About one in 12 people in Yellowstone County, Montana, lives below the poverty line
In Yellowstone County, 8.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 90% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Yellowstone County's score
In Yellowstone County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 63.0. Jobs are the lowest part, at 23.1. About one in six adults aged 25 to 54 (16.1%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 77% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Yellowstone 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.
Yellowstone County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 63.0 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 rent20.0% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.2% · fiscal year 202764th percentile
-
- 35.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.9% · August 202541st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people88.4 · 202530th percentile
-
- 33.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.7% · August 202538th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.2% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.8% · second quarter of 202628th percentile
-
- 25.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.3% · 202410th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.6% · 20248th percentile
- People with a disability14.4% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- People without health insurance7.7% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$77,321 · 202424th percentile
-
- 23.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202623rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.1% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
-
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 Yellowstone 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 Yellowstone County, 18.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Yellowstone County
Montana
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Yellowstone County had its largest rise, from 10.7% in 1984 to 13.3% in 1989.
In Yellowstone County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 16.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Yellowstone County, Montana, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Yellowstone County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 8.0% in 2011 to 9.2% in 2012; 10.1% in 2015 to 8.9% in 2016.
The share of households in Yellowstone County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 7.3% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Yellowstone County, Montana.
How Yellowstone County has changed
Yellowstone County's population doubled to 171,583, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 107,991. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Yellowstone County, Montana.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Yellowstone County nearly doubled to 87,416, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 58,161. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Yellowstone County, Montana.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.5% | 2024 8.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,412 | 2024 $77,321 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Yellowstone County's history
1883
February 26, 1883 (created) May 1, 1883 (organized). Wikipedia
1985
A thunderstorm in August 1985 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
Lightning in July 2009 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A tornado in June 2010 did $30 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in May 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 164,731, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1978
8 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Yellowstone County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Yellowstone County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Yellowstone County, four score higher. Of the group, Yellowstone County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Big Horn County gets the largest, at 37.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Horn County, MT | 78 | 22.2% | 37.1% |
| Musselshell County, MT | 71 | 14.5% | 32.9% |
| Rosebud County, MT | 65 | 16.3% | 26.8% |
| Golden Valley County, MT | 38 | 20.2% | 33.0% |
| Yellowstone County, MT | 26 | 8.3% | 16.8% |
| Treasure County, MT | 13 | 12.1% | 24.5% |
| Carbon County, MT | 9 | 9.4% | 19.9% |
| 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 Yellowstone County the poorest county in Montana?
No, Yellowstone County's poverty rate was 8.3% in 2024, 51st 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, Yellowstone County ranks 23rd of 56 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Yellowstone 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.
-
District 7 Human Resources Development Council
HUD-approved housing counselor
-
Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA)
Legal aid
-
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 Yellowstone 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 Yellowstone County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.