Montana County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 56 counties in Montana, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 36.7. 1county is in Serious or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Montana Snapshot
56 Counties Scored
36.7 Mean Score
35.3 Median Score
66.2 Glacier County Most Distressed
16.5 Jefferson County Least Distressed
1 Serious 6 Elevated 21 Normal 28 Healthy
Zone Distribution Montana County Map
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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis
All 56 Montana counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Montana's 56 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Montana Counties
56 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 594 | Glacier County | 66.2 | Serious | Economic Vitality |
| 2 | 929 | Big Horn County | 60.3 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 3 | 1,016 | Roosevelt County | 59.1 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 4 | 1,341 | Rosebud County | 53.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 5 | 1,495 | Silver Bow County | 51.3 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 6 | 1,510 | Musselshell County | 51.2 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 7 | 1,565 | Sanders County | 50.1 | Elevated | Structural Poverty |
| 8 | 1,584 | Custer County | 49.9 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 9 | 1,732 | Mineral County | 47.7 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 10 | 1,802 | Yellowstone County | 46.7 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 11 | 1,874 | Deer Lodge County | 45.5 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 12 | 1,890 | Blaine County | 45.1 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 13 | 1,914 | Cascade County | 44.7 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 14 | 1,966 | Hill County | 43.8 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 15 | 2,025 | Lincoln County | 42.8 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 16 | 2,035 | Sheridan County | 42.5 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 17 | 2,162 | Missoula County | 40.5 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 18 | 2,226 | Lake County | 39.4 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 19 | 2,293 | Flathead County | 38.3 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 20 | 2,336 | Dawson County | 37.5 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 21 | 2,373 | Broadwater County | 36.9 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 22 | 2,392 | Wheatland County | 36.5 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 23 | 2,405 | Gallatin County | 36.3 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 24 | 2,406 | Golden Valley County | 36.3 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
| 25 | 2,423 | Valley County | 35.9 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 26 | 2,427 | Park County | 35.9 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 27 | 2,430 | Granite County | 35.8 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 28 | 2,442 | Richland County | 35.6 | Normal | Legal Distress |
| 29 | 2,485 | Toole County | 34.9 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 30 | 2,504 | Lewis and Clark County | 34.4 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 31 | 2,528 | Ravalli County | 34.0 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 32 | 2,543 | Chouteau County | 33.7 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 33 | 2,552 | Beaverhead County | 33.6 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 34 | 2,555 | Prairie County | 33.6 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 35 | 2,559 | Pondera County | 33.5 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 36 | 2,582 | Wibaux County | 33.1 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 37 | 2,589 | Powell County | 32.9 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 38 | 2,611 | Garfield County | 32.5 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 39 | 2,684 | Carter County | 31.3 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 40 | 2,694 | Petroleum County | 31.1 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 41 | 2,699 | Fergus County | 31.0 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 42 | 2,755 | Carbon County | 30.0 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 43 | 2,768 | Treasure County | 29.9 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 44 | 2,773 | Judith Basin County | 29.7 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 45 | 2,776 | Liberty County | 29.6 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 46 | 2,826 | Madison County | 28.5 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 47 | 2,855 | Phillips County | 27.9 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 48 | 2,872 | Fallon County | 27.4 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 49 | 2,902 | Meagher County | 26.7 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 50 | 2,908 | McCone County | 26.7 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 51 | 2,948 | Teton County | 25.5 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 52 | 3,028 | Sweet Grass County | 22.2 | Healthy | Legal Distress |
| 53 | 3,040 | Powder River County | 21.5 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 54 | 3,053 | Daniels County | 20.9 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
| 55 | 3,112 | Stillwater County | 17.4 | Healthy | Structural Poverty |
| 56 | 3,120 | Jefferson County | 16.5 | Healthy | Economic Vitality |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties