County Data

Montana County Distress Index

Financial distress scores for all 56 counties in Montana, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 36.7. 1county is in Serious or Crisis.

Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26

Montana Snapshot

56 Counties Scored
36.7 Mean Score
35.2 Median Score
66.2 Glacier County Most Distressed
16.6 Jefferson County Least Distressed
1 Serious 7 Elevated 20 Normal 28 Healthy
Zone Distribution

Montana County Map

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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis

All 56 Montana counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.

Most & Least Distressed

Most Distressed

#1 Glacier County
66.2 Serious
Consumer Credit Distress
#2 Big Horn County
60.3 Elevated
Consumer Credit Distress
#3 Roosevelt County
59.1 Elevated
Consumer Credit Distress

Least Distressed

#56 Jefferson County
16.6 Healthy
Consumer Credit Distress
#55 Stillwater County
17.3 Healthy
Consumer Credit Distress
#54 Daniels County
20.8 Healthy
Consumer Credit Distress

Score Distribution

How Montana's 56 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.

All Montana Counties

56 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.

State Rank Nat'l Rank County Score Zone Primary Driver
1 590 Glacier County 66.2 Serious Consumer Credit Distress
2 928 Big Horn County 60.3 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
3 1,016 Roosevelt County 59.1 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
4 1,348 Rosebud County 53.9 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
5 1,474 Silver Bow County 51.6 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
6 1,512 Musselshell County 51.1 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
7 1,563 Custer County 50.2 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
8 1,566 Sanders County 50.1 Elevated Housing Cost Burden
9 1,731 Mineral County 47.8 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
10 1,799 Yellowstone County 46.7 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
11 1,872 Deer Lodge County 45.5 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
12 1,892 Blaine County 45.1 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
13 1,920 Cascade County 44.7 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
14 1,958 Hill County 43.9 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
15 2,019 Lincoln County 42.8 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
16 2,028 Sheridan County 42.7 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
17 2,150 Missoula County 40.7 Normal Housing Cost Burden
18 2,214 Lake County 39.7 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
19 2,286 Flathead County 38.4 Normal Housing Cost Burden
20 2,349 Dawson County 37.3 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
21 2,364 Broadwater County 37.0 Normal Housing Cost Burden
22 2,386 Wheatland County 36.6 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
23 2,413 Gallatin County 36.2 Normal Housing Cost Burden
24 2,414 Golden Valley County 36.2 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
25 2,422 Valley County 36.0 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
26 2,430 Granite County 35.8 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
27 2,438 Richland County 35.7 Normal Consumer Credit Distress
28 2,441 Park County 35.7 Normal Housing Cost Burden
29 2,487 Toole County 34.8 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
30 2,505 Lewis and Clark County 34.3 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
31 2,522 Ravalli County 34.0 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
32 2,550 Pondera County 33.8 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
33 2,554 Chouteau County 33.6 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
34 2,561 Prairie County 33.5 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
35 2,566 Beaverhead County 33.5 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
36 2,582 Garfield County 33.1 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
37 2,584 Powell County 33.1 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
38 2,597 Wibaux County 32.9 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
39 2,685 Carter County 31.3 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
40 2,689 Petroleum County 31.2 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
41 2,703 Fergus County 31.0 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
42 2,770 Carbon County 29.8 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
43 2,775 Treasure County 29.7 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
44 2,777 Liberty County 29.6 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
45 2,794 Judith Basin County 29.2 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
46 2,833 Madison County 28.4 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
47 2,850 Phillips County 28.0 Healthy Structural Poverty
48 2,877 Fallon County 27.4 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
49 2,904 Meagher County 26.8 Healthy Structural Poverty
50 2,911 McCone County 26.5 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
51 2,965 Teton County 25.1 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
52 3,031 Sweet Grass County 22.2 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
53 3,043 Powder River County 21.5 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
54 3,053 Daniels County 20.8 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
55 3,114 Stillwater County 17.3 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress
56 3,121 Jefferson County 16.6 Healthy Consumer Credit Distress

How County Scores Work

Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.

Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties

Full CDI methodology and data sources

Montana Resources

Montana State Profile

State ADI score: 37.2 (Healthy). Debt, delinquency, and economic indicators for Montana.

Find Help in Montana

HUD-approved housing counselors, legal aid offices, credit counselors, and debtor education providers in Montana.

Montana Foreclosure Laws

Foreclosure process, timeline, homeowner protections, and legal resources in Montana.

State Distress Rankings

All 51 U.S. jurisdictions ranked by financial distress. Compare Montana to the rest of the country.

National County Profiles

All 3,144 U.S. counties ranked by financial distress score.
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