About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Blaine County, Montana, are not working
In Blaine County, 31.5% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Blaine County's score
In Blaine County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 81.2. About one in six people (18.3%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a higher share than in 94% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 59.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Blaine 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.
Blaine County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (29, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.1% · 202480th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.5% · 202470th percentile
- People with a disability19.4% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- People without health insurance18.3% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,676 · 202483rd percentile
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- 59.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202627th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working31.5% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
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- 50.5 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 rent10.5% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.1% · fiscal year 202787th percentile
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- 46.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.3% · August 202528th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.2% · August 202534th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.3% · second quarter of 202675th percentile
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- 28.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.5% · August 202551st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people29 · 20255th or lower 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 Blaine 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 Blaine County, 16.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Blaine County
Montana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Blaine County had its largest rise, from 27.4% in 2014 to 34.5% in 2019.
In Blaine County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 35.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Blaine County, Montana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Blaine County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2011 low, from 16.5% in 2010 to 13.5% in 2011.
The share of households in Blaine County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 13.5% 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, Blaine County, Montana.
How Blaine County has changed
Blaine County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 1979 high, from 6,656 in 1974 to 7,239 in 1979.
Blaine County's population was about the same in 2024 as in 1969
High on the chart: 7,239 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Blaine County, Montana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Blaine County fell 15% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2015 to 2020, reaching 1,363. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Blaine County, Montana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.0% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 27.8% | 2024 18.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,492 | 2024 $54,676 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Blaine County's history
1912
Formed in 1912 from area of Chouteau County along with Phillips and Hill counties. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 9,566. The 2020 Census counted 7,044, 74% of the peak. Census Bureau
1995
Hail in June 1995 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A flood in April 2023 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
Hail in July 2023 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flood in May 2024 did $1.07 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1986
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Blaine County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Blaine County beside its neighbors
Blaine County scores higher than all four counties that border it. Of the group, Blaine County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (35.1%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blaine County, MT | 55 | 18.1% | 35.1% |
| Hill County, MT | 38 | 14.8% | 25.1% |
| Chouteau County, MT | 37 | 13.8% | 23.2% |
| Phillips County, MT | 22 | 15.4% | 30.8% |
| Fergus County, MT | 18 | 12.3% | 23.8% |
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 Blaine County the poorest county in Montana?
No, Blaine County's poverty rate was 18.1% in 2024, 5th 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, Blaine County ranks 8th of 56 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Blaine 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 Blaine 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 Blaine County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.