Unemployment in Montour County, Pennsylvania, is lower than in 85% of U.S. counties
In Montour County, 3.1% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 85% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
What drives Montour County's score
In Montour County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 48.9. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 15.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 33.6 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 Montour 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.
Montour 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.
- 48.9 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 income22.1% · fiscal year 202763rd percentile
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- 32.0 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 behind5.5% · August 202555th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.0% · second quarter of 202625th percentile
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- 26.5 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 working18.4% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
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- 20.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.8% · 202420th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.3% · 202424th percentile
- People with a disability13.5% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- People without health insurance3.7% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$78,039 · 202423rd percentile
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- 15.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.7% · August 202525th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people33.6 · 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 Montour 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 Montour County, 21.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Montour County
Pennsylvania
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Montour County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 22.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Montour County, Pennsylvania, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Montour County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 7.2% in 2011 to 8.3% in 2012; 8.5% in 2022 to 7.4% in 2023.
The share of households in Montour County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 7.4%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Montour County, Pennsylvania.
How Montour County has changed
Montour County's population rose 10% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1989 and 1994
High on the chart: 18,432 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Montour County, Pennsylvania.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Montour County rose by about half to 17,238, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 15,396. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Montour County, Pennsylvania.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.0% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.3% | 2024 9.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,115 | 2024 $78,039 |
The table uses 3.3% 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 Montour County's history
1850
Created May 3, 1850. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 18,267. The 2020 Census counted 18,136, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Montour County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Montour County beside its neighbors
All three counties that border Montour County score higher than it does. Of the group, Montour County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Northumberland County gets the largest, at 31.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lycoming County, PA | 52 | 15.1% | 27.6% |
| Northumberland County, PA | 48 | 14.2% | 31.6% |
| Columbia County, PA | 43 | 13.5% | 26.9% |
| Montour County, PA | 14 | 9.8% | 22.4% |
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 Montour County the poorest county in Pennsylvania?
No, Montour County's poverty rate was 9.8% in 2024, 53rd highest of 67 in Pennsylvania (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Forest County, at 22.8%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Montour County ranks 62nd of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Montour 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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Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (PLAN)
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 Montour 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 Montour County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.