Unemployment in Garfield County, Montana, is lower than in 86% of U.S. counties
In Garfield County, 3.0% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 76% of U.S. counties.
What drives Garfield County's score
In Garfield County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 64.3. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 12.5. About one in six people (17.4%, Q2 2026) has a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Garfield 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, Garfield County is worse off than most counties on median household income ($56,274, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 64.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.0% · 202464th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.8% · 202467th percentile
- People with a disability15.4% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- People without health insurance9.8% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,274 · 202480th percentile
-
- 40.2 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 rent6.7% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.5% · fiscal year 202774th percentile
-
- 34.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202614th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.4% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
-
- 22.5 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 people82.6 · 202526th percentile
-
- 12.5 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 score17.4% · second quarter of 20265th or lower percentile
-
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 Garfield 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 Garfield County, 26.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Garfield County
Montana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Garfield County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 27.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Garfield County, Montana, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 27.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Garfield County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2014 low, from 3.2% in 2013 to 0.9% in 2014.
The share of households in Garfield County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 0.9% in 2014. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Garfield County, Montana.
How Garfield County has changed
Garfield County's population had its largest drop, from 1,600 in 1989 to 1,387 in 1994.
Garfield County's population fell by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 1,181
High on the chart: 1,815 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Garfield County, Montana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Garfield County rose 12% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2015 and 2020
High on the chart: 322 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Garfield County, Montana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.9% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.7% | 2024 15.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,537 | 2024 $56,274 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Garfield County's history
1919
Created on February 7, 1919. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 5,368. The 2020 Census counted 1,173, 22% of the peak. Census Bureau
2003
A wildfire in July 2003 did $2.9 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1986
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Garfield County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Garfield County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Garfield County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Garfield County ranks 4th of the eight; Phillips County is highest, at 30.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rosebud County, MT | 65 | 16.3% | 26.8% |
| Custer County, MT | 40 | 11.2% | 23.1% |
| Petroleum County, MT | 31 | 14.5% | 27.6% |
| Garfield County, MT | 23 | 15.0% | 27.3% |
| Phillips County, MT | 22 | 15.4% | 30.8% |
| McCone County, MT | 14 | 13.6% | 27.1% |
| Prairie County, MT | 13 | 11.2% | 30.8% |
| Valley County, MT | 11 | 11.6% | 25.9% |
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 Garfield County the poorest county in Montana?
No, Garfield County's poverty rate was 15.0% in 2024, 13th 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, Garfield County ranks 26th of 56 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Garfield 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.
-
Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA)
Legal aid
-
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 Garfield 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 Garfield County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.