About four in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Powell County, Montana, have a job
In Powell County, 16.4% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 76% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Powell County's score
In Powell County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 57.6. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 20.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 14 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Powell 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, Powell County is worse off than most counties on people with a disability (21.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 57.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.0% · 202464th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.0% · 202444th percentile
- People with a disability21.9% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- People without health insurance6.4% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,069 · 202454th percentile
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- 43.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202662nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.4% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
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- 29.1 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 rent4.6% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.0% · fiscal year 202753rd percentile
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- 20.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.3% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind0.0% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.4% · second quarter of 202651st percentile
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- 20.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.1% · August 202535th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people14 · 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 Powell 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 Powell County, 20.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Powell County
Montana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Powell County fell most sharply after its 2009 high, from 27.4% in 2009 to 21.1% in 2014.
In Powell County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 25.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Powell County, Montana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.7%; 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 Powell County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 6.7%
Biggest drop: 2023 to 2024, reaching 6.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Powell County, Montana.
How Powell County has changed
Powell County's population fell most sharply after its 1979 high, from 7,182 in 1979 to 6,805 in 1984.
Powell County's population rose 6% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 7,182 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Powell County, Montana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Powell County rose by about a fifth to 2,457, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 2,457 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Powell County, Montana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.9% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.4% | 2024 15.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,582 | 2024 $65,069 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Powell County's history
1901
Created February 2, 1901. Wikipedia
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 7,180. The 2020 Census counted 6,946, 97% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1975
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Powell County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Powell County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Powell County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Powell County ranks 2nd of the seven; Deer Lodge County is highest, at 30.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deer Lodge County, MT | 39 | 12.2% | 30.4% |
| 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% |
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | 12 | 7.6% | 19.3% |
| Jefferson County, MT | 1 | 7.4% | 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 Powell County the poorest county in Montana?
No, Powell County's poverty rate was 15.0% in 2024, 13th 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, Powell County ranks 27th of 56 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Powell 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 Powell 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 Powell County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.