Aid
Legal aid
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Civil Justice, Inc.
Legal aid
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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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.