Unemployment in Beaverhead County, Montana, is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties
In Beaverhead County, 2.6% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
What drives Beaverhead County's score
In Beaverhead County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 43.2. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 9.5. Bankruptcy filings ran at 40.5 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Beaverhead 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.
Beaverhead County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 43.2 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 rent18.1% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.5% · fiscal year 202736th percentile
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- 38.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.0% · 202440th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.9% · 202427th percentile
- People with a disability17.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- People without health insurance4.3% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,999 · 202452nd percentile
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- 28.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.8% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
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- 20.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.6% · August 20257th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.0% · August 202532nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.4% · second quarter of 202620th percentile
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- 9.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.4% · August 202512th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people40.5 · 20256th 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 Beaverhead 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 Beaverhead County, 23.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Beaverhead County
Montana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Beaverhead County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 23.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Beaverhead County, Montana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Beaverhead County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 9.6% in 2020 to 7.4% in 2021.
The share of households in Beaverhead County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 5.5% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Beaverhead County, Montana.
How Beaverhead County has changed
Beaverhead County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 9,342 in 2019 to 10,006 in 2024.
Beaverhead County's population rose by about a quarter to 10,006, the highest on the chart
High on the chart: 10,006 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Beaverhead County, Montana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Beaverhead County rose by about half to 4,054, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 3,498. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Beaverhead County, Montana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.9% | 2025 2.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.9% | 2024 12.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,038 | 2024 $65,999 |
The table uses 2.8% for 2025; the score uses 2.6% 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 Beaverhead County's history
1862
Gold discovered at Grasshopper Creek in 1862, precipitating flood of immigration. Wikipedia
1865
Founded 1865. Wikipedia
1976
A tornado in June 1976 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 9,371, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 2000
4 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Beaverhead County. FEMA
Beaverhead County beside its neighbors
All seven counties that border Beaverhead County, in Montana and Idaho, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Beaverhead County ranks 4th of the eight; Lemhi County is highest, at 31.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Bow County, MT | 53 | 12.9% | 23.1% |
| Deer Lodge County, MT | 39 | 12.2% | 30.4% |
| Clark County, ID | 37 | 15.1% | 18.0% |
| Lemhi County, ID | 29 | 14.2% | 31.2% |
| Ravalli County, MT | 26 | 10.9% | 23.3% |
| Madison County, MT | 25 | 8.4% | 17.5% |
| Fremont County, ID | 18 | 11.3% | 24.8% |
| Beaverhead County, MT | 14 | 12.0% | 23.6% |
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 Beaverhead County the poorest county in Montana?
No, Beaverhead County's poverty rate was 12.0% in 2024, 33rd highest of 56 in Montana (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Glacier County, at 25.9%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Beaverhead County ranks 41st of 56 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Beaverhead 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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Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA)
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 Beaverhead 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 Beaverhead County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.