About one in 13 people with a credit file in Daniels County, Montana, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Daniels County, 7.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector (Urban Institute, Debt in America, August 2025). That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives Daniels County's score
In Daniels County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 38.0. Jobs are the lowest part, at 5.0. About one in 10 adults aged 25 to 54 (10.2%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index combines five things we measure for every county: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each gets a score from 0 to 100; the higher the score, the worse off the county is compared with others.
Daniels County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
The five parts count equally; together they hold 14 measures. Under each part, a bar shows where Daniels County ranks among all 3,144 U.S. counties on that measure, as a percentile: the share of counties it is higher than. A longer bar means more trouble.
- 38.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line13.0% · 202427th percentile
- People with a disability16.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,107 · 202470th percentile
- People below the poverty line11.4% · 202434th percentile
- People without health insurance2.0% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
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- 32.1 of 100
Housing costs
HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027; renters, 2020–24 Census survey
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.5% · fiscal year 202748th percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent11.3% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
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- 12.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector7.8% · August 20255th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202520th percentile
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- 12.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202516th percentile
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202516th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score9.1% · Q4 20255th percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working10.2% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average2.5% · Sep 2025 to Aug 20265th percentile
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Sources: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and U.S. Census Bureau income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; 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 Aug 2026.
Where the money in Daniels County comes from
The Bureau of Economic Analysis adds up all the income that reaches the people of a county and splits it three ways: pay from work, income from investments and rent, and benefit checks.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Daniels County
Montana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Daniels County in 2024, pay from work was 51 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 23 cents. Benefit checks were 26 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
Benefit checks have grown from 12 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
In Daniels County, benefit checks rose from 12 to 26 cents of every dollar
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Daniels County, Montana: 26.1% and 51.1% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 26.1% of all personal income in Daniels County, Montana (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAINC4).
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 Daniels County, 31.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally.
How Daniels County has changed
The number of people living in Daniels County fell by about half between 1969 and 2024, from 3,144 to 1,625. The number of jobs located there stayed about the same from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 3.1% in 1990 to 2.4% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 3,144 | 2024 1,625 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 613 | 2024 559 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.1% | 2025 2.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.7% | 2024 11.4% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $21,407 | 2024 $60,107 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 11.9% | 2024 26.1% |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices. We don't chart the distress score over time because it compares counties at one moment.
Dated events in Daniels County's history
Largest decennial census count
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 5,553. The 2020 Census counted 1,661, 30% of the peak. Census Bureau
1920
Created in 1920 from portions of Sheridan and Valley Counties. Wikipedia
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Since 1986
8 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Daniels County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
Daniels County beside its neighbors
All three counties that border Daniels County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Daniels County ranks 3rd of the four; Roosevelt County is highest, at 36.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roosevelt County, MT | 73 | 22.8% | 36.4% |
| Sheridan County, MT | 27 | 12.4% | 27.4% |
| Valley County, MT | 11 | 11.6% | 25.9% |
| Daniels County, MT | 5 | 11.4% | 26.1% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Aug 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 Daniels County the poorest county in Montana?
No, Daniels County's poverty rate was 11.4% in 2024, 38th 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, Daniels County ranks 54th of 56 in the state.
Daniels County in photographs
Places in Daniels County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
Daniels County Courthouse- Scobey MT.
US / Canada border Monument 538 billion, Montana/Saskatchewan.
Daniels County, Montana: common questions
What is the poverty rate in Daniels County, Montana?
11.4% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in nine people. Among children it was 13.0%.
Is Daniels County the poorest county in Montana?
No, Daniels County's poverty rate was 11.4% in 2024, 38th 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, Daniels County ranks 54th of 56 in the state.
What is the population of Daniels County, Montana?
About 1,625 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 1,661, 30% of the county's peak of 5,553 in 1930.
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
We rank every U.S. county on 14 federal measures of money trouble, grouped into five equally weighted parts, and average them. The published score is the share of the other 3,143 counties with a lower average. The methodology lists every measure and its source.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Daniels County
A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved housing counselor works at a nonprofit agency approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The counseling to avoid foreclosure is free, and a counselor can help you talk to your mortgage company and understand what it offers, according to the Consumer Financial Protection BureauSourceCFPB.
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Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA)
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Counseling to avoid foreclosure is free. Our help directory lists 1,313 approved agencies 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 Daniels County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Aug 2026, built from HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. Our methodology
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Daniels County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.