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PantryPath Research · Rural & Persistent Poverty Atlas

Rural poverty in Montana

4 persistent-poverty counties

Montana has 4 persistent-poverty counties and 46 nonmetro counties — home to 44,338 residents living in counties with 30+ years of 20%-or-higher poverty. The state's all-ages poverty rate is 12.0% and child poverty is 13.8%.

4

Persistent-poverty counties

46

Nonmetro counties (RUCC 4–9)

44K

Residents in PPCs

56

Total counties

Montana by county

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Toggle between the rural hunger risk score, all-ages poverty, child poverty, the Rural-Urban Continuum Code, and the binary persistent-poverty flag. Hover a county for its ERS typology and ACS poverty rate.

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Montana at a glance

Poverty rate

12.0%

All ages, ACS S1701

Child poverty

13.8%

Under 18

PPC share

7.1%

Of counties in state

Nonmetro share

82.1%

RUCC 4–9

Pantries / 100K

3.62

PantryPath verified

Risk score (mean)

0.31

Composite 0–1

"Pantries / 100K" divides Montana's 40 verified PantryPath pantries by the state population — a minimum-density indicator, not a saturated census. See methodology.

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 56 in Montana.

Highest rural hunger risk

Composite 0–1 score

  1. 1 Roosevelt 0.72
  2. 2 Glacier 0.72
  3. 3 Blaine 0.68
  4. 4 Big Horn 0.66
  5. 5 Liberty 0.40

Highest poverty rate

ACS all-ages

  1. 1 Roosevelt 30.6%
  2. 2 Glacier 30.3%
  3. 3 Liberty 25.5%
  4. 4 Prairie 23.9%
  5. 5 Wheatland 23.7%

Persistent-poverty counties

PPCs ranked by current poverty

  1. 1 Roosevelt 30.6%
  2. 2 Glacier 30.3%
  3. 3 Big Horn 23.6%
  4. 4 Blaine 20.2%

Every county in Montana

All 56 counties with RUCC, typology flags, and ACS poverty data.

County RUCC PPC Flags Poverty Child poverty Population Risk
Beaverhead 9 — — 14.7% 13.3% 9,590 0.36
Big Horn 8 Yes Low emp. 23.6% 26.8% 12,963 0.66
Blaine 9 Yes — 20.2% 22.3% 6,997 0.68
Broadwater 3 — Retire. 10.7% 15.7% 7,310 0.12
Carbon 3 — — 8.5% 7.8% 10,877 0.11
Carter 9 — Housing, Retire. 13.8% 18.0% 1,361 0.36
Cascade 3 — — 13.2% 17.0% 84,601 0.13
Chouteau 8 — — 12.4% 13.9% 5,888 0.31
Custer 7 — — 11.7% 4.5% 11,938 0.27
Daniels 9 — Pop. loss 11.9% 20.6% 1,524 0.35
Dawson 7 — Pop. loss 8.8% 5.5% 8,874 0.26
Deer Lodge 7 — Retire. 18.1% 20.8% 9,512 0.30
Fallon 9 — — 12.1% 6.3% 2,817 0.35
Fergus 7 — Pop. loss 14.9% 25.2% 11,581 0.28
Flathead 5 — Housing 9.6% 10.2% 108,445 0.19
Gallatin 3 — Housing 10.2% 7.7% 122,194 0.12
Garfield 9 — Pop. loss 12.2% 6.8% 938 0.35
Glacier 9 Yes Housing 30.3% 31.9% 13,713 0.72
Golden Valley 8 — Pop. loss 18.0% 15.6% 840 0.33
Granite 8 — Retire. 10.4% 1.8% 3,419 0.30
Hill 7 — — 19.7% 25.3% 16,260 0.30
Jefferson 3 — — 6.3% 5.9% 12,501 0.10
Judith Basin 8 — Pop. loss 15.8% 22.3% 2,053 0.33
Lake 6 — Housing, Retire. 17.7% 22.7% 32,073 0.26
Lewis and Clark 3 — — 8.7% 7.9% 72,580 0.11
Liberty 9 — Housing 25.5% 32.4% 1,968 0.40
Lincoln 9 — Housing, Retire. 16.2% 32.4% 20,656 0.36
Madison 8 — Retire. 6.8% 8.2% 8,975 0.29
McCone 9 — Pop. loss 4.2% 0.3% 1,818 0.32
Meagher 8 — Retire. 10.7% 16.5% 1,979 0.31
Mineral 3 — Retire. 17.9% 32.5% 4,796 0.15
Missoula 3 — Housing 10.9% 8.0% 119,639 0.12
Musselshell 8 — — 15.3% 27.1% 5,068 0.32
Park 6 — Housing 13.1% 22.8% 17,484 0.24
Petroleum 9 — — 6.5% 0.0% 401 0.33
Phillips 9 — Pop. loss 9.4% 15.1% 4,224 0.34
Pondera 9 — Pop. loss 22.9% 27.8% 6,012 0.39
Powder River 9 — Pop. loss 9.7% 8.3% 1,762 0.34
Powell 8 — Low emp., Pop. loss 6.3% 6.3% 7,029 0.29
Prairie 9 — Pop. loss 23.9% 11.2% 1,251 0.40
Ravalli 6 — Retire. 8.3% 8.6% 45,807 0.22
Richland 7 — — 7.1% 3.8% 11,329 0.25
Roosevelt 9 Yes Low emp. 30.6% 34.3% 10,665 0.72
Rosebud 8 — Pop. loss, Housing 21.6% 30.2% 8,236 0.35
Sanders 8 — Low emp., Housing, Retire. 15.1% 23.6% 12,936 0.32
Sheridan 9 — — 10.0% 10.4% 3,677 0.34
Silver Bow 5 — — 16.2% 18.4% 35,589 0.21
Stillwater 3 — — 8.3% 8.8% 9,052 0.11
Sweet Grass 8 — — 7.8% 9.7% 3,713 0.29
Teton 8 — — 10.5% 11.9% 6,291 0.30
Toole 9 — Low emp. 12.3% 12.6% 5,028 0.35
Treasure 8 — — 10.8% 16.7% 761 0.31
Valley 9 — — 12.9% 22.7% 7,540 0.35
Wheatland 9 — Pop. loss 23.7% 26.1% 2,049 0.39
Wibaux 9 — Pop. loss 15.9% 25.2% 1,148 0.36
Yellowstone 3 — — 10.2% 12.3% 167,340 0.12

Find a food pantry in Montana

Search Montana's 40 verified pantries, food banks, and meal programs — filtered by city, open-now status, and service type.

Montana pantry directory

Montana SNAP

Income limits, application steps, and EBT card details for residents of persistent-poverty counties and beyond.

Montana SNAP guide

Emergency food help

National hotlines, 211 referrals, and same-day food options — critical in rural counties where the nearest pantry may be 30+ miles away.

Emergency food

Food deserts atlas

Rural poverty and low food access often overlap. Compare persistent-poverty counties to USDA's low-income / low-access food desert designations.

Montana food deserts

Methodology

How we combined USDA ERS typology codes, the Rural-Urban Continuum, ACS poverty data, and PantryPath's own pantry directory — plus the risk-score formula.

Full methodology