About one in 14 people with a credit file in Phillips County, Montana, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Phillips County, 7.2% 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 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Phillips County's score
In Phillips County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 65.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 5.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Phillips 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, Phillips County is worse off than most counties on median household income ($56,463, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 65.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.4% · 202467th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.1% · 202468th percentile
- People with a disability17.3% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- People without health insurance7.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,463 · 202479th percentile
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- 56.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202647th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.2% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
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- 32.2 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 rent6.4% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.6% · fiscal year 202758th percentile
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- 10.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.5% · August 20256th 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 score27.5% · second quarter of 20267th 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 collector7.2% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people23.5 · 20255th 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 Phillips 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 Phillips County, 24.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Phillips County
Montana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Phillips County had its largest rise, from 10.4% in 1974 to 15.6% in 1979.
In Phillips County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 30.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Phillips County, Montana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Phillips County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 9.1% in 2021 to 6.2% in 2022.
The share of households in Phillips County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 3.1% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Phillips County, Montana.
How Phillips County has changed
Phillips County's population moved most in two steps: 5,228 in 1979 to 5,653 in 1984; 4,720 in 1999 to 4,295 in 2004.
Phillips County's population fell by about a quarter to 4,214, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 5,653 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Phillips County, Montana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Phillips County fell by about a quarter to 1,228, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1995 to 2000, reaching 1,338. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Phillips County, Montana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.9% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.8% | 2024 15.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,793 | 2024 $56,463 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Phillips County's history
1915
Founded February 5, 1915; before that, Phillips County was part of Blaine County. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 9,311. The 2020 Census counted 4,217, 45% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1986
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Phillips County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Phillips County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Phillips County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Phillips County ranks 2nd of the six; Blaine County is highest, at 35.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blaine County, MT | 55 | 18.1% | 35.1% |
| Petroleum County, MT | 31 | 14.5% | 27.6% |
| Garfield County, MT | 23 | 15.0% | 27.3% |
| Phillips County, MT | 22 | 15.4% | 30.8% |
| Fergus County, MT | 18 | 12.3% | 23.8% |
| Valley County, MT | 11 | 11.6% | 25.9% |
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 Phillips County the poorest county in Montana?
No, Phillips County's poverty rate was 15.4% in 2024, 10th 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, Phillips County ranks 29th of 56 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Phillips 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 Phillips 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 Phillips County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.