Lake County, Montana

County Distress Index: Elevated · 51.8 | 33,338 people · 14th most distressed in Montana

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Lake County, MT registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 51.8 — 1465th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Community Vulnerability, where uninsured and disability rates are well above the national average. Within Montana, it ranks 14th of 56 counties. Among its 3 neighboring counties, 2 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Lake County's primary driver is Community Vulnerability at 69.3 — above the national median.

Community Vulnerability Primary driver 69.3
Uninsured Rate 85
Disability Rate 53
Housing Cost Burden 64.4
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 42
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 49
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 85
Homeownership Rate 53
Rent-to-Income Ratio 92
Employment & Wages 55.1
Unemployment Rate 67
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 91
Business Formation Rate 8
Income & Poverty 49.3
Poverty Rate 53
Income vs. State Median 44
Child Poverty Rate 51
Debt & Delinquency 20.6
Debt in Collections 25
Medical Debt 38
Student Loan Delinquency 23
Auto Loan Delinquency 14
Credit Card Delinquency 6
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 18

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Lake County compares to its 3 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Lake County
Lake County, MT 51.8 Elevated
Sanders County, MT 61.4 Elevated +9.7
Missoula County, MT 40.1 Normal -11.6
Flathead County, MT 39.9 Normal -11.9

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Lake County
Whitman County, WA 51.7 Elevated -0.0
Cass County, IN 51.9 Elevated +0.1
Alleghany County, VA 51.6 Elevated -0.1
Custer County, MT 51.6 Elevated -0.2
Moore County, TX 51.5 Elevated -0.2

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