About one in seven people with a credit file in Park County, Montana, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Park County, 13.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 86% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Park County's score
In Park County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 61.3. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 11.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 50.3 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Park 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, Park County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (26.2%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 61.3 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 rent15.5% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.2% · fiscal year 202788th percentile
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- 27.0 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 line9.8% · 202412th percentile
- People with a disability13.0% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
- People without health insurance8.1% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,761 · 202431st 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 year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202617th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.5% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
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- 12.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.3% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.1% · August 202516th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score26.6% · second quarter of 20265th percentile
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- 11.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.7% · August 202513th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people50.3 · 20259th 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 Park 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 Park County, 24.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Park County
Montana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Park County had its largest rise, from 10.9% in 1979 to 17.1% in 1984.
In Park County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 19.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Park County, Montana, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.2%; 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 Park County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen by about a third
Biggest drop: 2012 to 2013, reaching 6.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Park County, Montana.
How Park County has changed
Park County's population rose by more than half to 18,074, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1989 to 1994, reaching 15,535. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Park County, Montana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Park County doubled to 7,396, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 5,275. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Park County, Montana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.0% | 2024 9.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1993 $24,365 | 2024 $73,761 |
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 Park County's history
1850
Beaver population nearly disappeared by 1850 from hunting and trapping. Wikipedia
1860
Indigenous peoples denied access to previous areas by late 1860s. Wikipedia
1860
Fort Howie established near mouth of Shields River to guard Livingston area. Wikipedia
1863
Gold discovered in Emigrant Gulch in 1863, booming town by 1864. Wikipedia
1868
Indian agency established on Crow Reservation at Mission Creek in 1868. Wikipedia
1887
The Territorial Legislature of Montana Territory authorized Park County on February 23, 1887. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 17,191, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1996
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Park County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Park County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Park County, in Montana and Wyoming, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Park County ranks 5th of the seven; Meagher County is highest, at 29.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meagher County, MT | 14 | 15.2% | 29.4% |
| Park County, MT | 11 | 9.2% | 19.2% |
| Park County, WY | 10 | 9.9% | 18.8% |
| Carbon County, MT | 9 | 9.4% | 19.9% |
| Gallatin County, MT | 8 | 7.1% | 8.7% |
| Sweet Grass County, MT | 6 | 9.8% | 21.6% |
| Stillwater County, MT | 1 | 8.3% | 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 Park County the poorest county in Montana?
No, Park 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, Park County ranks 47th of 56 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Park 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.
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 Park County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.