About one in 12 people with a credit file in Jefferson County, Montana, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Jefferson County, 8.3% 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 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Jefferson County's score
In Jefferson County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 22.5. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 5.0. People with a credit card behind: 1.1%, August 2025, lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Jefferson 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.
Jefferson 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.
- 22.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.4% · 20245th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.7% · 20245th percentile
- People with a disability17.7% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- People without health insurance5.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$95,295 · 20247th percentile
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- 22.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202617th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.0% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
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- 15.8 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 rent10.1% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.8% · fiscal year 202719th percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector8.3% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people30.7 · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 5.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind1.1% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.3% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score24.9% · second quarter of 20265th 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson County, 23.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Jefferson County
Montana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Jefferson County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 20.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Jefferson County, Montana, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Jefferson County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2013 low, from 6.2% in 2012 to 4.9% in 2013.
The share of households in Jefferson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2011 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 4.9% in 2013. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Jefferson County, Montana.
How Jefferson County has changed
Jefferson County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 11,968 in 2019 to 13,304 in 2024.
Jefferson County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 13,304, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 11,393. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Jefferson County, Montana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Jefferson County rose by about a third to 2,784, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 2,784. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Jefferson County, Montana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.0% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.3% | 2024 7.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,935 | 2024 $95,295 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.1% 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 Jefferson County's history
1865
Created on February 2, 1865. Wikipedia
1892
State schools for the deaf, blind, and developmentally disabled were established in Boulder in 1892. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 12,085, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1975
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Jefferson County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Jefferson County beside its neighbors
All seven counties that border Jefferson County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Jefferson County ranks 4th of the eight; Deer Lodge County is highest, at 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% |
| Madison County, MT | 25 | 8.4% | 17.5% |
| Powell County, MT | 22 | 15.0% | 25.7% |
| Broadwater County, MT | 15 | 8.3% | 20.4% |
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | 12 | 7.6% | 19.3% |
| Gallatin County, MT | 8 | 7.1% | 8.7% |
| 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 Jefferson County the poorest county in Montana?
No, Jefferson County's poverty rate was 7.4% in 2024, 55th 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, Jefferson County ranks 56th of 56 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.