About one in eight people in Deer Lodge County, Montana, lives below the poverty line
In Deer Lodge County, 12.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 58% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 60% of U.S. counties.
What drives Deer Lodge County's score
In Deer Lodge County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 56.9. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 26.7. Bankruptcy filings ran at 31 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Deer Lodge 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.
Even so, Deer Lodge County is worse off than most counties on people with a disability (25.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 56.9 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202654th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.2% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
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- 51.0 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 rent18.8% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.5% · fiscal year 202748th percentile
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- 49.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.2% · 202441st percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.3% · 202424th percentile
- People with a disability25.6% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance5.6% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,310 · 202460th percentile
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- 35.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.9% · August 202540th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.8% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.1% · second quarter of 202653rd percentile
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- 26.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.7% · August 202548th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people31 · 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 Deer Lodge 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 Deer Lodge County, 26.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Deer Lodge County
Montana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Deer Lodge County had its largest rise, from 18.1% in 1979 to 25.9% in 1984.
In Deer Lodge County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 30.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Deer Lodge County, Montana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Deer Lodge County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.5% in 2010 to 14.2% in 2011.
The share of households in Deer Lodge County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 10.4% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Deer Lodge County, Montana.
How Deer Lodge County has changed
Deer Lodge County's population had its largest drop, from 15,171 in 1974 to 12,941 in 1979.
Deer Lodge County's population fell 41% from 1969 to 2019, then turned up in 2024
High on the chart: 15,936 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Deer Lodge County, Montana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Deer Lodge County rose by about a quarter to 3,370, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 3,370. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Deer Lodge County, Montana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.8% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.7% | 2024 12.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,362 | 2024 $63,310 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Deer Lodge County's history
1864
Deer Lodge was one of the original 9 Montana counties, established with the Montana Territory in 1864. Wikipedia
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 18,640. The 2020 Census counted 9,421, 51% of the peak. Census Bureau
1980
In 1980, Atlantic Richfield Company closed the smelter, bringing an end to almost a century of mineral processing. Wikipedia
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Since 1974
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Deer Lodge County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Deer Lodge County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Deer Lodge County, one scores higher. Of the group, Deer Lodge County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (30.4%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Bow County, MT | 53 | 12.9% | 23.1% |
| Deer Lodge County, MT | 39 | 12.2% | 30.4% |
| Ravalli County, MT | 26 | 10.9% | 23.3% |
| Granite County, MT | 25 | 12.2% | 25.0% |
| Powell County, MT | 22 | 15.0% | 25.7% |
| Beaverhead County, MT | 14 | 12.0% | 23.6% |
| Jefferson County, MT | 1 | 7.4% | 20.5% |
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 Deer Lodge County the poorest county in Montana?
No, Deer Lodge County's poverty rate was 12.2% in 2024, 30th 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, Deer Lodge County ranks 14th of 56 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Deer Lodge 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 Deer Lodge 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 Deer Lodge County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.