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. 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. Unemployment averaged 2.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Daniels 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.
Daniels 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.
- 38.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.4% · 202434th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.0% · 202427th percentile
- People with a disability16.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance2.0% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,107 · 202470th percentile
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- 32.1 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 rent11.3% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.5% · fiscal year 202748th 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 or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202520th percentile
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- 12.8 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 score26.6% · second quarter of 20265th percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working10.2% · 2020 to 20245th 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 Daniels 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 Daniels County, 31.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Daniels County
Montana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Daniels County had its largest rise, from 8.8% in 1974 to 16.9% in 1979.
In Daniels County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 26.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Daniels County, Montana, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Daniels County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 2.7% in 2010 to 4.4% in 2011; 5.6% in 2013 to 3.9% in 2014.
The share of households in Daniels County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 0.8% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Daniels County, Montana.
How Daniels County has changed
Daniels County's population fell by about half to 1,625, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 2,344. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Daniels County, Montana.
The number of jobs located in Daniels County had its largest drop, from 697 in 2000 to 599 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Daniels County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 697 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Daniels County, Montana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.1% | 2025 2.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.7% | 2024 11.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,407 | 2024 $60,107 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Daniels County's history
1920
Created in 1920 from portions of Sheridan and Valley Counties. Wikipedia
1930
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
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Since 1986
8 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Daniels County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
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 | 74 | 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 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 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.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Daniels 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 Daniels 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 Daniels County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.