Financial Stress · Montana

Montana — financial stress by county

The Financial Stress Index (FSI) combines renter cost burden, eviction rate, and debt in collections into a 0–100 score. 39 of 56 Montana counties have all three inputs and receive a score. The state average FSI across reporting counties is 31.4. Silver Bow, MT has the highest score at 58.

Data note: The eviction rate component draws from the Princeton Eviction Lab's last national county release (2018). Post-pandemic eviction trends are not reflected in these scores — counties with high pre-2020 eviction activity may score differently if updated data were available. Rent burden and debt figures use 2024 ACS and Urban Institute data.

National comparison · Montana

How does Montana compare nationally?

Among states with reliable FSI coverage (≥60% of counties scored), Montana ranks #33 of 36 states. The state average FSI of 31.4 is 40% below the national average FSI of 52.6.

Montana ranks #6 of 8 in the West by average FSI score.

Top 10 — Most Stressed Counties

Counties in Montana ranked by FSI score

CountyFSI
1 Silver Bow, MT 58
2 Yellowstone, MT 58
3 Musselshell, MT 54
4 Cascade, MT 51
5 Broadwater, MT 50
6 Mineral, MT 49
7 Missoula, MT 46
8 Flathead, MT 45
9 Glacier, MT 45
10 Sheridan, MT 43
Source  ·  US Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2024 (2020–2024) · Princeton Eviction Lab (through 2018) · Urban Institute Debt in America (2024)  ·  Full FSI methodology →

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Financial stress — compare with other states

Click any state for county-level data and rankings.