Unemployment in Toole County, Montana, is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties
In Toole County, 2.7% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Toole County's score
In Toole County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 58.6. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 6.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 19.5 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 Toole 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, Toole County is worse off than most counties on people with a car or retail loan behind (7.3%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 58.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.6% · 202468th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.1% · 202455th percentile
- People with a disability17.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- People without health insurance8.3% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,644 · 202456th percentile
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- 46.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.4% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.3% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.4% · second quarter of 202657th percentile
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- 43.0 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 rent11.1% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.9% · fiscal year 202770th 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 year2.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20267th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
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- 6.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.7% · August 20257th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people19.5 · 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 Toole 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 Toole County, 18.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Toole County
Montana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Toole County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 17.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Toole County, Montana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 17.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Toole County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.9% in 2016 to 9.5% in 2017.
The share of households in Toole County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 6.3% 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, Toole County, Montana.
How Toole County has changed
Toole County's population had its largest drop, from 5,636 in 1984 to 5,146 in 1989.
Toole County's population fell 17% from 1969 to 2019, then turned up in 2024
High on the chart: 6,016 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Toole County, Montana.
The number of jobs located in Toole County had its largest rise, from 1,866 in 2000 to 2,068 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Toole County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 2,068 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Toole County, Montana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.1% | 2025 2.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.0% | 2024 15.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,869 | 2024 $64,644 |
The table uses 2.8% for 2025; the score uses 2.7% 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 Toole County's history
1914
Established in 1914 from parts of Hill County and Teton County. Wikipedia
1923
Dempsey-Gibbons heavyweight boxing championship match bankrupted the town of Shelby. Wikipedia
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 7,904. The 2020 Census counted 4,971, 63% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1975
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Toole County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Toole County beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Toole County, two score higher. Of the group, Toole County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Glacier County gets the largest, at 29.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glacier County, MT | 90 | 25.9% | 29.3% |
| Pondera County, MT | 38 | 15.8% | 22.0% |
| Toole County, MT | 22 | 15.6% | 17.9% |
| Liberty County, MT | 20 | 14.6% | 19.8% |
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 Toole County the poorest county in Montana?
No, Toole County's poverty rate was 15.6% in 2024, 9th 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, Toole County ranks 28th of 56 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Toole 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 Toole County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.