Unemployment in Carter County, Montana, is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties
In Carter County, 1.8% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Carter County's score
In Carter County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 49.5. Jobs are the lowest part, at 16.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Carter 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.
Carter 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.
- 49.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.0% · 202448th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.6% · 202431st percentile
- People with a disability17.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- People without health insurance7.5% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,694 · 202458th percentile
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- 39.8 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 rent4.8% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.5% · fiscal year 202774th percentile
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- 20.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202516th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202516th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.2% · second quarter of 202630th percentile
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- 19.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202518th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202520th percentile
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- 16.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year1.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.1% · 2020 to 202427th 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 Carter 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 Carter County, 31.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Carter County
Montana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Carter County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 27.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Carter County, Montana, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Carter County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2022 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 0.0% in 2012. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Carter County, Montana.
How Carter County has changed
Carter County's population had its largest drop, from 1,729 in 1984 to 1,533 in 1989.
Carter County's population fell by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 1,399, with its low point on the chart in 2009
Low on the chart: 1,180 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Carter County, Montana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Carter County rose by about a third to 326, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 326. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Carter County, Montana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.9% | 2025 1.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.4% | 2024 13.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,414 | 2024 $63,694 |
The table uses 1.9% for 2025; the score uses 1.8% 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 Carter County's history
1917
Founded 1917. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 4,136. The 2020 Census counted 1,415, 34% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 2000
8 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Carter County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Carter County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Carter County, in Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming, two score higher. Of the group, Carter County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (27.1%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custer County, MT | 40 | 11.2% | 23.1% |
| Butte County, SD | 25 | 11.6% | 25.3% |
| Carter County, MT | 15 | 13.0% | 27.1% |
| Powder River County, MT | 7 | 11.1% | 22.2% |
| Fallon County, MT | 6 | 9.3% | 20.6% |
| Crook County, WY | 2 | 7.7% | 20.5% |
| Harding County, SD | 2 | 11.8% | 17.1% |
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 Carter County the poorest county in Montana?
No, Carter County's poverty rate was 13.0% in 2024, 24th 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, Carter County ranks 36th of 56 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Carter 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 Carter 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 Carter County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.