In Missoula County, Montana, benefit checks make up only 16 cents of every dollar of income
In Missoula County, 15.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Missoula County's score
In Missoula County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 83.1. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 14.3. People with a car or retail loan behind: 2.6%, August 2025, lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Missoula 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, Missoula County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (26.6%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (22.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.1 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 rent22.7% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.6% · fiscal year 202789th percentile
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- 24.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.8% · August 202518th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people90.3 · 202531st percentile
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- 20.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.2% · 202416th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.5% · 20247th percentile
- People with a disability12.6% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- People without health insurance6.1% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$76,277 · 202427th percentile
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- 15.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202621st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.3% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
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- 14.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.8% · August 202522nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.6% · August 202510th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.0% · second quarter of 202610th 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 Missoula 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 Missoula County, 17.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Missoula County
Montana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Missoula County had its largest rise, from 7.9% in 1969 to 10.7% in 1974.
In Missoula County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 15.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Missoula County, Montana, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.9%; 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 Missoula County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 7.5%
Biggest drop: 2018 to 2019, reaching 10.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Missoula County, Montana.
How Missoula County has changed
Missoula County's population had its largest rise, from 77,995 in 1989 to 88,037 in 1994.
Missoula County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 122,546, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 77,995. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Missoula County, Montana.
The number of jobs located in Missoula County had its largest rise, from 40,825 in 1995 to 48,896 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Missoula County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 65,880, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 54,105. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Missoula County, Montana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.0% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.7% | 2024 9.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,495 | 2024 $76,277 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Missoula County's history
1860
Founded December 14, 1860, created from Spokane County. Wikipedia
1877
Fort Missoula established in 1877 to protect arriving settlers. Wikipedia
1905
United States Forest Service work began in Missoula in 1905. Wikipedia
1956
Hoerner-Waldorf pulp mill protests over air pollution in 1956, Missoulians needed headlights at day. Wikipedia
1980
Lumber industry hit hard by recession of early 1980s, log yards disappeared by 1990s. Wikipedia
1998
Lightning in July 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A thunderstorm in July 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A thunderstorm in June 2012 did $1,500,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 117,922, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A thunderstorm in July 2024 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Missoula County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Missoula County beside its neighbors
All nine counties that border Missoula County, in Montana and Idaho, score higher than it does. Of the group, Missoula County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Clearwater County gets the largest, at 37.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanders County, MT | 65 | 13.9% | 36.5% |
| Clearwater County, ID | 57 | 15.2% | 37.1% |
| Mineral County, MT | 48 | 12.6% | 33.9% |
| Lake County, MT | 47 | 14.9% | 27.8% |
| Ravalli County, MT | 26 | 10.9% | 23.3% |
| Idaho County, ID | 26 | 14.0% | 32.3% |
| Granite County, MT | 25 | 12.2% | 25.0% |
| Powell County, MT | 22 | 15.0% | 25.7% |
| Flathead County, MT | 20 | 8.6% | 17.8% |
| Missoula County, MT | 18 | 9.2% | 15.9% |
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 Missoula County the poorest county in Montana?
No, Missoula County's poverty rate was 9.2% in 2024, 47th 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, Missoula County ranks 33rd of 56 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Missoula 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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Homeword, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Missoula 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 Missoula County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.