About one in 15 people with a credit file in McCone County, Montana, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In McCone County, 6.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
What drives McCone County's score
In McCone County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 52.2. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 12.5. About one in four people (24.6%, 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 McCone 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, McCone County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (31.6%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 52.2 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent8.6% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income31.6% · fiscal year 2027top 5%
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- 40.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.6% · 202453rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.3% · 202440th percentile
- People with a disability11.2% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- People without health insurance5.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,865 · 202473rd percentile
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- 25.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202626th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.4% · 2020 to 202423rd 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 collector6.9% · 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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- 12.5 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 score24.6% · 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 McCone 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 McCone County, 30.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
McCone County
Montana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In McCone County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 27.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In McCone County, Montana, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 27.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in McCone County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2022 and has since fallen to 0.3%
Low on the chart: 0.0% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, McCone County, Montana.
How McCone County has changed
McCone County's population had its largest drop, from 2,647 in 1984 to 2,361 in 1989.
McCone County's population fell 41% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 2,919 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, McCone County, Montana.
The number of jobs located in McCone County moved most in two steps: 562 in 2015 to 485 in 2020; 485 in 2020 to 562 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in McCone County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 562
High on the chart: 569 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, McCone County, Montana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.3% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.5% | 2024 13.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,140 | 2024 $58,865 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 McCone County's history
1919
Created in 1919. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 4,790. The 2020 Census counted 1,729, 36% of the peak. Census Bureau
1951
Oil discovered southeast of Circle in 1951, led to temporary population spike. Wikipedia
1983
A tornado in July 1983 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A thunderstorm in July 2001 did $1.6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A thunderstorm in June 2021 did $1.2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1986
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered McCone County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
McCone County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border McCone County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, McCone County ranks 4th of the seven; Roosevelt County is highest, at 36.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roosevelt County, MT | 74 | 22.8% | 36.4% |
| Garfield County, MT | 23 | 15.0% | 27.3% |
| Dawson County, MT | 16 | 12.0% | 25.2% |
| McCone County, MT | 14 | 13.6% | 27.1% |
| Prairie County, MT | 13 | 11.2% | 30.8% |
| Valley County, MT | 11 | 11.6% | 25.9% |
| Richland County, MT | 10 | 9.8% | 14.6% |
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 McCone County the poorest county in Montana?
No, McCone County's poverty rate was 13.6% in 2024, 23rd 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, McCone County ranks 38th of 56 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in McCone 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 McCone 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 McCone County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.