Counties in Montana by unemployment rate

Lincoln County had the highest unemployment rate of 56 counties in February 2026, at 8.5%. Treasure County had the lowest, at 1.9%. The median was 3.75% and the figure for Montana was 3.6%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest8.5Lincoln County
Median3.7556 counties
Montana3.6History

All counties, February 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 8.5 %8.5Granite CountyGranite County: 8.2 %8.2Sanders CountySanders County: 7.9 %7.9Madison CountyMadison County: 7.1 %7.1Big Horn CountyBig Horn County: 6.8 %6.8Glacier CountyGlacier County: 6.3 %6.3Mineral CountyMineral County: 6.3 %6.3Powell CountyPowell County: 6.2 %6.2Musselshell CountyMusselshell County: 6 %6Petroleum CountyPetroleum County: 5.7 %5.7Lake CountyLake County: 5.3 %5.3Phillips CountyPhillips County: 5.3 %5.3Roosevelt CountyRoosevelt County: 5.3 %5.3Ravalli CountyRavalli County: 5 %5Wheatland CountyWheatland County: 5 %5Flathead CountyFlathead County: 4.7 %4.7Silver Bow CountySilver Bow County: 4.7 %4.7Deer Lodge CountyDeer Lodge County: 4.6 %4.6Fergus CountyFergus County: 4.6 %4.6Garfield CountyGarfield County: 4.6 %4.6Blaine CountyBlaine County: 4.3 %4.3Pondera CountyPondera County: 4.3 %4.3Valley CountyValley County: 4.3 %4.3Missoula CountyMissoula County: 4 %4Park CountyPark County: 4 %4Lewis and Clark CountyLewis and Clark County: 3.9 %3.9Custer CountyCuster County: 3.8 %3.8McCone CountyMcCone County: 3.8 %3.8Broadwater CountyBroadwater County: 3.7 %3.7Cascade CountyCascade County: 3.7 %3.7Hill CountyHill County: 3.7 %3.7Sheridan CountySheridan County: 3.7 %3.7Yellowstone CountyYellowstone County: 3.7 %3.7Carbon CountyCarbon County: 3.6 %3.6Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 3.6 %3.6Rosebud CountyRosebud County: 3.6 %3.6Stillwater CountyStillwater County: 3.6 %3.6Teton CountyTeton County: 3.5 %3.5Dawson CountyDawson County: 3.2 %3.2Judith Basin CountyJudith Basin County: 3.2 %3.2Meagher CountyMeagher County: 3.2 %3.2Chouteau CountyChouteau County: 3.1 %3.1Golden Valley CountyGolden Valley County: 3 %3Toole CountyToole County: 3 %3Wibaux CountyWibaux County: 3 %3Beaverhead CountyBeaverhead County: 2.9 %2.9Fallon CountyFallon County: 2.8 %2.8Sweet Grass CountySweet Grass County: 2.8 %2.8Gallatin CountyGallatin County: 2.7 %2.7Richland CountyRichland County: 2.7 %2.7Prairie CountyPrairie County: 2.5 %2.5Daniels CountyDaniels County: 2.4 %2.4Liberty CountyLiberty County: 2.3 %2.3Carter CountyCarter County: 2.2 %2.2Powder River CountyPowder River County: 2.2 %2.2Treasure CountyTreasure County: 1.9 %1.9
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesFebruary 2026 (%)Change on February 2025
1Lincoln County8.5+1.1 pts
2Granite County8.2+1.5 pts
3Sanders County7.90 pts
4Madison County7.1+1.7 pts
5Big Horn County6.8+1.7 pts
6Glacier County6.3+1.2 pts
6Mineral County6.3+0.3 pts
8Powell County6.2+0.9 pts
9Musselshell County6+0.6 pts
10Petroleum County5.7+1.2 pts
11Lake County5.3+0.7 pts
11Phillips County5.3+0.3 pts
11Roosevelt County5.3+1.1 pts
14Ravalli County5+0.6 pts
14Wheatland County5-1.5 pts
16Flathead County4.7+0.5 pts
16Silver Bow County4.7+0.7 pts
18Deer Lodge County4.6+0.3 pts
18Fergus County4.60 pts
18Garfield County4.6+0.5 pts
21Blaine County4.3+1.4 pts
21Pondera County4.3+0.6 pts
21Valley County4.3+0.6 pts
24Missoula County4+0.5 pts
24Park County4+0.5 pts
26Lewis and Clark County3.9+0.5 pts
27Custer County3.8+0.3 pts
27McCone County3.8+0.9 pts
29Broadwater County3.7+0.6 pts
29Cascade County3.7+0.1 pts
29Hill County3.7+0.8 pts
29Sheridan County3.7+0.5 pts
29Yellowstone County3.7+0.1 pts
34Carbon County3.6-0.2 pts
34Jefferson County3.6+0.1 pts
34Rosebud County3.6+0.1 pts
34Stillwater County3.6-1.2 pts
38Teton County3.5+0.6 pts
39Dawson County3.2+0.6 pts
39Judith Basin County3.2-0.3 pts
39Meagher County3.2-0.3 pts
42Chouteau County3.1+0.9 pts
43Golden Valley County3-0.2 pts
43Toole County3+0.4 pts
43Wibaux County3-0.4 pts
46Beaverhead County2.90 pts
47Fallon County2.8+1 pts
47Sweet Grass County2.8-0.6 pts
49Gallatin County2.7+0.3 pts
49Richland County2.7-0.1 pts
51Prairie County2.50 pts
52Daniels County2.4-0.2 pts
53Liberty County2.3-0.1 pts
54Carter County2.2+0.6 pts
54Powder River County2.2-0.5 pts
56Treasure County1.9-0.7 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work. Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over. EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74. United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.

Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Montana by unemployment rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"unemployment_rate","level":"province","within":"Montana","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=unemployment_rate&level=province&within=Montana&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Lincoln County, with 8.5% in February 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Treasure County, with 1.9% in February 2026.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Counties in Montana: more rankings